Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I would buy a beater in Arkansas and pay extreme attention to rust. You should be able to find a 20year old sedan with no rust on it in Ark.
For each year that a vehicle ages the excise tax goes down. Eventually it bottoms out at $5. That is what I have been paying on our older vehicles.
The problem is that few vehicles in Maine last long enough to get to that old age. I have spoken with college students here, who return down South for the holidays. While down South they pick-up cheap old beaters that are clean of rust, and bring them up here.
It will be different according to the year of manufacture and the Blue Book's MSRP for the vehicle.
If you know exactly what year and what make/model of vehicle you can call most town offices and they will lookup the excise for it.
4WD is good if you plan to do a lot of off-road driving. Otherwise it is an added expense and may involve higher maintenance costs.
I have a 4WD Willy [an old station wagon from before they made Jeeps], and a 4WD pickup. The only time that I find I need 4WD is when I am off-roading [or in the process of pulling a vehicle that is stuck in the ditch, and even then the 4WD function causes my tires to bark. It is not a feature designed for use on pavement]
I recommend driving a Front-WD vehicle so long as you plan to stay on pavement or gravel.
My brother drives a 4wheel drive car back and forth to his job on Long Island, NY, and he loves it in the bad weather we get down here--which is nowhere near as bad as it gets in Maine.
So I would think four wheels are better than two, and if you can afford it, the extra safety for oneself and one's family and passengers would be worth it.
Furthermore, I would think there are roads in a the more remote areas in Maine where getting stuck during a bad storm could leave you stranded for some time, especially if you're out of cell phone range and there are few drivers on the road to flag down.
I heard about a guy who's two-wheel drive car was stuck in the snow near the coast in Washington County during a snowstorm. It took many, many cold dark hours after a plow relayed his predicament to a tow service, before help arrived.
You'll still have to pay sales tax in Maine before you register the car. Maine has very archaic laws regarding vehicle purchase and excise taxes. Perhaps we can address these problems when we do away with welfare.
If the vehicle has been registered in another state, even though you paid no sales tax in that state, you won't pay sales tax to register it in Maine. If the vehicle has never been registered by you, sales tax would apply.
As for excise tax, I'm not sure when the law changed. There are some older vehicles that have $5 excise tax, but in the 90's I believe it was, the law changed where the excise tax decreases for only 6 years then stays at that amount for the rest of the time. A car from the 90's will cost somewhere between 100 to 120 in excise tax from what I've seen.
I agree with all the rest. In fact I'd recommend traveling down to Texas to pick up your clunker. I've never seen so many solid old vehicles anywhere on the planet than there is in Texas.
If the vehicle has been registered in another state, even though you paid no sales tax in that state, you won't pay sales tax to register it in Maine. If the vehicle has never been registered by you, sales tax would apply.As for excise tax, I'm not sure when the law changed. There are some older vehicles that have $5 excise tax, but in the 90's I believe it was, the law changed where the excise tax decreases for only 6 years then stays at that amount for the rest of the time. A car from the 90's will cost somewhere between 100 to 120 in excise tax from what I've seen.
I agree with all the rest. In fact I'd recommend traveling down to Texas to pick up your clunker. I've never seen so many solid old vehicles anywhere on the planet than there is in Texas.
That makes sense. I bought a car in NH once and was not happy when they asked me to pony up the Maine sales tax when I registered it. I thought it was robbery.
That makes sense. I bought a car in NH once and was not happy when they asked me to pony up the Maine sales tax when I registered it. I thought it was robbery.
Could it be that you had a Maine DL and were considered a Maine resident when you bought the vehicle? [you had simply gone out of state to purchase]
When we moved to Maine, we had cars from another state. We brought them with us; transferring tags to Maine and paying the excise taxes here was significantly cheaper in Maine than it had been in the previous state.
Great advice outdoornut. Things to think about for sure. I don't plan on doing any off-roading just yet, but do want to be prepared for all kinds of weather as one never knows what can happen when out and about.
Thank you kellysmith for the estimated figures. I have so many figures for so many things and so many numbers to crunch my head is spinning. We're still debating about a couple other states, too, but really hope to have a decision made within a couple months at best. ALL of this helps me a whole lot in figures and budgeting.
Maineah, LOL! About that robbery... yeah, Arkansas has some cRaZy archaic laws for sales tax on vehicles... if I buy a car in another state and pay the sales tax in that state, I STILL have to pay the sales tax for the car when I get it back here!
Forestbeekeeper, you always have great advice (have read your posts in many threads).
I'm so thankful for all of your help guys. Lots and lots to think on.
If the vehicle has been registered in another state, even though you paid no sales tax in that state, you won't pay sales tax to register it in Maine. If the vehicle has never been registered by you, sales tax would apply.
