Out of Ca state purchase.

[Yukon21Denali]

.....
I do not recommend it.

Obviously buying out of state is always a YMMV situation, but I highly recommend it! I have bought numerous vehicles over the years from various parts of the country and got them shipped to my door.

Main reason why I prefer that, gives me the opportunity to get the best price and the exact options I want! Biggest downside, it could get damaged in transit and you'll have to deal with transportation company's insurance etc.

But that does come with some added responsibility on me as a buyer. I need to do my homework on current market pricing trend for the vehicle I'm looking for, what do I need from the selling dealer to register it in my state, have the right transportation lined up etc. Some may find all that very daunting but I enjoy that process and have done it many times.

When I bought my '21 Denali w/ premium from out of state, the selling dealership was very leery about selling to a remote buyer. I had to talk with the general manger and take over the process of registering in my state and not leave anything on them. Once the money was wired, I managed it all between my insurance, dealership, a trip to RMV to get it registered and the transportation guy to pick it. All in all, from my first call to dealership to having it delivered in my driveway took less than a week. Bit of a hassle for sure only if you are not aware of the process upfront, hence doing the homework piece is important, specially for first timers.

And as I said in my earlier post in this thread, every car forum is full of threads on challenges CA buyers face when they buy out of state...mainly due to smog/EPA thing. But the good thing is many have done it before you, just read and prep for it.

Also, some misinformation floating in this thread about vroom. I sold my '18 Tahoe to Vroom since they gave me the best price compared to everybody else. Vroom gives you a quote upfront based on what you fill about your vehicle, that is the *locked* price if you move forward with the deal. They do NOT ask you to ship the vehicle for inspection and then offer you a price, that will just be too absurd of a thing to do process wise. Only caveat is Vroom first does the car pickup and then pays you. As soon as carrier picks up, you send them BOL copy and they process the payment check. Certainly everyone's comfort level is different around handing off your car and not getting a check till a few days later. IMO, vroom is a great option to sell your car unseen/uninspected.

 

[Chloe_21]

So for out of state purchase to CA, here is what I learned:

The DMV will need the following:
1. Certificate of Origin
2. Copy of the sales contract
3. Smog Certificate - you will need to take the car to get smogged and the shop will look at you as if you just landed from Mars
4. A weight certificate, use a public scale. I think I paid like $15
5. Sales tax and registration fees - in my case the dealership did not calculate correctly and was a bit short, so I had to write another check to the DMV to cover the outstanding cost.
6. THe vehicle will need to be inspected, there are 2 ways to do this, you can take the vehicle to the DMV and they can do the inspection or you can take the vehicle to a CHP office and they can do the inspection.
7. Just a little note, the dealership sent all my paperwork to my local DMV.

I think that covers it. I learned a lot last year when I bought my Ram from WA and I vowed that I would never do that again! LOL

I looked on the DMV website it doesn’t say they have to have it smog if it is California state emissions compliant in this vehicle is 50 state emissions compliant.

The certificate of origin is what is holding at my vehicle from being shipped they have all the legal documents the sales contracts the check everything and they’re refusing to release my vehicle because of that certificate of origin and the sales tax. They told me to pay my sales tax in California so I have to pay out-of-pocket for it. And that’s fine they knew that. But now all of a sudden it’s an issue. And now they’re saying that I’ll have to pay the sales tax there well they already got the check for the amount that I owed on it so they’re gonna have to figure out a way to make it work.

 

[Chloe_21]

Obviously buying out of state is always a YMMV situation, but I highly recommend it! I have bought numerous vehicles over the years from various parts of the country and got them shipped to my door.

Main reason why I prefer that, gives me the opportunity to get the best price and the exact options I want! Biggest downside, it could get damaged in transit and you'll have to deal with transportation company's insurance etc.

But that does come with some added responsibility on me as a buyer. I need to do my homework on current market pricing trend for the vehicle I'm looking for, what do I need from the selling dealer to register it in my state, have the right transportation lined up etc. Some may find all that very daunting but I enjoy that process and have done it many times.

When I bought my '21 Denali w/ premium from out of state, the selling dealership was very leery about selling to a remote buyer. I had to talk with the general manger and take over the process of registering in my state and not leave anything on them. Once the money was wired, I managed it all between my insurance, dealership, a trip to RMV to get it registered and the transportation guy to pick it. All in all, from my first call to dealership to having it delivered in my driveway took less than a week. Bit of a hassle for sure only if you are not aware of the process upfront, hence doing the homework piece is important, specially for first timers.

