Just curious if anyone in CA (or nearby states) has considered purchasing their HCH in Oregon. I'm assuming this would avoid sales tax, which for us would result in close to a $1900 savings (minus the time/expenses to drive to Oregon).

Looks like the best price you can get in our area is MSRP. Are Oregon dealers offering less?

Any ramifications/issues with buying a car out of state?

 

dont you have to pay tax when you register it in ca?

 

Sales tax is supposed to be based on registration state not the purchasing state. But you might get a better deal or get the car quicker.

 

Yes the dealer asks where you live, then send your address to the DMV to register the car.
Sales tax the dealer charges is not only based on what state the car is registered in but on the County too.

Of course some people just lie, and say they live in Portland OR and have the car registered there (at their sister's house.) But they take a chance of getting caught.
Plus, how long can you get away with having out of state plates?
Which is sad because the prices all us honest people pay has to go up.

 

Yeup... you would think if it were that easy, everybody would do this.

The reverse is true, though. This allows me to buy a car in TAXachuesetts and register it in NH without having to pay sales tax.

 

Probably of little value, but:

I got a follow-up call from Honda after my purchase to see how I liked my experience. We got to talking and it turned out she was in Oregon and had a few on the lot there. One data point is a pretty small sample space , but it may be that Oregonos aren't buying. She was in the middle of the state (dunno their name, sorry).
But if anyone just can't find a dealer then perhaps Oregon is the place to go.

cx

 

You have to actually REGISTER the plates in California, which I think is a seperate cost from the USE TAX (albeit the same rate as Sales Tax), which is what California will get you for if you buy it out of state. To change the plates, I remember my best friend's parents saying that to change their plates from Nevada to California was like 500 bucks, and this was back in oh, 1993. I'm not exactly sure how it works out now. In any case, I would recommend going up north to get the car. Thats what I did !!!!

 

Yes, it does seem to be the case that there's quite a few Hybrids available in Oregon which started me thinking about this in the first place.

But apparently, this is moot for us and we can't really save a buck, so we'll just buy locally.

Thanks to everyone for their input.

 

Not worth it however if you were purchasing a motorhome, yacht or jet, I could help you out.

 

Buying a car is in a whole different universe from buying jewelry, furniture, appliances or any other big-ticket item, for the simple reason that you have to register the car in your state/county. When you do, that's when you're forced to pay the sales tax as a condition of getting a license plate.

People who work in Portland or elsewhere in northern Oregon can save a bundle on taxes -- if they're smart, that is. They can live across the border in Washington (no income tax) and shop in Oregon (no sales tax). As this article notes, taxes can make a big difference to your financial health.