As for excise tax, I'm not sure when the law changed. There are some older vehicles that have $5 excise tax, but in the 90's I believe it was, the law changed where the excise tax decreases for only 6 years then stays at that amount for the rest of the time. A car from the 90's will cost somewhere between 100 to 120 in excise tax from what I've seen.
I agree with all the rest. In fact I'd recommend traveling down to Texas to pick up your clunker. I've never seen so many solid old vehicles anywhere on the planet than there is in Texas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
That makes sense. I bought a car in NH once and was not happy when they asked me to pony up the Maine sales tax when I registered it. I thought it was robbery.
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper
Could it be that you had a Maine DL and were considered a Maine resident when you bought the vehicle? [you had simply gone out of state to purchase]
When we moved to Maine, we had cars from another state. We brought them with us; transferring tags to Maine and paying the excise taxes here was significantly cheaper in Maine than it had been in the previous state.
If I have read the laws correctly, if you purchase a vehicle in another state where there is no sales tax then the vehicle must have been owned by you and registered to you for at least one year in that state in order to avoid paying sales tax in ME.
------------------------------
You will also have to pony up $50 for a new title (another rip-off, IMO, one's title should remain good no mater what state it was issued in).
------------------------------
As noted previously, excise tax no longer decreases after the 6th year. I have been paying the same $68 on my '94 Dodge pick'em up each year.
------------------------------
4x4 is very nice to have, even if you only use it during or immediately after a snowstorm. In some areas, roads are not plowed particularly soon, nor particularly well (like where I live).
My p/u is *not* 4WD and coming home from work after a storm last month I approached a hill which I knew from previous experience could present a problem. The road had not yet been touched by a plow or even sanded. I turned off the automatic overdrive because I knew that if it dropped itself out of OD while on this particular snow covered hill, the extra torque would cause the rear wheels to immediately spin and the tail end would break loose and swing around.
It didn't matter. The wheels would start spinning without any more provocation than the fact that the effect of gravity exceeded the ability of my expensive and aggressively treaded tires to grip in the fresh packed snow with no weight in the back of the truck. I had to keep backing off the accelerator more and more, going slower and slower. I soon began to question whether I could maintain enough momentum to reach the top of the hill, or if I would find myself in a predicament where I would no longer be able to move forward nor be able to reverse my course and go back.
Fortunately, I made it. My wife's 4WD Jeep Cherokee Sport made the climb much more easily. It's a '96, purchased used for $900 and another $grand or two put in for various repairs (including new underbody metal to replace the sieve left by previous NE winters of salt spray). We figure it was cheaper to go this route than to buy a newer vehicle at a higher cost, plus pay the added sales and excise taxes (and I'd much rather pay another guy to do the work so he can eat, than to pay the State to let him eat out of my pocket without working). You're going to pay one way or another to own a vehicle, it's your choice as to *who* gets the money.
The 4WD was even more useful with the storm just after Xmas- On Monday morning my plow guy made a pass bright and early at 7AM so that we wouldn't have any trouble getting out for work. Neither of us went to work, both our jobs called us and told us not to bother so we had a nice, unexpected day of relaxation in front of the fire sipping hot chocolate.
We had to work the next day. The driveway (700 or 800 feet to the road) looked like it had never been touched by a plow. My plow guy didn't show (*his* truck had broken down). There was no way *my* truck was going to get through it. The Jeep got through it easily, though the snow was deep enough that the underbody was touching the snow, and the bank at the end of the drive was about as high as the hood. Now I'm wishing I had one too.
-----------------------------------
Inspection stickers: If your vehicle was inspected in another state and has a valid sticker, you do not have to get it re-inspected immediately. You are good to go until your current [out of state] sticker expires.
(First-hand experience- my wife and I had stopped at Dysarts to fuel the vehicles when we were moving her here, her jeep was already switched to ME tags even though she was still living in MA. A sherrif pulled in while we were at the fuel desk, and when we came out he asked her why she didn't have a sticker. C got rather nervous but I calmly pointed out that she *did* have a sticker, though it was not in a place where ME stickers are usually put. He looked at it and said "Oh, OK, that's fine.")
Last edited by Zymer; 01-05-2011 at 07:16 AM..
Reason: Inspection sticker info
Glad this thread was bumped, because we're in the planning stage now of how to transfer two cars over to Maine from Virginia. Thanks, irisheyesafire! Best wishes to you as you research moving to Maine!
Regarding the title transfer: Our two cars are currently titled in my husband's name only (the Virginia car tax, which exempts my military husband when the cars are titled in his name only, but penalizes him for being married to me () if the cars were to be titled in both our names). Is it as simple as my husband adding my name to the Maine title when we register them in Maine? Can I change my driver's license over to Maine after we change the car registrations? The car registrations are up for renewal before my license, so if possible I'd like to clear that hurdle first. Thank you for all the information about this!
