My husband and I are currently living in Indiana. WE have a 2003 Prius which we LOVE…but, recently it has been needing expensive computer repairs–one which we are debating about fixing, or trading the Prius in. We are also moving to Colorado in a month, so at this point a truck seems more practical–although not good for the MPG or the environment! Should we buy a truck in Indiana, where my husband gets a discount on a Toyota but we will have to register and title the truck here? Or should we fork over $1000 for the Prius repair, drive it to Colorado, and trade it in out there?
Personally I’d buy now and use the truck to help yourselves move. Another option would be to find an AWD vehicle like a Subaru. or 3; repair your Prius and keep it.
What part of CO are you moving to? In the denver area any car is more than adequate about 95% of the time. I do have a 4WD beater for snow, but it is rarely used.
We will be moving to the mountains, near Buena Vista. We have spent a fair amount of time in the area already, and there have been many times we wished we had a truck or 4WD vehicle. We have had to turn around a handful of times on the way to a trailhead because we bottomed out or got stuck in snow in the Prius! We also like biking and skiing, and the idea of being able to throw a bike or skis in the back of a truck sounds a lot easier! We have considered a Subaru, but the ease of an open truckbed have outwayed the benefits of a Subaru.
We plan to get a Prius as our second vehicle once we can afford it–and hopefully by then the newer models will have some of the computer glitches worked out so we can avoid some of the costly repairs.
Does anyone have any advice or experience with buying a car and paying for title and registration, and then moving to another state? We want to avoid getting hit twice with registration costs if we can. If we buy now, unfortunately the 30 day temporary tags will expire before we are in Colorado–but waiting to buy a vehicle is becoming a big hassle.
Fix the Prius, drive to Colorado, sell it (don’t trade it), and buy your truck there. If you register it in Indiana, you’ll pay taxes there and when you register it in Colorado. My cousin has a Nissan Frontier crew cab and loves it.
Toyota trucks look so uncomfortable. If you aren’t buying a Tundra or an SUV; maybe you should try Ford. I know that their better seats used to be great. I don’t know about the standard issue ones. The floorboards are also farther away from your seat cushion.
I missed the part about the discount on the Toyota truck. You could do some internet shopping at Colorado dealers to see how the prices compare to the deal in Indiana. You could also contact the Colorado DMV to see what the transfer fees would be. That will give you a basis to compare the cost of buying in Colorado vs. Indiana.
Most states take into account taxes paid in other states on this sort of deal. The OP should check with Colorado to be sure. It may be possible to buy the truck in Indiana and get some Colorado temporary tags instead of registering in Indiana. It never hurts to ask.
Toyota trucks look so uncomfortable.
Looks is a really poor way to judge comfort. I’m not saying that they are or aren’t comfortable, just that looks can be deceptive and comfort for one person may be very uncomfortable for another.
Check with Colorado about a transfer permit (or ferry permit0. In MT if you are buying a car from another state you can provide the MT DMV with the VIN and purchase information and they will issue a temporary Montana plate to pick up the car in another state. This should also waive any purchase state taxes, as well as registration and/or transfer fees.
I bought a Subaru in IL and drove it home with no fees at the sellers end and no registration problems at our end either.
It helps that we don’t have sales tax 