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I moved from California to New York about 5 years ago and never got a NY license.
Now I am moving back to CA but I want to buy a new car to do a cross country road trip.
I would like to buy the car in October and move late December.
I'm trying to avoid trading in my CA license for a NY license, but right now I don't see any other way since I'll have the car for a couple of months here in NY.
Any advice on what is the best way to do this?
You may be screwed for double taxes doing this. Check CA DMV to see if you must pay use tax to transfer plates and whether tax paid to NYC would be deducted from CA tax.
It might be a waste of time registering the car in NY if you plan to move back to CA in such a short time span. Check CA DMV to see how long you had to have owned the car before it becomes exempt from CA sales tax. You might want to buy the car sooner to get well clear of any snags with that and just run the NY registration out, which I think is good for two years.
I would not have to pay double taxes, only $250 for the CA registration, which I'm ok with.
I need the car to drive from NY to CA, so my only option is to get the car in NYC if I want to do this trip.
I would not have to pay double taxes, only $250 for the CA registration, which I'm ok with.
I need the car to drive from NY to CA, so my only option is to get the car in NYC if I want to do this trip.
You -do- have to pay your taxes to CA, not to NY if you bring the vehicle in less than 1 years of ownership. You will pay first in NY, then taxes paid to NY will be remitted to CA but all your paperwork must be cleared.
CA will not let you register a car without it physically being present in the state. Renewals are another story.
You'll be hit with two registrations and two title taxes, I can't see a way that this isn't going to be more expensive than an alternative such as renting a car and just buying your new car when you hit CA.
The used stock to buy is better quality in CA too.
That said, among all things your question was about a license.
You do not need a NY license to buy a car nor to register one here.
You -should- get a license within so many months of moving or taking employment in a particular state, and there are laws governing that- however, at this point you've had a compelling reason not to and no one found out so just go about your business buying and registering a car as an out of stater.
Sort of off topic rant : I dealt recently with transfering a title from one state to another and paid about $200 for this service. My new title is 'digital'. WHY are car deeds/'titles' not recognized nationally?
I just went on the CA DMV website and used their Vehicle Registration Fee Calculator to figure out the fees for a nonresident registration.
Based on the dates when I purchase the vehicle in NY and use it in CA, the registration fee would be $250 and Total Use/Sales Tax is $360. Total is $625.
A one-way car rental for 39 days would cost me around $2,000 (without insurance).
I just indexed a few one ways from Newark to Los Angeles for $517 for Compact to $827 for Standard SUV.
In addition to that $625 you have to look at the 3000 mile devaluation and wear and tear on a car the trip will make.
At .10 cents a mile that's still an additional $300 in wear on tires and car, withstanding the cost.
39 days is a LENGTHY time to cross the country. I've done it in 3.
If your goal is a leisurely cruise across the US in your own car- well, you haven't much a choice but to buy it and register it in New York, pay NYS insurance costs, move it through to CA and do the very same once you get there.
It's not a sensible way to move, or to acquire a car- however it's the best way to facilitate your trip.
Since you're going to be through middle America, I'd save the money and buy the car in Texas where they're cheaper and stock is far greater and then port it over to wherever you're going. Texas dealer tags last 21 days, you basically have that long a grace to get the car to CA.
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