*Just read your information on vehicle inspection, Zymer. Thank you so much! Very, very helpful.
Most 10-15 Y/O vehicles that have spent their lives in Maine are piles of rust by then. That's probably why they don't have excise tax figures for them going out that far. Seriously though older vehicles pay a minimum once you reach a certain point. I don't know that point as I have not had a vehicle that old in 30 years. If you are planning to buy I'd buy a vehicle out there and drive it to Maine. As stated before any vehicle that old in Maine is bound to be a rust bucket.. Just don't be surprised when it starts to rapidly age once you hit the salty roads!!
You can get along fine with 2-WD. I'd suggest snow tires if you're not all that familiar with driving on snow. Inspections are yearly. They are unfortunately necessary in this salty state.
Regarding yearly inspections, I imagine that they are general safety inspections, as opposed to smog inspections like they are here in CA? If so, what is the routine regarding underbody and, if applicable, body rust? Specifically, is there some sort of threshold which can cause a vehicle to 'fail' the rust part of the inspection? If this is the case, then what happens. Does the owner have options regarding repairing the rust within a certain period of time or the registration is revoked?
Also, any experience with these types of rust repairs needed to meet the inspection guidelines? Are they expensive?
-Thanks!
Regarding yearly inspections, I imagine that they are general safety inspections, as opposed to smog inspections like they are here in CA? If so, what is the routine regarding underbody and, if applicable, body rust? Specifically, is there some sort of threshold which can cause a vehicle to 'fail' the rust part of the inspection? If this is the case, then what happens. Does the owner have options regarding repairing the rust within a certain period of time or the registration is revoked?
Also, any experience with these types of rust repairs needed to meet the inspection guidelines? Are they expensive?
-Thanks!
They want to be sure your car is isolated from exhaust fumes. The exhaust system cannot have any leaks in it and the tail pipe must extend out beyond the body. Rust problems that I have personally seen fail an inspection are: any holes in the firewall, rusted rocker panels, any holes in the floor boards, holes in the doors, a weakened rusted frame, corroded brake lines, corroded cab mounts, corroded seat mounts,corroded gas tank fillers, mounts and straps. There are LOTS of other things that can make you fail an inspection from a missing turn signal to a check engine light that won't shut off to a gas cap that doesn't seal properly.
They give you a reasonable chance to fix what they find wrong when they inspect it. But you have to do it as soon as possible especially if your sticker has already run out. I think 30 days is the grace period. They can and usually do charge you $12.00 for the inspection whether you pass or fail and you'll pay another $12.00 to be re-inspected.
They won't revoke the registration but you will be fined for no inspection sticker if you don't make a reasonable attempt to repair the problem in a timely manner.
As far as how to repair the rust. They don't want you to slap bondo over the holes. They will usually accept sheet metal riveted onto good metal and then covered with some kind of sealant like roofing tar. Better yet sanded and finished like the rest of the area. They won't accept you filling rust holes with bath tub caulking.
Some places are stricter than others.
Basically you need : Good tires, good brakes with no rust on the lines, all your lights working high and low beam, no visible holes in the firewall or floor boards, good ball joints, good exhaust, good emergency brake, no warning lights on, and the horn has to work. If you have all of that in order it will most likely pass.
Regarding yearly inspections, I imagine that they are general safety inspections, as opposed to smog inspections like they are here in CA? If so, what is the routine regarding underbody and, if applicable, body rust? Specifically, is there some sort of threshold which can cause a vehicle to 'fail' the rust part of the inspection? If this is the case, then what happens. Does the owner have options regarding repairing the rust within a certain period of time or the registration is revoked?
Also, any experience with these types of rust repairs needed to meet the inspection guidelines? Are they expensive?
-Thanks!
This link points to a pdf that is more info than you want to know. The requirements of passing an inspection start on page 42. I do think it is sort of a moving target. The document states brake lines must be flaking with rust to fail inspection, but surface rust is OK. I've seen vehicles fail inspection with nothing more than surface rust. In fact I heard one mechanic say if the brake lines were brown, they fail...unless you pay to have the lines replaced with stainless (which eventually you will do) every auto brake lineis brown on the underside.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We're still debating about a couple other states, too, but really hope to have a decision made within a couple months at best. ALL of this helps me a whole lot in figures and budgeting. 
) if the cars were to be titled in both our names). Is it as simple as my husband adding my name to the Maine title when we register them in Maine? Can I change my driver's license over to Maine after we change the car registrations? The car registrations are up for renewal before my license, so if possible I'd like to clear that hurdle first. Thank you for all the information about this!
