CA Registration Help

[SurfRaptor]

Can someone walk me through the process of registering and fees from out of state in CA. I live here in So Cal. Truck is ready for pickup. My dealer seems shady, so I want to make sure I am not paying double registration fees or a high rip-off registration price. Truck will be picked up in Delaware.

Does it get temporary DE plates and then I pay the difference between DE and CA? Sorry if this seems like a newbie question but my last new vehicle purchase was in state 14 years ago.

 

[Rick955]

Can't speak to CA, but the process should be about the same... I bought mine from a dealer in ME and I'm in CT. You should not pay any taxes or registration fees. The dealership will likely still charge their normal "Doc fee". You should get a temp plate. Mine was a Maine temp plate good for 30 days. They brought the truck to me and I signed the purchase docs, the title application doc, and for the state of Maine, a document I signed to confirm my residence was not in Maine so sales taxes were not applicable. The dealer will complete everything and usually overnight the completed docs needed to bring to the DMV where you will register it and pay applicable CA taxes, etc. etc.

 

[AlGen3Raptor]

I just did it a couple months ago and was very simple.
1-Dealer should send you all the paperwork you need.
2-Before going to the dmv, you will need to get a smog test and get a certified weigh station certificate.
3-Once you have that take it to the dmv and get it inspected. (outside, typically on side of dmv building)
4-Then wait in line and you should be all set.

 

[RivRaptor]

Bought my 18' in AZ. The dealer deducted the Cali Tax, then drove to the Az border & had to sign a notarized doc that it left the state (so I didn't pay AZ tax). Then in Cali I had to weight the truck, get inspection DMV (AAA can do) and then smog the truck & send all that stuff in. Cali tax paid was forwarded by the dealer. Now this was before these new paper plates so not sure if something has changed.

 

[BoostCreep]

I bought mine in IA and had it shipped to SoCal. The dealer did the CA dmv paperwork for me. The truck arrived with a 30 day IA registration and bill of lading. Once it arrived I needed to do a smog and vin verification, then registered it at aaa, the whole process was pretty easy. I didn’t have to get the truck weighed because I had the bill of lading I think.

 

[SurfRaptor]

I just did it a couple months ago and was very simple.
1-Dealer should send you all the paperwork you need.
2-Before going to the dmv, you will need to get a smog test and get a certified weigh station certificate.
3-Once you have that take it to the dmv and get it inspected. (outside, typically on side of dmv building)
4-Then wait in line and you should be all set.

My father got his Gen 2 from the same dealer in 19 and took it back to NY. They still charged the following:

 

[MrLiou168]

CA is a different animal altogether but most posts above are accurate. The big delta here in CA is that the state WILL collect it's sales tax at any cost. I've tried buying cars here with out-of-state sales tax and dealers have been hit hard before so they simply don't care. Their stance is that if the tires hit California pavement, the CA sales tax must be paid even if the vehicle is going out of state.

 

[SurfRaptor]

CA is a different animal altogether but most posts above are accurate. The big delta here in CA is that the state WILL collect it's sales tax at any cost. I've tried buying cars here with out-of-state sales tax and dealers have been hit hard before so they simply don't care. Their stance is that if the tires hit California pavement, the CA sales tax must be paid even if the vehicle is going out of state.

So is the dealer in Delaware registering my vehicle for CA? Are they calculating sales tax based on my address? I'm just trying to figure out if I'm going to owe more taxes once I get it here to CA or if the dealer is actually capable of handling this correctly.

 

[SurfRaptor]

I bought mine in IA and had it shipped to SoCal. The dealer did the CA dmv paperwork for me. The truck arrived with a 30 day IA registration and bill of lading. Once it arrived I needed to do a smog and vin verification, then registered it at aaa, the whole process was pretty easy. I didn’t have to get the truck weighed because I had the bill of lading I think.

Did you have to pay more taxes at the DMV?

 

[Icecobra]

One of the things you will be asked have you had the vehicle more than 90 days if you say yes you don't pay sales tax. So think about that....