New car to move, buy it here or at Baltimore? (sales, lease)

[ITintern]

I am moving to the federal hill area of Baltimore for my first job out of college and I need to get a different (not exactly 'new') car asap.

Currently I have a mitsubishi Eclipse project car with no AC and so much glass it's like a greenhouse. This was okay for up here in Central/northern NY state where there are maybe a handful of 90 degree days tops, but I don't think I would last long in the hotter Baltimore weather.

My question is about taxes/registration/general pricing of cars down there. What do you think would be best, trading my car in up here for something and moving it down, or getting a car a few days after I relocate to Baltimore?

I'll be looking on the cheaper end, for something to last me maybe a year tops before I can save up for a decent car (ie hopefully 5k or under)


Thanks

[jonjj]

Taxes must be paid when acquiring MD plates. Not sure on the cost but I have heard it's quite expensive. You may want to sell there and buy here but others may be more informative.

[Infinite_heights77]

Go buy a car on the outskirts of Philly. Automobiles are quite cheaper in that area.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by jonjj

Taxes must be paid when acquiring MD plates. Not sure on the cost but I have heard it's quite expensive. You may want to sell there and buy here but others may be more informative.

You'll have to pay sales tax on your car in MD no matter where it's purchased. It will also have to pass MD safety inspection, which is truly thorough and not easy. A lot of used cars are sold already inspected ... I'd recommend finding something in MD that's been inspected, or bargaining with the MD seller to have it inspected.

[Michael21214]

I think you will have to pay the inspection fee in NY in order to drive it here, and then pay the MD inspection fee once you register it here.

If it's any help, I drove a NY-purchased car here (had it 10+ years in NY and other states) and moved here 11 years. ago. I knew it wouldn't pass MD inspection and needed a new car anyway so I just traded it in at Carmax here. Used cars at reputable dealers are inspected first.

Also when you get your MD driver's license - if you use a middle initial, they want to see your full middle name. My previous driver's license and my US passport only use the middle initial. Not acceptable! I had to get a copy of my birth certificate in order to satisfy the middle name requirement

One other thing - your car only needs to inspected once, not every year like in NY. There is emission inspection every two years though (it's mostly a joke, never had a failure).

[rudy_d]

MD charges a 6% excise tax on recently purchased cars when you register it here, so I would wait until you move here to buy even if you can find a good price elsewhere. Otherwise you will probably have to pay the MD tax in addition to whatever taxes you have to pay to NY.

New to Maryland Titling and Registering Your Vehicle Information

[kharing]

Save your money and keep the Eclipse. Especially since you will be buying a used car under $5K that you only plan to keep for one year. I would just see if you can get the AC working on the car you have now. It will definitely be cheaper than buying another beater.

[MrRational]

Maryland has one of the best used car safety inspection programs in the country. LINK
Designed to protect consumers it requires all used cars to pass the inspection before they can be tagged.

Don't buy **anything** that doesn't come with a MD inspection sticker.
Be wary of bringing any currently owned car (eg: a POS project beater) that may not pass inspection

[rootless_in_va]

I'm worried about bringing our 10-yr-old Hyundai when we move. I know there's an issue with brake noise, and who knows what else. We've been basically just hoping it lasts long enough to get my new mortgage and move, and then we plan to trade it and lease something new. I don't know if it will pass inspection. I know this isn't exactly on the up-and-up, but how long do you think it would take the city to realize we've moved there and fine us for not registering in MD? When we moved to VA-- over 20 years ago-- we kept our NY tags for the 3 mo or so it took for Alex City to tell us to register or else. We'd like to be able to settle in a bit before car shopping, say, a month or two. Do you think we could keep our VA tags for a month, or would we be found out and forced to go through the inspection before we were ready to get rid of the car?

[MidValleyDad]

In Maryland it isn't the city or the county that cares (We don't have the Personal Property Tax they do in Virginia) . It somewhat depends on where you move to. Anywhere in the Washington commuting area Virginia tags are so common that you may not draw attention