Buying from a dealer vs private sale

if somebody here has paid 6% sales tax on the purchase AND7% on the registration, I'd move out of that state quickly.
bumpy

Bumpyroad wrote:

crcr wrote:


I always try to buy from a private party -- prices are usually much lower, and also, in my state, NO sales tax on a private party sale, even bought out of state, which also saves a lot of $$.

IIRC I have never paid sales tax on a vehicle purchase. everybody will always have to pay an equivalent fee to register/title/license a vehicle.
bumpy

Various taxes and fees on vehicle purchases and registration vary tremendously from state to state, as several have pointed out. I don't know the details of those laws in other states. I was just mentioning how it works where I live (Arizona). Here sales tax and registration are separate charges. And if you buy any vehicle or RV from a private party (even if you buy it in another state), there is NO sales tax charged when you go to register it. If bought from a dealer, you pay full sales tax here, whether an AZ dealer or an out of state dealer and you are registering it here.

I bought my last RV from a private party. I saved 8.3% of the purchase price at time of registration as I didn't have to pay the sales tax. I did of course pay the registration fees. I was just suggesting to check the laws in the state where you register your vehicles to see if there is a savings to buy from a private party, ... or not.

Toogreys wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

crcr wrote:


I always try to buy from a private party -- prices are usually much lower, and also, in my state, NO sales tax on a private party sale, even bought out of state, which also saves a lot of $$.

IIRC I have never paid sales tax on a vehicle purchase. everybody will always have to pay an equivalent fee to register/title/license a vehicle.
bumpy

Bumpy's correct for Louisiana anyway. Don't matter how long you owened the vehicle, car, RV etc and where or when you originally bought it, they will charge you 9% of the value to regerster it the first time (sales tax as far as I'm concerned). The state has collected 3 times on my RV. The original owners paid it, had it less than 6 months, didn't like the size of the Bath Room.... Too small, it is but I can live with it. Then the owners we purchased it from paid 9% of the selling price, then we paid 9% of the purchase price. Then its about $50 to reregister each time.

Wow, I thought Indana had a racket on taxes. Don't tell the guys in Indianapolis or they'll try to do this too. Here we pay 7% on the sales price. Some folks poor mouth what they paid but I don't like to run the risk of getting caught for tax evasion. If I buy it out of state and pay 6% sales tax there, I get to pay another 1% here. If I don't pay sales tax at all, I pay the 7% here. If I can prove I paid more, like 8%, I get to skate on that. Indiana does charge the tax on each sale. The plates also stay with the owner so if it gets registered three times to different people, the Governor gets his cut each time.

Bumpyroad wrote:

crcr wrote:


I always try to buy from a private party -- prices are usually much lower, and also, in my state, NO sales tax on a private party sale, even bought out of state, which also saves a lot of $$.

IIRC I have never paid sales tax on a vehicle purchase. everybody will always have to pay an equivalent fee to register/title/license a vehicle.
bumpy

Bumpy's correct for Louisiana anyway. Don't matter how long you owened the vehicle, car, RV etc and where or when you originally bought it, they will charge you 9% of the value to regerster it the first time (sales tax as far as I'm concerned). The state has collected 3 times on my RV. The original owners paid it, had it less than 6 months, didn't like the size of the Bath Room.... Too small, it is but I can live with it. Then the owners we purchased it from paid 9% of the selling price, then we paid 9% of the purchase price. Then its about $50 to reregister each time.

crcr wrote:


I always try to buy from a private party -- prices are usually much lower, and also, in my state, NO sales tax on a private party sale, even bought out of state, which also saves a lot of $$.

IIRC I have never paid sales tax on a vehicle purchase. everybody will always have to pay an equivalent fee to register/title/license a vehicle.
bumpy

In the state I live in and neighboring states, looking at used units on the lots -- mostly I have found that the dealers don't even clean them up, with an exception here and there. They just take them in trade, set them out back, and slap a high price on them.

I always try to buy from a private party -- prices are usually much lower, and also, in my state, NO sales tax on a private party sale, even bought out of state, which also saves a lot of $$.

Decided and bought a new Jayco 19xud!

Thanks all for the insight

Yes, with a dealer there may be financing options, which can help you get into a newer or bigger rig. Regardless, whether you go dealer or private, make sure to inspect what ever you are thinking about buying. Yes, dealers tend to clean them up better, but they also know how to make them look better than what they are. Leaks are a big issue in RV's, so look for past damage: soft spots, mold, etc. on the ceilings, slide, windows, doors, and under furniture! I always recommend to buy in the rainy season, because leaks are harder to hide, but you can always request to use a water hose over the RV you are looking at to check for leaks. If the owner has nothing to hide, they should not have a problem with this request. In the end, unless buying new, be prepared to put in repairs. When we bought ours, we ended up resealing the roof, replacing paneling, and insulation from leaks. We also hate carpet, so we also put in new flooring. Good Luck!

I bought a RV that was being sold on consignment by a dealer. As it was a long distance from my house it was a safer bet to rely on the condition as stated by the dealer. Unlike cars, there are dealers with a good reputation (check on Yelp.com) that provide a more accurate appraisal of the condition of an RV than most owners do in private sales. I was surprised to see RV's that were well worn and had a lot of problems that the owners had listed as being in great condition.

If I could find something for sale in the local area I would sooner buy from the original owner. I used searchtempest.com and rvtrader.com to look for the models I wanted to buy within 200 miles of my house.

If you live in a remote area any RV's up for sale will have few lookers and so you may be able to get a better deal though you will have fewer to choose from as well.

One advantage I found in buying from a dealer was that I arranged to have a new AC unit installed and rolled into the purchase price. The dealer wanted to sell the RV and so they agreed to sell me the AC at their cost and not charge for the labor to install it. I was able to pickup the RV and drive off with the new AC in place.

My wife and I just purchased our Class A from a private owner. We were lucky, the previous owner was extremely helpful. They answered all of our question, helped us set everything up the first time. Showed us how to use everything. They threw in a ton of extras. Gave us their phone number in case we had any other questions. They were only selling it because of age and health issues and you could tell they really didn't want to sell it. However they also wanted us to have a great experience and to enjoy it as much as they did. We not only bought a fantastic RV but we made good friends! Thanks Ron and Lois!