You should not have to pay tax on the sales price in FL. Only a handful of states do this. You pay tax on the monthly lease payment and annual ad valorem. I’d go with a different dealer, sounds like they want to pocket 3K from you.
It’s a shame, because this dealer seemed straight-forward, advertising “no dealer fee” and showing a good sale price on their website. Dealers here in Florida are terrible with fees (some even marking up license/registration fees 200-300% on top of dealer fees, etc.). To say you have to be vigilant is somewhat of an understatement.
Unless this is a new law in Florida, I’ve never had anyone try this “scam” before.
Im a broker/dealer down here in FL and never heard of that before, like osxaj said it sounds like they are trying to make some extra cash on you.
Here is an example of pricing:
2016 Ford Explorer Platinum MSRP $53915
39 Months 10500 Miles
$617 + Tax ($661 tax in)
Due at signing: $1608 = 1st month. Ford bank fee $645. DMV transfer/Doc fees $250($450 for new plate). Upfront taxes $62.
Ford charged a security deposit of $675 on this car, but it is waived depending on your credit.
Thanks to the info obtained here, I was easily able to stand firm and work out a deal!
No major rebates on this car in my area ($250), but did get the 0.25% APR and 54% residual, again thanks to Michael here at Leasehackr.
The dealer was marking up the APR by a point, and trying to hide it. As others said, and we all suspected, the game with the “taxes” was being played to hide profit (I called the Dept of Revenue here in Florida to confirm the rules, and they were very helpful – dealer quickly dropped that).
In the end, we got the Explorer Platinum, MSRP $53,915 for $1000 under invoice, NO DEALER FEE, and with the promotional lease terms left unmolested. No mark ups on the title/license fees either (another Florida gem).
Only out of pocked was first payment and $219 for new tag, title. Payment is $650/month for 36/12 including tax with acq fee rolled in.
We love the car so far, and could have waited for better rebates (sale price and lease terms won’t get significantly better) but decided to get it now.
Thanks again! Leasehackr easily saved us $50/month.