Buying a car out of state?

[Captain Catnip]

I've always bought local, but I am seeing good prices right across the state lines in MD and OH.  (I am in PA) I am leery of buying from Ohio because they do not have emissions inspections; I am afraid I will end up buying something and it'll have issues. I was considering looking in MD, though, since it's the Deep Creek area and I'm down there anyway.

Have you bought from a different state? Any tips? Any reason not to? Is it a lot more difficult?

[samanthamkm]

I live in Indiana and have bought in Michigan. When you register your car in your home state you might have to pay extra sales tax depending on the different tax rates. That's the only thing I remember being different about the process.

[YahYahs]

DH just bought a new car in PA when we were visiting family for Christmas, then drove it back to SC. No complications with the process. Have you checked Blue Knob Auto in PA though, before you go to another state? Not sure where you live, but that's where my family gets all their cars and where DH bought his.

[Captain Catnip]

YahYahs, I am glad you said this; I have seen a few from there and wasn't sure if it was a reputable dealership or one of those by the side of the highway shady places. I will definitely check their inventory a bit more thoroughly now!

[YahYahs]

May 17, 2017 7:08:33 GMT -5 Captain Catnip said:

YahYahs , I am glad you said this; I have seen a few from there and wasn't sure if it was a reputable dealership or one of those by the side of the highway shady places. I will definitely check their inventory a bit more thoroughly now!

Totally legit and reputable! It's a no-haggle and you get what you get. DH got a 2016 Ford Focus Titanium hatchback with 2,400 miles on it (he got it in Dec '16) for under $17,000. Fully loaded. It was a demo car or whatever with another dealership.  When I took it in for an oil change recently to a shop down here in Charleston, we were talking about it and they were like, "Oh yeah, we've heard of Blue Knob! Great deals!"  
My parents/aunts/uncles/grandparents have gotten cars there the last few years with no issues, too. 

[FastHands]

Consider using them as bargaining if you don't want to travel. If you find something close in price and local, you can bring the printed price and say "So you have this car for 25k. I could take a quick trip to MD to buy this at 20k. My time is worth something, but the trip isn't worth 5k. I'll give you 21.5 out the door, take it or leave it."

[arch01]

STBXH has done this a LOT. He usually goes on cars.com, AutoTrader, and some dealership websites. He prefers to get his vehicles from southern states due to the likelihood of rust in northern states. Not to say that has always 100% swayed him-several came from FL, then TX, KY, GA (x2), TN, NY (x2), PA (x2)...I think that's it.

A lot have been sight unseen; get detailed pictures, Carfax, etc. He has had them shipped sometimes and also gotten a one way flight and driven back.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Not everywhere in Ohio has required emissions testing, but some counties do, mostly in the Cleveland/Akron area - Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, or Summit counties. So if one of those is where you'd land, you're good to go.

Also, in my experience moving to California, which is pretty strict on emissions, a 10-year-old car with no obvious defects was fine at emissions testing on the first try, and it's now 16 years old and I've still never had any issues with the biannual testing. Just get it checked by a mechanic prior to purchase (as you would, regardless) and I'd not worry too much about it.

[Deleted]

Like someone else said, taxes and emissions will be your main concerns. Those policies vary state by state, but your home state's DMV or Secretary of State website (or whatever your state calls it) should give you information about how to purchase a car out of state and then register/insure it in your home state.

My mom is moving from Oregon to Michigan next month, and I just walked her through the process of buying a car in MI but using her bank in OR for financing.

[blondemoment123]

I buy out of state and never have an issue. The dealer handles the taxes, tag and title so really I don't think it's much different than buying in state.

[zoomzoom]

Try checking TrueCar. Plug in the car you want and see what pops up. My brother has bought a TON of cars from all over the place and has never had any issues. With TrueCar you can see where the vehicles are that you're looking for and use that as bargaining tool locally. And if they won't budge, just buy out of state.

[isabel]

DH bought a car that was in North Carolina and they included shipping it to Colorado in the price. I guess it could have gone wrong since he didn't see it in person, but it was a legitimate dealership. Not a huge market for all wheel drive SUVs there, so the price was significantly better than he would have gotten locally. It worked out well.

We used a local credit union for financing.

[kris356]

New or used?

If new, make sure the vehicle has CA emissions. I had a customer buy a car in WV, and when she tried to register it I had to tell her that she would not be able to register the vehicle in PA. It was a total nightmare, for her not me. It can also be an issue on a used car if it is under 7500 miles.

Just be aware, that if you buy out of state, you will have to register the vehicle yourself. All you will get is a title and if you negotiate it, the sales tax. You will have to pay all the other fees and get the paperwork. It can be a issue.

[kris356]

Oh and Blue Knob is totally legit. When my brother worked for Wells Fargo, they were one of his dealers.

[ilovecandy]

H bought his truck out of state. We live in az he bought his truck from comnecticut. He flee there and drove back. He did all the negotiating over email then went and pick dup his truck. He wanted a specific make and color for his truck which was difficulties to find. The only thing we had to do was pay taxes in az since we didn't pay taxes in CT when he bought it. Other than that we paid for tags in az too.