Acquiring a lease from out of state?

Ask the Hackrs Buy/Finance
1

Hey folks, I am relatively new here, so forgive me in advance if this was previously discussed.

I have a deal from a Broker in California whose price is about 4K less than what my local dealer is willing to do.

Beyond the cost of shipping, what other considerations are there that I should factor into this decision? Things like taxes or registration?

For additional context, I had the same Broker get me a deal in 2021 but I recently relocated to Georgia and I’m about to return that lease.

Happy to share more details. Thanks in advance.

2

Shipping would be the biggest expense from CA to GA. CA dealer should able to complete the GA DMV paperwork for you.

Try to find a broker or dealer nearby state. CA to GA shipping can be $1500 to $2000.

3

There really isn’t any other major consideration other than the logistics (and cost) of getting the car to you.

Some out of state dealers will handle the taxes/registration for you while others won’t. If they won’t then you just have to register it yourself once you get the car.

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4

Ok. But what’s the car and how does the price compare to Marketplace listings from closer states such as in the mid-Atlantic?

5

What’s the :crystal_ball: car?

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6

I’m in a similar boat to OP and have a dumb question: do I have to return the car to its origin state when the lease is up, assuming I’m not buying it out.

7

Usually not

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8

You can typically return to any dealer

Always check for any equity. CC: OP @EA_7

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9

@gopal @j_e_f_f Thanks! I’ll confirm how the taxes/registration process would work.

Regarding shipping, I have a dealer friend who gets competitive shipping rates; I shipped 2 of my cars in March (from SF to GA) for $2k. The downside is that (I think) I’ll have to sign for the car in person.

@max_g @Batistuta, it’s the Volvo '23 C40 Ultimate. I actually got the car last month, but sadly, I got into an accident (my fault) last week, and my insurance totaled it out, so I’m essentially looking to replace it. I haven’t checked any closer states, but I’ll check that out as well.

I’ll probably create a sep post about it in the deal check forum, but the high-level of the deal is $7k down ($4k of that is MSD), and payments are sub $400 for 36/12k ($390) and 24/12k ($370).

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Check with @Benedetto & @aronchi

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Some out of state dealers will handle the taxes/registration for you while others won’t. If they won’t then you just have to register it yourself once you get the car.

Incoming nooby question: In the best-case scenario, the dealer will do the taxes/registration for me for my current state. However, if they decline, would the car have CA temp tags, and then I’d have to register it in GA?

The reason for my confusion is that 4 or 5 days before I moved cross country, my current lease was set to expire, although I had extended it by then. But, before even thinking about it, I had paid for the CA registration. In hindsight, should I have registered the car in GA once I arrived, even though I only have the car for 6 months (due to the extension)?

I guess those are two related, but technically separate scenarios/questions.

12

The car is most likely going to have a CA temp tag regardless of whether the dealer handles your GA registration or not.

If the dealer does handle the GA registration, then a few weeks later you should just receive the new GA tag and registration in the mail.

If the dealer doesn’t handle the out of state registration, then once you receive the car it’s up to you to go to the GA DMV or tag office with all relevant paperwork and register it yourself there.

As to your existing car, yes, if you were about to move then you should not have renewed your CA registration. Others can confirm but in CA I do not think it’s possible to receive any pro-rated refund of of registration fees if you sell the car or move. So you basically paid a full years’ registration for 5 days worth of use.

13

:point_up_2:t2::point_up_2:t2: Correct

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