And as I said in my earlier post in this thread, every car forum is full of threads on challenges CA buyers face when they buy out of state...mainly due to smog/EPA thing. But the good thing is many have done it before you, just read and prep for it.

Also, some misinformation floating in this thread about vroom. I sold my '18 Tahoe to Vroom since they gave me the best price compared to everybody else. Vroom gives you a quote upfront based on what you fill about your vehicle, that is the *locked* price if you move forward with the deal. They do NOT ask you to ship the vehicle for inspection and then offer you a price, that will just be too absurd of a thing to do process wise. Only caveat is Vroom first does the car pickup and then pays you. As soon as carrier picks up, you send them BOL copy and they process the payment check. Certainly everyone's comfort level is different around handing off your car and not getting a check till a few days later. IMO, vroom is a great option to sell your car unseen/uninspected.

I like carvana.
They gave me the best price.
Anyways, this whole ordeal started last week on Monday. The vehicle hit their lot last week on Wednesday.

when I got my loan it was a 72 hour turnaround time and they kind of rushed me to get the check to them because they were holding onto the vehicle and other people wanted to sell it, so I rushed the loan process got the check to them today in fact. And now they’re holding onto it saying they cannot ship the vehicle out to me right now.

they never brought up the MSO, they brought up that I should do all my financing in California and just deal with California state taxes and all that through my financial place. Well my financial place doesn’t do the sales tax and license fees or anything like that I have to do it on my own and I agreed to that. We were even on a three-way call with the salesman stating to the fact that they’re gonna cut them to check they just needed a purchase agreement with their signature on it and I was going to infect take care of the taxes on my end.

it wasn’t until after they got the check and they told me OK they’re gonna get everything ready the vehicle be on the truck. I waited a few hours I didn’t hear from them so I text them is the vehicle being on the truck today or is it getting shipped tomorrow? He then tells me that there’s a bit of a problem they need to MSO and my financial place will not do that. He then proceeds to tell me that the deal on there and will be voided if my financial place can’t do it.

I was confused because they excepted the check I signed all the documents stating that I am buying this vehicle and they are selling me this vehicle they even have a contract stating that effect as well. They had me sign that this morning no mention of the MSO.

so I’m frantically calling my financial place trying to get them on the line and we get to the finance Director and he tells them all they have to call back tomorrow. And I explain tomorrow I have to work I cannot be on the phone. So they’re hopefully gonna take care of this problem first thing in the morning before I have to go to work.
But after all that I get told oh we’ll figure it out you’ll just probably have to pay the taxes on the side and then take it to California and have it registered. I asked them before why couldn’t I just do the taxes with them and just pay the difference in California in the first place. Ugh.

my sales guy and I are both stuck in the middle fighting with the financial Director over the sale.

I even sent them proof that I have filled out the registration form and I’m ready to go to the DMV with it and pay the taxes, I have sent them the DMV paperwork that said power of attorney that my financial place is going to be the loan holder and the title holder until the loan is paid off. None of that worked.

but I thought once they take the check and we have a signed sales contract, and I have a loan for that vehicle that the vehicle is now legally mine. I told them I could not sell my used car until I had a guarantee that this vehicle is mine and they can sell it to me and they gave me that guarantee.

either way it’s just a hassle and I will never recommend buying out of state. The amount of stress they put me through rushing me to get the check only to delay my vehicle and tell me I can’t have my vehicle that I signed and paid for. Nope. Do not recommend.

so my sales guy and I are going to get this figured out by tomorrow so that the vehicle can be on the truck and delivered to my front door.

 

[Chloe_21]

I would take a trip and go pick it up.. A lot of Californians never return.

I have a job. I can’t just up and leave. And I will never go to Texas to drive a vehicle back.

 

[Chloe_21]

I can't believe they're charging you $2300 to ship it. Coming in on magic carpet?

Probably. For that price it damn well better.
I think for all the **** that they have been putting me through, they should knock off a good 1300.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Probably. For that price it damn well better.
I think for all the **** that they have been putting me through, they should knock off a good 1300.

Agreed. I've transported cars before--in an enclosed trailer across country. Imo that should've costed $1200-$1300--TOPS! The dealers ALWAYS gets theirs in the end. Good luck. I really hope you can get this mess all straightened out soon.

 

[Saltydog]

I looked on the DMV website it doesn’t say they have to have it smog if it is California state emissions compliant in this vehicle is 50 state emissions compliant.

The certificate of origin is what is holding at my vehicle from being shipped they have all the legal documents the sales contracts the check everything and they’re refusing to release my vehicle because of that certificate of origin and the sales tax. They told me to pay my sales tax in California so I have to pay out-of-pocket for it. And that’s fine they knew that. But now all of a sudden it’s an issue. And now they’re saying that I’ll have to pay the sales tax there well they already got the check for the amount that I owed on it so they’re gonna have to figure out a way to make it work.

