Buying a 2017 911 out-of-state: any pitfalls?
 

Hi,

Does anyone have experience in buying a 911 (2017 model) in NY and bring it to CA? Any pitfalls I should be aware of?

Marlon

They are all 50 state cars, right? You still need to be sniffed but that should be it, right?

Do I pay the sale tax when I register or does the dealership take care of that?

Ensure the car has the CA 50 state emissions label under the hood, or in the door sill. Should say something like "CA emissions compliant." Having recently brought a TT into CA from out of state, you will fail the visual smog inspection with an aftermarket exhaust unless you know someone. "Knowing" someone is becoming more difficult as fines for emissions related falsifications has escalated to civil and criminal penalties vs. just license suspension or revocation.

I purchased an OEM exhaust to pass CA smog and keep it on hand for smog every two years.

It depends on how you are purchasing it since if you are financing it the dealer has to collect and remit to the state you are registering it, or if paying cash you can do it yourself (if the dealer allows it).

Paying sales tax depends on the state you bought it or your state. In AZ I can buy a dealer car in CA and have it shipped and not pay sales tax until I register the car here and I only pay the a partial tax of State and city but not county so it saves me about 2%. Now if I were to fly out and pick up the car at the dealer they will charge you sales tax and some type of registration for the car, you might not see the refund of the registration unless they give you a temp reg. Years ago I bought a CLK55 from Illinois and had it shipped to CA and they charge me Ill sales tax but CA gave me a credit for what I paid against the balance I owed in CA.

Financing the car has nothing to do in many states with paying sales tax. I have bought about 8 cars out of state and in only one case did I have to pay sales tax when I purchased the car. In fact over the last few years I bought a 64 Corvette and a 67 Camaro and financed the cars and did not have to pay sales tax at the time of purchase as I had the car shipped. Driving the car off the dealer lots is a different story when it come to sales tax and registration. Now if you buy from a private party you don't have to do reg or tax until you get the car back to your home state, in AZ they will issue you a temp reg for a few dollars that allow you to drive the car home as we own are plates and keep them when the car sells and get a refund for unused reg.

The OP asked about NY to CA. When buying from a private party is up to the buyer and seller, regardless the state.

1. car (911 2017-model) is at a NY dealership
2. I'll finance it
3. I'll have it shipped to CA
4. potentially have it smogged and pay registration/tax at the local DMV

Seems like it's not a huge hassle -- next is finding someone in Manhattan who can go check out the car :)

Why did you have to buy an exhaust to smog. I've had an aftermarket exhuast on my previous Panny and I've smogged it 2015 and last year before I sold and no issues. It was smogged at test only station in Daly City.

A couple of things, do not buy a car sight unseen. If you do you will pay the price of not getting what you want and being lied to. Rosslyns in NY sold me an S with 5K miles CPO and lied about a bunch of stuff. If I had spent the $400 and flown there I could have worked it into the purchase price instead of eating it later. Plus it showed up and I was pissed. Never ever buy a car sight unseen. Even if it is a CPO have another independent shop perform a PPI that includes paint meter readings and overrevs. CPO means nothing other than it is an insurance policy in case the car breaks during 'X" amount of time/mileage. Porsche still can CPO cars that have had been wrecked. Fortunately for me I did at least insist on paint meter readings.

Define "wrecked" - only a certain# of panels can be repainted for a car to CPO'd. But I do agree that a car should be looked at, by the buyer or a representative.

OK Marlon, here we go. I ordered mine from a dealer in CA and had it shipped to me. While my experience was decent, I have the following words of wisdom:
- Make sure you've looked at the car in person and you know all about any small swirl marks, scratches, dings, etc. Inspect the wheels too.
- Shipping- see if they can add any protection to the front/rear bumper for shipping.
- If you finance it and the dealer takes care of title, registration, etc., be prepared to wait 4 weeks for all that to be completed. They do it for you but it takes FOREVER.
- Shipping time is also not quick. Be prepared to wait 1-2 weeks on average.

My car showed up brand new at 11 PM on a Thursday night looking mighty dirty. While I was happy to get it, it was night and I had no idea if the car had been scratched up. About 4 weeks later I discovered a very small dent in the rear driver side fender, no idea how it got there. I was able to get it out with a specialist that does that sort of thing but you gotta watch out for this stuff. Now I've committed to having most of the car wrapped because I just won't tolerate that crap.

So be mindful!