Register Car in Different State Than Purchased?

[mjohns930]

I am buying a new car in the coming weeks and I live in California but I am a Wisconsin resident. I would like to register the car in WI even though the purchase will take place in CA. Is something like this possible to do at the time of sale?

Thanks for any help on this.
Mitch

 

[VirtualSVT]

No. You'll transport back to your home state and register there. And pay taxes again probably.

 

[oldmodman]

It is possible to escape the incredibly high California sales tax.
But the DMV makes it extremely complicated.

The car has to be purchased outside of Ca.

It has to be driven quite a few miles before entering Ca. I think it is now 6K.

And here is where the DMV usually manages to screw you. It can NEVER have entered Ca. before it is registered here.

I have imported several new cars from Germany. It is very easy to do if you buy them from a US dealer in another state. I used a dealer in Oregon (no sales tax). Then I drove across Oregon into Idaho and then down into Nevada where I parked the car in a friends garage in Vegas. By that time with the driving I did in Europe plus the driving to get to Vegas I had enough miles on it to qualify as a used car exempt from Ca. sales tax.

So I gathered all my gas receipts and original sales paperwork and went to the DMV here in Los Angeles. As soon as I got to the window the DMV rep said "we have to see the car, is it parked outside" I told them no, it's in my garage in Las Vegas. They were visibly disappointed. I was able to show them a trail of gas receipts showing that the car had been driven to Vegas without driving through California. They had no choice but to allow me to register it without having to pay sales tax and a much decreased registration fee. Saved me $5550.00 in sales tax.

Here is the DMV's last spoiler. It has to be six months from the date of purchase too.

 

[GeorgiaSnake]

I live in GA and bought my Sport Trac in FL. I registered my vehicle in GA at the time of purchase. Now for all those that said you cant to this fella here is a hypothetical. I don't know all the particulars about CA but I will run this for discussion because it seems to blow some of the contradictory logic out of the water.

Lets say you are working in CA for an extended period under a contract or something. You live in another state. You are only a temp resident of CA, not officially living there. You should be able to register the vehicle in your state and not CA. For one thing I am going to go on an assumption and guess you are not driving on a CA drivers license. It is a violation of law to operate a personally owned vehicle registered and licensed in one state and you the driver licensed in another state. Now you find a purchase a vehicle in CA. You should be able to register and get a license plate for your real state of residence. This is what I did in FL when I bought my Sport Trac and I reside in GA. I was "living" in FL and working in FL but officially residing in GA. I did this for 2 years. Another side benefit is if your real state is a bit more lenient on the vehicle laws, your vehicle only has to comply with the laws for the state whose tag is on it and not CA with its sometimes really quirky and strange vehicle laws. For example, my Sport Trac has Tinted windows. They are darker that what FL law says they should be but not what GA law says they should be. I did not have to comply with the FL standard. Never had to stand on that, but it is a fact.

The Snake

 

[thomas91169]

Unless you are military, good luck.

 

[oldmodman]

Here in California if your car has a plate from some other state and you get stopped by the cops you will obviously have to show your drivers license. If the license is for Ca the first question you will be asked is why is the car not registered in Ca. But if your license is for the state the car's plates are from you won't be asked anything.

The only way to get away with the out of state registration while having a Ca drivers license would be if the car is owned by a relative and you are driving it while they are "visiting" Ca.

The DMV just loves to throw penalties on people that try to drive their cars until the out of state registration expires to get their moneys worth before registering it here in Ca.

The only way to avoid Ca registration is to keep the out of state drivers license and also keep an out of state checking account.

And hope the same cop doesn't see you over and over in the same area with the out of state registration.

 

[thomas91169]

Here in California if your car has a plate from some other state and you get stopped by the cops you will obviously have to show your drivers license. If the license is for Ca the first question you will be asked is why is the car not registered in Ca. But if your license is for the state the car's plates are from you won't be asked anything.

The only way to get away with the out of state registration while having a Ca drivers license would be if the car is owned by a relative and you are driving it while they are "visiting" Ca.

The DMV just loves to throw penalties on people that try to drive their cars until the out of state registration expires to get their moneys worth before registering it here in Ca.

The only way to avoid Ca registration is to keep the out of state drivers license and also keep an out of state checking account.

And hope the same cop doesn't see you over and over in the same area with the out of state registration.

Honestly, I dont blame them.

If you reside in CA for more than 6mo, and drive a vehicle in CA, it should be registered to CA. Or any other state.

That seems pretty logical to me. Obvious exclusions to active military and such.

 

[Blown_By_You]

In Montana you have 24 hours after you are gainfully employed to buy Montana plates. They could care less about your drivers license though

 

[mjohns930]

Unless you are military, good luck.

Conveniently I am military and have a WI driver's license. Do you have any pointers on how it works?

 

[Stanger00]

Look at your home state DMV website to find out what needs to be done with buying a vehicle out of state.

I've known co-workers while I was active duty who bought cars in AZ and put on Montana plates since it was their HOR. But those were brand new vehicles and they avoided sales tax.

If your state requires an inspection prior to completing the registration process that would be difficult since you dont plan on leaving CA anytime soon.

 

[sunburned]

I would think someone else in the military would be the one to give you answers to this. Or talk to the WI DMV. Usually the website also tells you what to do if military.

I have had friends keep their 'home state' plates on new cars, I'm sure there is a way to do it. I work on a Navy base and live in DC so I see military guys with plates from all over the country.

 

[afcobra01]

I am retired military and wife is still active and we live in Kenosha Wisconsin. I have my cobra registered in Florida (emissions are easier in Florida) for which I am still a resident and have a license. You need to go to the Wis. DMV site and look under the instructions for military. Military may register wherever they have a residency and there is no penalty or timelines. Good luck

 

[Riptide]

If you are from out of state the only way to avoid sales tax in CA is to get the dealer to drive the car to the border and meet you there or have it shipped out

 

[thomas91169]

Conveniently I am military and have a WI driver's license. Do you have any pointers on how it works?

Dunno how it works but I know a few guys stationed at places like Travis AFB, Pendleton, and they had their cars registered to their home state and were here for a couple years easy.

Most them had stories of getting pulled over and asked but once you tell the LEO you are active military stationed here, theyre usually pretty cool about it, unless youre doing something stupid to necessitate the third degree.

I would imagine you tell the seller/dealership you are registering the car out of state so they do not put the taxes into the financed amount. If you are buying in cash this should be pretty simple, its the equivalent of the seller handing you the title with the responsibility on you to register it and pay proper taxes.

 

[Stanger00]

The issue is that he is buying a CA registered car in CA but wants to register it in WI. If its a brand new car I dont think it will be a problem but if its a used car it will probably be an issue.

Driving with out of state tags while Active Duty isnt a crime. I did it for 3 years while I lived in DE and maintained CA drivers license and tags.

 

[mjohns930]

It will be a brand new car purchased in CA. I have looked at the WI DMV website and it doesn't really have anything on this subject. I am going to email them and see if they can point me in the right direction.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Stanger00]

If you have your WI license then I wouldnt think it would be an issue to register the car in WI.

 

[DaleM]

Man I never had to bring my vehicle in. I just gave FL the TN registration and title and they made a FL title and registration for me. I had to pay tax on the vehicles sale value plus title and registration fees. If you paid tax in CA and it exceeds your tax in WI you likely will not need to pay additional sales tax, only the registration fees.

 

[DaleM]

The issue is that he is buying a CA registered car in CA but wants to register it in WI. If its a brand new car I dont think it will be a problem but if its a used car it will probably be an issue.

Driving with out of state tags while Active Duty isnt a crime. I did it for 3 years while I lived in DE and maintained CA drivers license and tags.

My BMW has been in FL for 3 years and still has TN tags. I registered the Mercury here and wish I had waited until I retired.