My Ram is 50 state emissions and they still wanted it Smogged and when they inspected the Truck, they looked at all the emissions stickers along with the Vin#.

So I questioned(tactfully) the reason for Smog and the Weight Certificate since the Certificate of Origin shows the shipping weight and the 50 state emissions. She basically told me that I should have bought from CA dealer to avoid all of this....not kidding like really?? I was a bit annoyed by I put on customer service face and let them know that local dealers did not have what I wanted because of the shortage. Her tune changed a bit, like trust me I have no intentions of spending my afternoon at the DMV of course I would have brought from a CA dealer if that had been an option. Ugh

The Sales Tax, so I had to sign something(WA state form) stating that the sales tax was being paid in CA) I am surprised they want you to pay the Sales tax out of Pocket seems odd, maybe the dealership is not super familiar with selling to out of state customers.

The first thing I would ask when calling the out of state dealerships: Can you sell to me as I am in CA? The response was actually surprising, many did not want anything to do with it.

So one thing I will say, your local DMV may not ask you to smog it, I have learned that every DMV and DMV tech has very different interpretations on what is needed for a registration, ID, etc. it's almost a luck of the draw.

I have spent so much time at the CA DMV that it would make a person sick(all my classic cars and registrations) that I just pray I get a good tech when I go in.

The only thing that was great was the dealership, they had sold cars in CA before and were more than happy to make it all work. I can only imagine working with a dealer that does not understand or is willing to understand the process.

Good luck and I hope they get that Yukon to ya soon.

 

[Saltydog]

I can't believe they're charging you $2300 to ship it. Coming in on magic carpet?

That is actually about right, at the moment many shipping companies are understaffed for drivers, so there are fewer routes, which increases the cost.

However I totally agree with you, that is way too much IMO.

When getting a shipping quote for my Ram(WA to CA about 800 miles or so) the shipping ranged from $1600-2000k.

So the dealership worked with me and they had an employee drive it down to me, with his flight home and one night hotel it was about 700? Something like that, much cheaper than 2000k.

I realize that is not an option for everyone as many would scoff at having 800 miles added to their new car/truck but it can be an option.

 

[Chloe_21]

Agreed. I've transported cars before--in an enclosed trailer across country. Imo that should've costed $1200-$1300--TOPS! The dealers ALWAYS gets theirs in the end. Good luck. I really hope you can get this mess all straightened out soon.

Thank you! It has been figured out. After i lost a bunch of hair and they almost cancelled the whole deal. Ugh!!!

it was a misunderstanding between dealership & credit union.
They called the transport company and it will be shipped tomorrow, Monday at the latest.

 

[Chloe_21]

My Ram is 50 state emissions and they still wanted it Smogged and when they inspected the Truck, they looked at all the emissions stickers along with the Vin#.

So I questioned(tactfully) the reason for Smog and the Weight Certificate since the Certificate of Origin shows the shipping weight and the 50 state emissions. She basically told me that I should have bought from CA dealer to avoid all of this....not kidding like really?? I was a bit annoyed by I put on customer service face and let them know that local dealers did not have what I wanted because of the shortage. Her tune changed a bit, like trust me I have no intentions of spending my afternoon at the DMV of course I would have brought from a CA dealer if that had been an option. Ugh

The Sales Tax, so I had to sign something(WA state form) stating that the sales tax was being paid in CA) I am surprised they want you to pay the Sales tax out of Pocket seems odd, maybe the dealership is not super familiar with selling to out of state customers.

The first thing I would ask when calling the out of state dealerships: Can you sell to me as I am in CA? The response was actually surprising, many did not want anything to do with it.

So one thing I will say, your local DMV may not ask you to smog it, I have learned that every DMV and DMV tech has very different interpretations on what is needed for a registration, ID, etc. it's almost a luck of the draw.

I have spent so much time at the CA DMV that it would make a person sick(all my classic cars and registrations) that I just pray I get a good tech when I go in.

The only thing that was great was the dealership, they had sold cars in CA before and were more than happy to make it all work. I can only imagine working with a dealer that does not understand or is willing to understand the process.

Good luck and I hope they get that Yukon to ya soon.

It has been fixed. I still go to DMV myself and take care of all of that taxes and such. Which is fine.

but this whole thing was a misunderstanding. My vehicle was supposed to be shipped today. But now it’s waiting for tomorrow or Monday.