Trade in or register - out of state car (Alpharetta: 2013, vehicle registration)

[rsnsmh]

I am in the process of moving to Alpharetta from MI - I have a Toyota Camry 2003 car that I plan to trade-in in coming months. Which option would make more sense and save money:

Option 1: pay taxes, fees and register the car in GA and then trade-in.
Option 2: @GA trade in with MI Title and registration - not sure if this doable where you trade in out of state title and registration with an instate license / address for new car.

Any input will be appreciated.

[PKCorey]

Option 2.

You will have to pay the TAVT when you register it so it just makes sense to trade it in rather then pay the tax and you won't have the car for long.

[rsnsmh]

Will there be a problem try to trade in a car with out of state title and registration, my MI registration is valid till Dec which should be plenty of time to trade in.

[Fubarbundy]

I would call any dealer here and ask about trading in an out-of-state vehicle. It's probably quite common.

Typically, new car dealers won't give you as much as what you might get in a private sale, but the convenience factor may trump that difference.

When I moved here I did Option 1, although that was back in 2001, and I ended up keeping my vehicle longer before trading it in.

(FAQ about the how the vehicle registration law has changed since 2013 is here if you haven't already seen it.)

[red92s]

#2 is by far a better financial option. In #1 you are going to pay TAVT taxes twice in a short amount of time. Here in GA, if you trade a car in at a dealership, that amount is deducted from what the TAVT taxes are based on. So even if you could get an extra $1,000 selling it privately, you might save half that difference in taxes by trading it in.