Between the microchip shortage and the economic crunch caused by COVID-19, you might consider a used car for your next vehicle, as Oklahoma’s KFOR notes. Since you may reside in an area with few vehicles available, you could shop online and purchase from out of state. Here’s a guide on how to do that without problems.
Your first question might be “Do I have to travel to the state to pick up the car, truck, or SUV?” No, you can use a car shipping service so the dealership, essentially, sends the vehicle to you. If you shop in a state where your friends or family live, you might want to make the trip, but vehicle shipping leaves you open to shop the nation for your new wheels and costs about the same amount as traveling out of state.
The checklist of items to address to make your purchase includes the following. Warning, it’s not a short list.
- Step One. Shop around and check out your short list of options with a service like Carfax. This lets you know the car’s real history. You can find alternatives to Carfax by visiting the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS).
- Step Two. Negotiate the price. This includes the sticker price, destination fees, sales tax, title, registration fees, and dealer fees. As NasDaq points out, when you purchase a car out of state, you pay sales tax in the state of registration. Some states require the sales tax of the state where you make the purchase.
- Step Three. Put the vehicle on hold. This refers to emailing the dealership to let them know of your interest in the vehicle. You may need to put down a deposit for it.
- Step Four: Purchase the vehicle through the dealership. It may use an escrow service or conduct direct purchases. Ask first and learn the process you will need to go through to obtain the vehicle’s ownership papers.
- Step Five: Buy auto insurance before doing anything else. Once you own the vehicle, you also incur liability on what happens with it, so even if you hire someone else to drive it for you to your home, or you want to pick it up yourself, you need to insure it. If you have it shipped, you buy yourself a few days for this but you may as well take care of it asap.
- Step Five: Either pick your new vehicle or get the shipping service to do so.
- Step Six: Get your vehicle inspection, if required by your state. Some states require this before you can register your vehicle and obtain your license plates and the little sticker that goes on it that shows you legally registered the vehicle.
- Step Six: Register the automobile in your state.
You only get a few days after your vehicle purchase to register your auto in your home state. When you register the vehicle, you must show proof of insurance and valid inspection approval. You also must provide the out-of-state title, proof of your address, and your legal and valid identification, typically your driver’s license.
That’s it. You get to enjoy your new or used car, truck, SUV, van, minivan – whatever vehicle you needed.