Out-of-State Vehicle purchase

[Greg112]

Wonder about procedures since I don't do this all the time. Looks like our future holds a new toad purchase from a dealership in a state (Colorado) other than Texas (our domicile for years). Near as I can gather from some research a lot of the paperwork can be taken care of by the dealership (tax collection for example). But I wonder about the inspection for registration - can that be waivered like it is for a recurring registration? I understand there are currently waivers on registration completion due to COVID but I figure those will be done by the time I do this.

Or  must I drive to Texas within the X number of days I get for a temporary registration for an inspection and completion of paperwork? Most of what I dredged up seems to assume you'll head for home soon after purchase but I tend not to visit Livingston til Nov or Dec. Amarillo or better yet Dalhart wouldn't be too bad distance-wise if I had to come into the state for registration - I'm thinking I wouldn't have to go to Polk County in the summer (I hope). 

Thanks for any experiences or insights. 

 

 

   

[2gypsies]

You could call Polk Co. for their take on your issue.

[LiveWorkDream]

Yep, call the county. But I'll share our experience:

We are domiciled in Livingston. Bought a fifth wheel in Wyoming, and the dealer sent the paperwork in to Polk County. Our registration went through without an issue, and we didn't need to get it inspected in Texas until we returned almost a year later. No issues.

Each year upon registration renewal, we check the box that says our vehicles are out of state and we promise to get them inspected the next time we are in TX. Sometimes that happens in the same year, sometimes not for a couple. It's never been an issue. Texas makes it easy to be fulltimers and we love it.

Congrats on your new toad!

[Kirk W]

You have two states to deal with as buying in CO will make you subject to their laws on vehicle purchasing and registering in TX will bring the laws there into play. I suggest that you start by calling the Polk County vehicle registration office ((936) 327-6801) and tell them about you plans and they will be happy to guide you. They may also know what the laws on sales tax and such are in CO. Nowadays, some states require vehicle dealers to collect sales tax for that state on all vehicle sales, while others do not. It has been some years since I last bought a vehicle outside of TX and registered it here, but when I did so the selling dealer didn't collect any sales tax and I then had to pay the TX sales tax at the time of registration. If CO does collect sales tax, you will probably only pay any portion of tax for TX that exceeds what CO charges and Polk Co. can explain all of that to you. Your dealer should be able to tell you what CO requires and if they will then charge you CO sales tax. There is a good chance that they will not take care of getting it registered for you as most dealers only do so in state or with adjacent states. 

Since I have dealt with TX in a situation like yours but never have done so in CO, this is the best advice that I can give. 

[filthy-beast]

I just bought a new truck in IL, I asked the dealer to fill out some paperwork so I could send it to Florida to get the vehicle registered and plated.  They have a third party company that will handle title and registration for out of state purchases. I will not be back in Florida until November. They charged me the lower Florida tax and will get my Florida plates and call me when they are in.

[Twotoes]

When I purchased my first RV I was living in CA and making the purchase in TX. The dealer called CA DMV to get the amount of tax and registration fees. The tax and fees quoted were collected by the dealer and I was given a 60 temp registration from TX. When I returned to CA I had to go to DMV where the Vin was verified and I was given my plates. 

When I purchased my tow vehicle I was a member of Escapees and using the SD address as my domicle. I purchased the vehicle in ID. The dealer in ID also called the DMV in SD and collected the tax and registration fee. SD advised me to remove the plates from my trade, a F-350 and attach them to my Jeep. 

When I purchased my Class A in AZ the dealer drove the vehicle to the border of CA where I took delivery and I mailed the tax and registration fees to SD myself. SD them mailed me my plates. The dealer in AZ told me if I took delivery in AZ I would have to pay AZ sales tax 

[fpmtngal]

Interesting topic.  The dealer in Yuma that I bought a truck from 2 days ago had me sign a form that included a number of criteria I had to meet (I met all of them, including not having been in Arizona for 7 months) that meant I was not subject to Arizona state sales tax.  The dealer collected the Texas state sales tax and will be sending it to Polk County.  They seemed to be familiar with the procedure, and did ask if I wanted to send it all in myself.  I hope that it all goes smoothly and I get the plates before the Arizona 90 day temporary registration runs out.

I don’t know anything about what Colorado is going to require.  I knew about buying in California and having it delivered just across the border to avoid California sales tax and registration.

[bobsallyh]

fpmtngal, the Yuma dealers should know all the ins and outs of what is needed. I would like to know how many out of state sales they have here Sept-May. When we are up north during the summer there is so many license plate frames of dealers in Yuma. I think the winter visitors have too much time on their hands and go to dealerships and get nabbed. 

[fpmtngal]

4 hours ago, bobsallyh said:

fpmtngal, the Yuma dealers should know all the ins and outs of what is needed. I would like to know how many out of state sales they have here Sept-May. When we are up north during the summer there is so many license plate frames of dealers in Yuma. I think the winter visitors have too much time on their hands and go to dealerships and get nabbed. 

LOL!  I believe it.  And I was solidly into the too much time on my hands category.

I just went to the Ford dealer to get a recall done on my perfectly good, adequate F150.  About 4 or 5 hours later I left driving an F350.  

That’s not quite the whole story - I had checked their on-line inventory several days before, spotted the F350 and THEN made the appointment to get the recall done on my F150.  Next I spent the weekend cleaning all of the Quartzsite dirt out of the truck.  The night before my appointment I got an X-Plan PIN number, used Ford’s website to build the same truck so I knew what it would cost and had checked my truck’s trade-in value on both KBB and NADA.  Yes, I had too much time on my hands, otherwise I wouldn’t have checked the inventory and would still be driving an F150 that needed a recall done to it.

[Twotoes]

That’s what we call a very expensive service appointment, lol. 

[sandsys]

4 hours ago, Twotoes said:

That’s what we call a very expensive service appointment, lol. 

Or a good time to shop since you had to be there anyway.

Linda

[rynosback]

On 4/30/2020 at 6:39 AM, filthy-beast said:

I just bought a new truck in IL, I asked the dealer to fill out some paperwork so I could send it to Florida to get the vehicle registered and plated.  They have a third party company that will handle title and registration for out of state purchases. I will not be back in Florida until November. They charged me the lower Florida tax and will get my Florida plates and call me when they are in.

Yup, that is how most dealers operate now. They use a service that takes care of it all.

[Greg112]

Sounds good, thanks all, I'll get with Polk County to make sure all the blocks get checked but this is helpful.