Vehicle purchase question (Payette, Fruitland, Parker: sales, transporting, hotel)

[oldafretired]

If you live in the CDA area, can you cross the border and buy a new car in Spokane if the local dealer doesn't have what you want? If so, since it's so close to the border, will they take care of all the Idaho paperwork and taxes or would you have to do that yourself back at the CDA DMV? Or would the CDA dealer try and get the car moved to his dealership?

[Para]

Great question, I'm kind of wondering something similar about buying an ATV. Will the dealer in Spokane take care of local taxes across the border where I plan to be living? Of course with an ATV, I'd prefer to give that business to a local place and can probably wait until they get what I want in. In any case, I'm in for the answer.

[LillyLillyLilly]

When I lived in New Mexico I bought a car in Colorado. I paid taxes at the NM DMV when I registered it.

Unless the WA dealership has the same owner as the ID dealership, I don't think they'd move it -- at least not without charging the buyer a fee for transporting it.

[mistyriver]

Originally Posted by oldafretired

If you live in the CDA area, can you cross the border and buy a new car in Spokane if the local dealer doesn't have what you want? If so, since it's so close to the border, will they take care of all the Idaho paperwork and taxes or would you have to do that yourself back at the CDA DMV? Or would the CDA dealer try and get the car moved to his dealership?

Yes, at the bigger dealers.

[oldafretired]

Originally Posted by LillyLillyLilly

When I lived in New Mexico I bought a car in Colorado. I paid taxes at the NM DMV when I registered it.

Unless the WA dealership has the same owner as the ID dealership, I don't think they'd move it -- at least not without charging the buyer a fee for transporting it.

Thanks, that makes sense.

Originally Posted by mistyriver

Yes, at the bigger dealers.

Thanks, Misty. That would make for a lot more choices if the local dealer doesn't have what I'm looking for.

[cujo1950]

I live in CDA and bought a used truck from a dealer in Spokane. I took the truck home that day with a temp. permit in window and the dealer sent all paperwork to Idaho DMV. Local DMV called when they got paperwork and I took care of tax and licensing here at CDA.

[oldafretired]

Originally Posted by cujo1950

I live in CDA and bought a used truck from a dealer in Spokane. I took the truck home that day with a temp. permit in window and the dealer sent all paperwork to Idaho DMV. Local DMV called when they got paperwork and I took care of tax and licensing here at CDA.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like they make it pretty simple.

[pw72]

Yes, your residence is all that matters. Most dealerships will do this for you, (in other words), making it work for Idaho residency.

It has been mucked over the years with Oregon, and their lack of sales tax, and many WA residents trying to buy and register in OR with a fake address. This, I believe has been cracked down upon, and stiff fines will be handed out for trying to do this.

Dealerships want your business, no matter where you live. That is why they will go out of their way to do the proper paperwork for your state of residency. Spokane/N. Idaho probably has it down to a science. Beyond that, you will probably save on tax and registration if you are an Idaho resident.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by pw72

Yes, your residence is all that matters. Most dealerships will do this for you, (in other words), making it work for Idaho residency.

It has been mucked over the years with Oregon, and their lack of sales tax, and many WA residents trying to buy and register in OR with a fake address. This, I believe has been cracked down upon, and stiff fines will be handed out for trying to do this.

Dealerships want your business, no matter where you live. That is why they will go out of their way to do the proper paperwork for your state of residency. Spokane/N. Idaho probably has it down to a science. Beyond that, you will probably save on tax and registration if you are an Idaho resident.

Montana has no sales tax either. But in both Montana and Idaho, there is a 90-day limit for non-resident plates. While the law is pretty laxly enforced, once a driver has a driver's license, then they're considered a resident, and the vehicle must have Idaho plates. Idaho plates require equivalent sales taxes to be paid before issuance.

So, if a driver wants to take a chance, it is possible to have to fork over less tax if they can get away with driving with out of state plates for a year on a newer car. I don't recommend that, though…

I bought a new car in Virginia over 40 years ago while in the service, and didn't get the plates changed. Virginia graciously sent me a new pair of plates when they expired, and I was young at the time; Swell deal, I thought.
Until I got stopped by a cop in Fruitland only because I had out of state plates. By then, my driver's license had expired (Virginia let me drive with an Idaho license), and I had a new one. I thought all I needed to do was pay up and get Idaho plates, so I took care of it a week later when I went home for Thanksgiving.

In March, a deputy from Payette county showed up at my door. He was supposed to arrest me and take me in front of the county magistrate!
I managed to be allowed to surrender myself on Friday and drove there in my car. The judge fined me $75 for the plates, and I got 48 hours in the iron bar hotel for being a scofflaw, and I've been explaining my criminal career ever since on job questionnaires. Arlo Guthrie got thrown in in murderers for illegal garbage. I got thrown in with murderers for license plates.

Fruitland is just on the Idaho side of the Idaho-Oregon state line. I soon met two other poor souls who had done exactly the same thing, except their plates were from Oregon. They had both moved over the line from nearby Ontario, Oregon.
The judge was a very young and beautiful woman, but, brother, was she mean! One poor guy was busted after driving his car to a junkyard; the cop wrote him up for expired plates, even though the car had not been driven in 3 years. He pleaded to allow him to push the car into the junkyard, but in vain. He was doing a week! The cash he got for the car all went to pay his fine.
Same judge. I think her last name must have been Parker.

For sure, my dashing good looks and charm didn't work in my favor that day. She threw the book at me, then threw the bookcase!

…and there really was a murderer in there. He had such a bad heart the state prison wouldn't take him until his medical condition improved or they had an empty bed for him in the prison hospital ward. He died a couple of weeks later, still in the county jail. Things were like that here, 40 years ago.

The worst thing about it all was all the jailbirds had the flu. I came out sick as a dog for weeks afterwards. The best thing about it was that was the only time before or since that I ever went to jail. Those 48 hours gave me lasting respect for the law.

So, from first-hand experience, don't try to game the system. It ain't worth it!