How does leasing from an out-of-state dealer work?

Ask the Hackrs
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1

Howdy folks, I am not in the market for a new car yet but am just doing some planning for the future.

When I am in the market I will definitely be leasing a luxury car. Wisconsin does not have many luxury car dealerships in the entire state, and many of them are small conglomerates with a sparse selection of each brand they sell. And many of the cars they stock kinda come across as rental-spec. Given that I will be shopping for something a little more interesting (C43 AMG, M340i, S4) I am kind of anticipating that the nearby dealerships will not be too keen on selling on a “rare-er” car that they would likely need to locate for less than a good amount of profit.

If I cannot get a good deal locally, I would be prepared to travel almost anywhere in the united states to get a good deal on a car. So I have a few questions:

  1. How would taxes be affected? I am assuming I would have to pay them when I arrive at the DMV in Wisconsin, and they would be levied up front on the total lease payment rather than the monthly lease payment. Could I TTL the car prior to taking delivery, just have them send me the VIN and sales contract with the appropriate info?

  2. Would this be adventagious to me, and would there be a point where it would be in my best interest to take a larger lease payment from an in-state dealership vs. out of state? I do not intend to do a lease swap or early termination at any point, if that makes a difference.

  3. Are there any unexpected fees or expenses I am not considering related to leasing a car out-of-state? If there are better incentives in a difference area of the US could I take advantage of those to get an even better deal?

2

1). It depends on the state - Wisconsin is a monthly use tax state, so tax would be applied when signing for the vehicle. The leasing company would charge you this every month (so they can remit on your behalf).

2). No

3). Shipping or possibly different incentive packages based on dealer location.

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3

Thanks for the answers. To simplify things even further (because I am a simple man and get confused easy) The only thing I would need to worry about is actually registering the vehicle when I get back to Wisconsin?

4

Some dealers will reg for you - it depends on the store.

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5

Awesome, that clears things up for me. Thanks again :smiley: