New car document fees

General Discussion
41

In Minnesota you get a 21 day tag for your back window, so plates have to be delivered by then. Usually it is a little over a week when the dealer calls saying they have plates. Then the tug of war comes in to see who puts the stickers on. I say I’ll put them on because I want them straight. But the girl says she’ll put them on for me. Usually the girl wins but must have been dealing with ocd customers before because she carefully puts them on straight.

Yeah I go around shutting doors and drawers too and turning lights off. Can’t help it but therapy is expensive.

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42

You have 30 days to register your new car and get it inspected here. You can’t get it inspected until the registration is completed. Processing of registration fees happens in days. Titles usually come within a month but I have gotten them in a couple weeks. I would know pretty quickly if the paperwork had not been submitted in a timely manner. I seem to recall some legalese about how long a dealer has to submit the paperwork as well, or face fines.

When I lived in MA, the car dealers, boat registration authorities and my insurance agents all had runners. Often, they would say if they could make it there that day before they closed or would be the next day at the latest.

BTW, private sales I can go to my town hall to submit everything, pay any taxes and registration fees and even get plates. Takes me 15 minutes. And, they’re friendly :slight_smile:

43

That is true in almost any situation in life. Sage advice.

I’ve only lived in a few states and had to deal with this stuff. MA RMV was the worst. They all hated their career choices and took it out on customers. Wait times were unreal and the process was very unforgiving. When I moved to NH, it was the complete opposite experience. The DMV folks were all smiling and helpful. The process was quick and efficient. Almost looked forward to going there but the convenience of just going to town hall for most transactions trumped that.

44

In NJ, everyone seems to hate the Motor Vehicle Commission offices, but the way that customers are treated seems to vary greatly from one office to another. Quite a few years ago, when speaking with the service manager at the Subaru dealership, I said something about hating to have to go to the MVC in a few days.

She asked if I had ever been to the one in the town of xxxxxxxx, and I responded that I had never been to that office. She suggested that I go there, as the employees are pleasant and efficient. I took her advice, and it turned out that she was correct. More than 20 years later, if I need to visit the MVC in person, that is still the office to which I go, even though it’s not the closest one to my home.

45

Boy would that have been nice. I lived in a couple different locations and worked 30 miles away so had the opportunity to visit numerous locations. They were universally terrible. I think it might have been part of the training :wink:

The boat process is even worse. Someone must appear in person at one of three registration offices in the entire state. I found out why people often pay runners to do it. Took the train into Boston and walked the few blocks to the place. Stood in line for an hour to find out I had to pay the taxes first. That was many blocks away in a different building and no one seemed to know how to get there. Went through that fiasco to return and stand in line for two more hours. Meanwhile who shows up in line behind me? Tom Silva of This Old House fame. I said to him “I guess no one escapes this process”. He told me he was there to register a tender (basically a small row boat with a motor used to ferry passengers and gear to your mooring spot). Nothing could be done online. Took so long I missed the train and had to wait for the next one. Next boat I registered in NH. Took 10 minutes at town hall.

46

Find another dealer. Went with my son when we bought his first car and they pulled that same kind of crap. We stood up and walked out. Drove 20 miles farther to another dealer and the whole process was less then 20 minutes. Same price as other dealer…No up sell. We bought the car in MA, but since we live in NH there is no sales tax. The contract was 1 page long. Already have financing setup through our credit union (DCU).

Why sit there and take it. Anyone that treats me that way doesn’t deserve my money.

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47

That’s interesting. What if you live on the boarder and buy a car in that state. Here in NH if I buy a car in MA - the dealer is not allowed to register the car in NH for me.

What monthly costs? We haven’t financed a new vehicle in decades. Paid cash for my Highlander and my wifes Lexus. And will pay cash again for any new car purchases.

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48

I’ve done it the other way but not this way. I know they waive collecting the taxes as there is no tax on vehicles sales in NH. I believe they would just give you all the paperwork to bring to your town hall. So you’re the “runner” :grinning:

Here’s what the DMV site says about it:

Registering a vehicle purchased from an out-of-state dealership: Present to your town/city clerk your title from the dealership or the New Hampshire title application from the lienholder. If it is a brand new vehicle, a Manufacturers Statement of Origin (MSO) is required. Please provide proof of residency if you have not already done so as established by your town/city.

49

Yup. That’s exactly what they do. The down side is - they don’t issue temp plates so I need everything done before I go to pick the vehicle up. No big deal.

50

When you buy a new or used vehicle from a new car dealer (I think all dealers), they do everything for you, you just drive away with a 30 day drive out tag, and wait for the new tags to come in, then go back to the dealer to pick up your new plate and registration and title if paid in full…

The cool part was Nashville’s tags were cheaper than the county I live in, so if you bought the vehicle in another county, you paid that county’s fees, saved about $25 back then, been years since I bought a vehicle out of my county so I don’t know if it is still the same way…

But no DVM/county clerks visits for a year…

51

When interest rates are involved, there is a world of difference. When my brother bought his last car a few a few months pre-pandemic, he was able to score a 0% 60 month car loan at the dealership.

When I bought my current car in November, 2022, car loan rates were a hair over 6%. If I had been able to get a 0% car loan, I would have jumped on that opportunity. I would have even gone for a 1% or 2% loan since my savings account and CDs were paying ~3% at that time. But, with the prospect of paying a bit more than 6% on a loan, I preferred to take the money out of my savings, rather than taking out a loan.

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52

There are all sorts of downsides for a Zero Percent Car Loan. As its name suggests, a zero-interest loan is one where only the principal balance must be repaid, provided that the borrower honors the rigid deadline by which the entire balance must be satisfied. Failure to comply with the deadline carries hefty penalties. Most notably, the lender may rescind the 0% clause and apply backdated interest to the loan and that interest rate might be as high as 16%…

Also, Zero-interest loans entice buyers to overspend their hard-earned dollars on fancy new cars and other luxury items. Rather than buying a sensibly-priced used car for $20,000, a buyer may recklessly choose a new vehicle with a $30,000 price tag, reasoning that they would be paying $10,000 in interest anyway, were they not receiving such excellent loan terms.

What’s the downside for the dealer? None really… They often sell the buyer a more expensive vehicle, the financing is facilitated through a third-party lenders who often give the dealership kickbacks for promoting the loan. The lender knows that a large enough percentage of these loans go into default that they now can rescind the 0% clause and apply backdated interest to the loan or even demand payment of the loan in full…

Most folks do not read the fine print about delinquent penalties and the conditions of the promotional rate and that’s where the lenders make up for those who satisfy the conditions of the contract…

It’s a “Let the Buyer Beware!!!”

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53

That’s all true, but if the borrower–like my brother–has the financial resources to pay the full amount of the loan, and especially if the borrower sets-up an automatic monthly debit from their checking account for the loan payments, there is really little or no risk for the borrower, IMHO.

That type of loan is only available to those who have a high credit score (both my brother and I have 840+ credit scores), so the potential risk to the manufacturer (it was actually a loan from the mfr, not from the dealer) is fairly low. If somebody walks into a dealership, and he/she has a credit score of… let’s say… 650 or less, that 0% loan offer definitely disappears, and instead, the customer is offered a loan rate consistent with prevailing loan rates.

54

It’s been like that for at least 20+ years. Real story about stealer profit margins? Pull as many feathers out of customer’s ass as possible using any means available.
After all, it’s not a crime to make money, isn’t it? For some reason, the same individuals who just can’t stop declaring that mantra exclude drug dealers who essentially are more honest business people than car stealers.

55

Somewhere on that sign it should also say that fee is negotiable,

At least they do in Washington state, it’s required to say that.

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56

In Washington.

57

Checking a dealership in New Hampshire, they’re calling the negotiable part administration fees.

  • The advertised price does not include sales tax, vehicle registration fees, other fees required by law, finance charges and any documentation charges. A negotiable administration fee, up to $115, may be added to the price of the vehicle.
58

ALL fees are negotiated. The difference is - are they advertising it.

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59

No, they do not advertise that the fees are negotiable, why should they, they are in the business to make money and the more they make, the better they like it… If they advertise that, then everybody will want to negotiate the fees… By not advertising that, they only have to deal with buyers like me (and a few of you…) who will not deal with a money grubbing dealership that will probably try to shortchange you at every chance they get…

I am still amazed at the number of folk who are too “proud (not my first choice of words…)” to ask for a discount or offer less…

When I shop, I almost always ask if there is a discount, and if I am asked why, I respond with "I’m a veteran, or I pay cash, or it’s Friday, or I’m your first customer (and if I’m not, I say, I’m your “millionth customer…”

Lots of times everyone laughs and I get no discount, sometimes, “you’ve a Vet, huh…”, sometimes “you’ll pay cash?”

Also, when I garage/yard sale, I always ask what they are asking and that opens the door to negotiating… If they say, between $10 and $15, I never start the negotiating at $15, I already know they would easily take $10.

If you want to brag that you bought that “lemon Squeeze” for $10, good for you, I would rather say, “I’ll take it off your hands for $3…”

My grandmother would never ask for a discount, she thought that it would make the seller think you are cheap or too poor to afford the item. And I would say, if you overpay for an item, they will think you are a fish and you took it “hook, line, and sinker…”

Another issue that really bugs me are folks selling something and expect you to pay for their mistakes or they want you to pay the inflation based new price…

What are you asking for that 2010 Toyota Camay? Isn’t that like $1,000 over blue book? I am sorry that you still owe on the car and the loan is underwater, but I am not going to pay off your loan…

Or, I put new tires on the car a while back and I need to get something extra for them… But they are two-year old snow tires and they are pretty worn from you driving on them all year…

So readers, if you are still with me, remember, your own two legs are your greatest bargaining tool. If you do not like the deal, walk away… You would be surprised just how often the offer gets getter when they are looking at you walking away… Why, because they cannot sell you anything after you have left the building (just like Elvis…).

60

10-12 years ago I wanted to buy a 1979 Lincoln Mark V. I made the owner an offer that was significantly lower than his (too high) asking price. He responded that he had over $3000 invested just in storage fees over the years.

I told him that didn’t increase the value of the car and that was money spent and gone. He didn’t like my answer.

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