OK, I live in Southern California. I want a 2004 Coupe 6MT, Prem, Splash MSRP $35,810. So far, I have Internet quotes down to $35,200 and I think I could get down to at least $35,000 when I go in. Now, I got a quote from Grubbs in Texas and it was $34,390. Is it worth it to purchase out of state? Benefits? How do taxes and fees work? And I just don't know about buying a car before I see it. Any info would be great.

 

Well, it appears that the price difference is a little over $1k between Grubbs in TX vs the other quote in which I'm assuming is close to where you live. So, you gotta figure the expense in traveling out to Texas and the return trip.

As far as taxes are concerned, you are liable for the tax based on your residency status. In other words, the address which you use to register your vehicle will be the state which collects the tax. So, in the state of California the sales tax is something like 8%, right? And let's say the sales tax in Texas is 5%. I imagine that you're going to register your car in the state of California, so Grubbs will charge ya 8% sales tax. If you register your car in Texas (assuming that you own a home/rent or have a Texas mailing address), Grubbs will charge ya 5% sales tax. Fees are independent of where you're coming from....there's the usual document fees, credit reports, etc.

Good luck.

'03 G35 C Prem Pkg, Navi, Aero, Performance Wheel & Tire Pkg

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Actually, the out of state dealer (Grubbs in this case, I guess) won't charge you sales tax. When you go to the DMV and register your car, they will collect sales tax from you there. At least that's what Washington did, when I bought all my cars. One in Texas (Grubbs), and two in Oregon.

 

Hmmm...interesting. I guess it all depends on how the transaction takes place...and of course, each state is different. I'm in PA, but bought my car in NJ. So, after signing all the usual paperwork, I signed an additional document indicating that the dealership will be collecting and forwarding the appropriate state tax to PA.

'03 G35 C Prem Pkg, Navi, Aero, Performance Wheel & Tire Pkg

 

i would suggest playing the dealers against each other. for example, go to the infiniti web site. seach the inventory for the dealers within lets say 100 miles from your location. seach their inventory for the G+options you want. you already have one quote, so in the comments, say to the next dealer, can you beat this? if yes, go to the next one and do the same. if they ask you why you dont go to the other dealer, tell them that theirs has better color/options choice, but you are willing to go for the cheaper G. in the end, get as many quotes as possible. always look at the price above dealer invoice with options, since the MSRP will vary greatly depending onthe options. the options are all nice and all if you are willing to the pay the extra, but see if you can keep it like 500, 750, 1K, 1.5K over the dealer invoice, depending what your market is like. from reading the boards, it seems that so cal is tough. :/

2004 TB Coupe 6MT

 

oh, one more thing. it would prolly be best to make sure if you go out of state, you have other options. for example, you prolly want the dealer to think you have looked at many dealerships in TX. otherwise, they might think, this guy wont walk cause he already paid of the trip out here and not treat you well. maybe you ahve already thought of all this already, but just thought i would offer it up.

2004 TB Coupe 6MT

 

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I guess Grubbs in Texas does not charge for the delivery of the vehicle to anywhere in the 48 States. But I just dont think I can buy a car unseen. Im an engineer and its in my blood to look everything over before I buy...LOL But, I think I will start contacting more local dealers and use the previous quotes as a base and see what the lowest is. Thanks again.