09-10-2021, 06:10 PM | #1 |
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Buying from a dealer in a different state
I thought about waiting to post this when my car arrived and wrap it all up in a big “My M3 Experience” post. It occurred to me that this could be helpful for anyone who is in the process of buying or considering buying from a dealer in a different state.
There are several dealers who will say “We sell anywhere”, “We specialize in out of state delivery” or things like that. While they may sell “to every state” it’s up to you to know how much work is on you to get your car registered and legally driveable. My CA did well with getting me the allocation, production number and getting the order placed. That part of the process went really well and was easy. When I asked about what it would take to get the car registered in my state, I was told “We’ll give you everything you need”. Fast forward to the car finally coming in…this is where I messed up. I should have gotten in front of it sooner, but I trusted that the “dealer that sells everywhere” knew what they were doing but that wasn’t the case. We got the finance contract worked out very quickly but there was a form that needed a wet signature that I wasn’t sent. This created “an issue with the back office” and my CA got a little unprofessional. It was a form that I was going to need in order to register the car. There were a few other forms I had to request be sent to me, after I figured out that I needed them. I used the shipping service the dealer recommended and that too was a mistake. I figured a dealer that handles this type of transaction would recommend a solid company. Lots of energy invested in trying to get information from the trucking company on pickup and delivery of the car. The car is due to arrive in a couple of days. The goal here isn’t to slam any specific dealer or trucking company, it’s more of buyer beware of the dealers who claim they sell anywhere. It probably means a fair amount of work on your part and don’t be fooled by the “we’ll take care of you” lines. Know the process, in detail, for your state for registering a car purchased out of state and all of the miscellaneous fees and payment methods your local municipality will accept. I’ve learned enough to know that I probably won’t do it again. Too many moving parts and too hard to get ALL of the information you need WHEN you need it. Hope this helps some of you to avoid the headache I went through, I’ll make a separate post over in the general forum when I get my car. |
09-10-2021, 06:41 PM | #2 |
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Thanks for the heads up - very helpful.
I wonder if the process is more streamlined if you get an allocation from an out-of-state dealer but elect to pick up at the performance center in SC. I wonder if the performance center has figured out the nits of registering cars in all states (vs the selling dealer having to do it). Any one know? |
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09-10-2021, 07:10 PM | #4 |
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For out-of-state titles/registrations, dealers generally rely on an outside vendor like DMV Nationwide, unless it's just a neighboring state (e.g., an NJ dealer selling to an NY buyer). The vendors charge a hefty fee that some dealers pass onto the buyer on top of the actual DMV fees, and seem to be utterly inefficient and useless. I bought two cars this year from far-away dealers, and was told the process would take "months" if I let them handle it. But there is no need for the process to take months; it’s because of this vendor just sits on the paperwork for weeks and probably sends it out in batches or something.
Because of that, I insisted on handling registration, etc., on my own both times–why should I pay an extra $200 to this useless vendor on top of the actual motor vehicle fees to wait 6 months for plates, and have to nag the dealer to send me (and charge me for) temp tags that expire every 30 days in the meantime (even though they promise they’ll just send them automatically–yeah, right)? I can go to the DMV and handle it all myself in minutes. The long lines in my experience have been for driver transactions such as licenses and IDs; the vehicle transactions counters were pretty much empty and I didn’t have to wait at all. Both times, I’ve gone in and walked out with new plates in under half an hour. This is for purchases with loans; I don't know how leasing affects things since the leasing company is the owner of the car rather than the lessee. It took me some back and forth arguing with the finance managers, but ultimately, I got them to send me the MCO (certificate of origin--the "birth certificate"/original title for the car), and I took that along with the bill of sale to get the car titled and registered in my state, and the DMV sends the title over to the lienholder just as the liendholder expects. |
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09-10-2021, 07:12 PM | #5 | |
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I got lulled and felt a little like “I’m spending all this coin, so let them do their jobs”. I almost never do that but frankly, I didn’t have the time to chase all of this down despite ending up doing it anyway. |
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09-10-2021, 07:13 PM | #6 |
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It's very, very salesperson-specific in my experience. I've purchased a new car out of state twice. The first time was superb, the second was a 2-star experience. Going forward, I think I would only buy from a dealer that was remote from me if others on the forum could vouch for them.
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09-10-2021, 07:18 PM | #7 | |
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On the one hand, I now know what I need to get a car registered here in TX but under more normal buying circumstances (no chip shortages or limited production because of COVID) it’s just not worth my time. |
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09-10-2021, 07:30 PM | #8 |
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Ive only purchased one car out of state, and it was a little bit of a nightmare. I bought it, in California, and drove it back to Phoenix when I used to live there, and the dealer never mentioned anything about me having to pay sales tax on the car, in the state, before I could get it registered.
Secondly, Ive had to deal with the vehicle shipping company fiasco, back in May, and its one of the worst things Ive ever had to deal with, involving anything to do with a car. I needed to ship a car to my son, in Florida, and I went online, and booked what I thought was a reservation, but youre just actually dealing with a middleman, and the actual trucking company, is difficult to even get along with. You enter your contact info into a site, expecting to get a call from the shipper about shipping your car, when what you really get, is a about a dozen phone calls, with everyone trying to undercut the other guy. So, in the end, why would I want to take a quote thats $200 higher? I call that guy back, its bullshit, they dont actually have a quote for me. They put your name into a database, and drivers bid on the run!! What the f@ck? It was the biggest pain in the ass, ever.
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09-10-2021, 07:35 PM | #9 | |
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We will agree to disagree. I don't think you made any mistake. It's the dealers' / sales guy responsibility to ensure white glove service for a transaction like this. You're spending almost $100K or more. They should absolutely be hand holding you every point of the way. |
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09-10-2021, 07:38 PM | #10 | |
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09-10-2021, 07:43 PM | #11 | |
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09-10-2021, 08:11 PM | #12 |
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i'm sorry you went through this. But it honestly sounds like you dealt with a dealership or probably a sales person who isn't experienced. I dont remember the last time my dad, brother or myself bought a car IN state. All of this is honestly pretty easy. Paperwork back and forth in two days, car ships, temp plate, done..
Sure it's a few more steps, but if you're saving a chunk of money, it's not big deal. Just sucks you dealt with a moron |
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09-10-2021, 08:26 PM | #13 | |
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In this case it didn’t save me anything…it cost me more actually, it was about getting what I wanted and not having to wait until the dealerships in my state got an allocation. |
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09-11-2021, 08:38 PM | #14 |
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I have bought several vehicles out of state and had pleasant experiences with most of them.
One experience which sticks out is with a CDJR dealer from DC area. They are well known in the Jeep community and do tons of out of state deals. Still they were the one who gave me the worst experience. They took their sweet time to process my paperwork and i had followup several times to get my second set of temporary tags because of the delay. My sales guy did not help me either and claimed the issue to be handled by a different team over which he had no control. It was a bad experience but i moved on as i got a good deal. But i dinged the dealer in OEM survey and also shared my experience in public forums. |
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09-11-2021, 10:14 PM | #15 |
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Zero issues buying out of state. Never had a trade and all cars were built to order. One dealer purchased my plane ticket to pick up the car.
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09-12-2021, 07:47 AM | #16 | |
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What isn’t often said are the negative experiences or the downsides of an out of state transaction. I was at fault for not educating myself on all of the things I needed and they either lied about their experience selling everywhere or my CA was lazy and/or stupid, it was probably a bit of both because the back office wasn’t exactly on top of things either. Moral of the story is to know what you need and make sure the folks who have it, deliver it. |
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10-14-2021, 11:24 AM | #17 |
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Thread bump as I have a question on this....
I'm likely going to have to go out of state for my upcoming purchase, in my mind I was planning on walking in, writing a check, putting a 3 day DMV transfer tag on the car, driving home and registering it when I got home. I have sold a vehicle to an out of state buyer once and that is exactly what he did, can it work the same way with a dealer? The rep I'm currently talking to said if I bring cash I can haul the car away on a flatbed, that doesn't sound right.... Thanks. |
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10-14-2021, 11:39 AM | #18 | |
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10-14-2021, 12:37 PM | #19 |
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I went through a broker with an out of state dealer and my deal couldn't have gone any easier. My broker stayed with me the whole way. When the car landed, the docs were overnighted to me. I sent them back same day. Broker coordinated transport and car arrived to me without issue. I have a temp tag for the state in which my dealer is located, but as of yesterday, my VIN is searchable on the Florida DMV website so my plate should be on its way soon. My out of state dealer took care of all of the registration of the vehicle in my home state.
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10-14-2021, 01:15 PM | #20 | |
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Back in 2008 I bought a Porsche 911S from Stevens Creek Porsche in California. It was a great experience buying the car because the SA gave me 10% off the MSRP. Also, he arrange the shipping and paid for it to ship the Seattle area. The bad part about it was the shipper. He was an independent and kind of strange. The shipper called me to confirm delivery, and he called while enroute for updates. At the halfway point (somewhere in Oregon) he called and suggested I meet him about 80 miles south of the agreed delivery point to save time. I had a friend drive me down to the new delivery point, in a shopping center parking lot. So, I guess it wasn't that bad at least I did save some time. The paperwork part was pretty smooth they mailed it and I sent it back before the car was delivered. In 2018 I flew down to LA and bought a Lexus @ Lexus Santa Monica and drove the car back home. I don't want to do that again. |
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10-14-2021, 01:29 PM | #21 |
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Like many others, I've had great experiences buying out of state, and I've had horrendous experiences buying out of state.
Overall, I strongly suggest that before you buy out of state, research and understand your own state's titling and registration process. Don't just trust what you're told by the out-of-state dealer, particularly if it's just generic statements such as "we do this all the time." For example, many states have a short window during which, after a motor vehicle comes into the state, it needs to be registered, titled and/or inspected. If you miss that window, you can run into worlds of problems (both hassle, and costs). If the selling dealer's state is more lenient, they may not be motivated to move quickly (I've had plenty of dealer title clerks tell me it will take them 10 business days or longer to overnight the packet I'll need to have in hand, because their own state gives 60 or 90 days on a temporary... doesn't help if your own state is much more strict). One other word of caution generally, from experience - when you buy out of state to get a great deal, some local dealers will treat you just fine for warranty and service work. Others will treat you very poorly, and you always seem to be at the back of the line (and they'll subtly remind you that you didn't buy the car from them, every time you bring it in). For a limited-availability car like these, if your local dealers couldn't get you one they tend to be more understanding from what I've seen (but if, for example, you need an inspection done quickly, they don't always bend over backwards to fit you in with a next-day appointment for an out-of-state purchase that they could have sold you locally). |
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10-14-2021, 01:45 PM | #22 |
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I never had any issues with out of state sales. Path to least resistance is usually having the dealer temp tag it in their state and then do the backend with your state once you have the permanent registration in hand... that way you can actually drive the car off of the lot. Most states have reciprocal tax agreements with one another.
Be cautious about shipping. I would personally never ship a car within the continental United States on my own dime unless it was an econobox or beater. It's basically almost always worth it to take the time off of work and make the road trip. |
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