So i purchased a 2015 ford fusion about a month and a half ago and i am still trying to get my plates. So i am currently in NJ helping my grandmother out with some medical issues she has been having and while i was here i hit a deer with my old car. In the end, my old car was totaled and i had to get a new car. So i went to a dealership and i purchased a 2015 ford fusion. Now i registered the vechicle in FL where i will be heading back in a month or 2 and the dealership sent for new plates. Now here is my issue, i went to the dealership to pick up my plates and they said they messed up my taxes and the registarion fees were higher that they estimated. On the contract i paid $200 for registration. Now they say i owe them about $200 in additional taxes and another $300 in registation fees on top of the $200 i already paid. So they are saying i owe them another $500. Should i pay for this, i feel i shouldnt because i signed a contract with the final cost of everything.
Contact the Florida DMV and ask what the taxes and registration should be for your car. You should have the purchase contract from the dealer, and can provide the selling price data they need to estimate the fees.
The dealer attempted to do you “a favor” in completing the registration process. They likely figured the cost based on states they commonly work with, such as NJ, NY, and PA. They should be able to itemize the fees to show you where the difference are from what you expected. If you aren’t satisfied get a temporary plate and register the car yourself in FL.
Some states in the south primarily have hefty special fees and charges in registering a new car. I think North and South Carolina are high fee states and FL might be as well.
the car price is negotiated. the registration fee and state taxes and title and doc fees are not. now for legal talk, the contract has a bottom line price. total due from buyer. if the dealer agrees to a total price and the buyer signs contract, does the seller have to fork over any additional titling fees? dealer sells 10 cars/day. they certainly are not new to the process of over/under estimating the fees to title a car in other states.
A friend who recently bought a new car out of state and was told at closing that all taxes and fees were included in the deal. Back home the new owner went to get the tag transferred and was hit with a $275 fee that she paid. Six weeks later the dealership mailed the owner a check for $275 with the explanation that Mississippi had sent them a refund for an overpayment.
There’s a great deal of confusion in the efforts to make a car purchase painless for the buyer. I would prefer to take care of the licensing and fees myself but when the dealership offers to finance the additional costs at zero interest it’s hard to turn them down.
Like was said,they are just estimates so you owe the money. You would have had to pay it in Florida anyway if you bought there. I’ve gotten refund checks a couple times too when the amount collected was too much, so it’s just estimated.
I wish I could have gotten tags and registration for 700.00 instead of the 1200.00 I paid.
I know if I buy a car in another state, the dealer in that state is NOT required to collect sales tax on their sale. In fact it’s probably illegal if they do. I am liable for the sales tax when I register the car in my home state. That may be part of what happened. Other states may also have excise or personal property taxes that the NJ dealer was not aware of.
If the taxes and registration were said to be ESTIMATES, then the OP is definitely on the hook for the additional cost. The OP should be given receipts for whatever the dealer spent, and should definitely not pay more than those figures for the FL registration.
The large print giveth, and the fine print taketh away. Ya gotta read it all.
In summary…
So, the OP hasn’t got a “legal leg” to stand on.
So, he has to pay the extra fees.
So, this is just part of doing business when you buy a car from a dealership that is not familiar with the MV and tax regulations in your home state.
So…Why do many people believe that it is necessary–or even appropriate–to begin virtually every sentence with “so”?
;-))
As noted, the only way to know if the added costs are fair is to contact the Florida DMV to find out what the fees and taxes actually are. If there’s an option to still do the registration yourself, you may want to consider it.
VOLVO V70 Wow! How long is the $1,200 registration good for? I’m staying in Oregon. When I started driving (legally) in 1967 my learner permit was 50 cents. Drivers license, $2 per year. Title transfer $10, Registration $10 per year, and sales tax zero. In 2014 fees have increased quite a bit. Drivers license renewal, $40 for 8 years. Title transfer, $77. Registration, $86 for 2 years. Still no sales tax.
VOLVO probably lives in Calif, where new car registration & license fees are pretty high. Some of that amount is a one time sales tax, and won’t be applied in coming years. If you try to avoid these Calif new car fees by purchasing the car in Nevada or Oregon, when you try to re-register the car in Calif you have to pay it then. You see a lot of cars on the roads in Calif having Nevada and Oregon license plates. They are hoping the police don’t notice and likely plan to keep registering their cars out of state indefinitely until/unless they get cited for a resident of Calif sporting out of states plates. A popular out of state plate – actually out of the country – is British Columbia, b/c those license plates appear at first glance very similar to Calif license plates. \
I expect the problem the OP is having is probably similar. Purchasing the car in NJ, but registering in Florida results in higher registration and license fees. OP should find a way though to verify that the fees are only being paid to one state, not two.
If the contract specifies you pay registration fees and taxes then you’re on the hook for it.
The amount is almost irrelevant. When a dealer says they’re paying tag, title, and tax this really means that the buyer is paying tag, title, and tax plus interest; all rolled into the term of the loan.
The best thing to do financially is have that base covered yourself.
Buy a car, especially a new one, in OK and it can be real easy to hit 1200 dollars or way more just on excise tax alone at 3.25% of the sale price with title and registration fees to be added in. 