Why not buy Californian?

January 24, 2007 1:28 PM

I'm thinking about buying a new car. I'm also thinking about moving to Washington State. Is there any reason NOT to buy a car in California - any reason that waiting and buying it in WA would be preferable?
posted by Cardinal Fang! to travel & transportation (19 comments total)

I should probably clarify - I live in CA now, thinking about moving to WA. Wondering if there is a penalty involved in buying in CA, vs WA.
posted by Cardinal Fang! at 1:33 PM on January 24, 2007

If it's any sort of a popular car, it's likely to be cheaper in Washington than in California.
Also, if you buy it in CA, then subsequently move to WA, you're going to end up paying registration fees twice.
California also levies a VLF on most cats.
posted by madajb at 1:45 PM on January 24, 2007

I don't know about those states in particular, but I do know that there can be a hassle in going from one state residence to another. Particularly, that if you buy the car in CA, you'll have to take care of all of the registration in CA. When you get to WA, you'll have to do it all again. Ditto for your insurance.

Speaking of insurance, it might be worth looking into whether the sales tax and/or insurance rates are much higher in CA than WA or not. It could be you can save some $$ by putting off the purchase.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 1:49 PM on January 24, 2007

Washington charges sales tax for cars of about 7.5 percent, more in some areas, and if you haven't owned the car for a certain period of time (I'm thinking maybe a year), you have to pay it on cars imported from other states. If California also charges a similar tax, you may wind up paying double.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 1:53 PM on January 24, 2007

buy it on your way there--in oregon. no sales tax. register it in WA when you get there. the temp tags should take your through the rest of the trip.
posted by markovitch at 2:02 PM on January 24, 2007

buy it on your way there--in oregon. no sales tax. register it in WA when you get there. the temp tags should take your through the rest of the trip.

Won't work. WA will charge tax, unless you're owned it for a minimum amount of time, and paid the tax where you first bought it. Full info can be found here
posted by Forktine at 2:07 PM on January 24, 2007

@ markovitch

oregon does levy a tax on high-ticket items. i believe.
posted by emptyinside at 2:20 PM on January 24, 2007

Do cars in CA cost more, because of any special environmental taxes, etc? And - does a car in CA have more environmental protection devices placed on it than a car sold elsewhere in the US?
posted by Cardinal Fang! at 2:32 PM on January 24, 2007

For a used car, buy in california from a private party. The selection is much larger, so you can find a better car for a lower price.

For a new car, unless you have a legal residence in Oregon, buy in Washington. Generally, Seattle (westside) dealers are easy to deal with, rural dealers are willing to give the biggest discounts, and eastside (Bellevue) dealers are the least considerate.

Example: The Ford dealer in bellevue had limited inventory when my brother went to buy a car. They couldn't even be bothered to call up the Ballard dealer. The guys in Ballard not only had the exact and unusual focus he wanted, but they happily made a great deal with him.

Exception: The service desk at the Bellevue Mercedes dealer is awesome. A year or two ago, I drove up with a beater '87 300E. While I was asking about the price of a new light bulb for my broken indicator light, a tech grabbed a fresh bulb and installed it in my car. No charge. If I was in the market for a new 'Benz, that's the first place I'd look.

I'm also thinking about moving to Washington State.

That might also inform the specific car you buy. When I was buying my current '96 C280 in California, I also looked at a '99 BMW 540i. If I was going to stay in CA, the 5- was the way to go - plenty of sped for the insane freeways and very comfortable for long drives. I went with the smaller C-class because I expected to move back to downtown seattle, and didn't want to deal with street or underground parking in a 5. If you enjoy skiing and hiking, you might prefer a Subaru in Washington over a Honda or Toyota in CA.
posted by b1tr0t at 2:41 PM on January 24, 2007

Do cars in CA cost more, because of any special environmental taxes, etc? And - does a car in CA have more environmental protection devices placed on it than a car sold elsewhere in the US?

As I understand it, most (all?) of the auto companies simply engineer vehicles that comply with CA (and NY) emission standards, and then sell them everywhere. It's more expensive to produce a CA-only version than it is to simply sell CA-compliant cars in all US markets.

Whether there are additional CA taxes levied, I have no idea, never having lived in a state that seems more like my personal Hell every time I visit.
posted by Netzapper at 2:41 PM on January 24, 2007

Do cars in CA cost more, because of any special environmental taxes, etc? And - does a car in CA have more environmental protection devices placed on it than a car sold elsewhere in the US?

You can't buy Diesel cars new in California. This migth change with the new clean-diesel regulations, but so far the Mercedes Bluetech diesel isn't available for sale in CA or NY. I'm not sure about VW's diesel products.

In general, a manufacturer that wants to sell in the USA builds all of their cars to meet CA's emissions regulations.
posted by b1tr0t at 2:43 PM on January 24, 2007

Netzapper - not to derail, but I just read your "Help Me Carry Stuff" thread. Yeah, I can see that with your requirements of carrying a concealed handgun and a pack of cigarettes, CA might not be your cup of tea.

On the other hand, maybe if you didn't live in Philly, a concealed handgun might not actually be on your 'required' list :-).
posted by Cardinal Fang! at 2:50 PM on January 24, 2007

b1tr0t: VW TDIs are also not currently available in CA (or any of the CARB states). Hopefully we'll get them again for the 2008 model year now that ultralow sulfur diesel is everywhere.

/diesel derail
posted by harkin banks at 3:10 PM on January 24, 2007

FYI, be prepared for registration fee shock. You're going to pay ALOT more in WA.
posted by whoda at 3:54 PM on January 24, 2007

If you are buying from a dealer wait till you get to WA. They will be more likely to want to help you if there is a problem and you are local and you just dropped a bunch of money there. You will also be able to go down in person and chat about the problem and any word of mouth opinions may actually matter to them. At best the guys in CA will probably say:" Sure, bring it on in and let us have a look at it".
posted by BoscosMom at 4:08 PM on January 24, 2007

If you itemize, wait until you get to WA. You can deduct the sales tax paid on the car on your tax return.
posted by crazycanuck at 5:27 PM on January 24, 2007

I know people who drive from the California coast to Sacramento to buy cars there because it is so non-salty -- no salty coastal fog, no salt from snow on the roads -- that those cars last a lot longer before rusting. If the inland deserts in Washington get snow, you might want to buy in CA.
posted by salvia at 7:51 PM on January 24, 2007

When I moved from CA to WA in 1996, the State of WA told me that I needed to have some state emissions inspection that cost me around $300. This was in spite of the fact that the car exceeded the WA smog requirements at the time.

Is there any reason that you *can't* wait until you move to WA?

From what I've read recently and learned at a recent car show, pretty much all new vehicles will meet CA standards and they're sold in all 50 states. There really aren't any "California emissions versions" anymore.
posted by drstein at 9:15 PM on January 24, 2007

FYI, be prepared for registration fee shock. You're going to pay ALOT more in WA.

Um, no. WA will cost about half to a third of what CA costs.
posted by kindall at 12:38 AM on January 25, 2007