kwon
Well-known member
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- #1
I just went through this nightmarish process for myself and I was going through so many different sources (DMV website, forums, blogs) and could never find a great walkthrough of how to purchase a vehicle in one state and register it in another. I know a lot of people here buy from Granger or are buying from nearby states and are having to register in their home state. Every situation is different so I'll just outlay my own process so you can see where I made mistakes and things I learned along the way. This is unique to my situation where I didn't buy my truck in cash and had to work with a lienholder (who financed my truck). I also have zero knowledge when it comes to titling and registering so some of you vets will be useful resources here as well.
Jan 28. - Took delivery of truck in Utah from a dealer in Arizona. Arizona is a reciprocal state to Utah so I paid state taxes at the Arizona rate and the dealer collected my taxes and submitted them to the state of Arizona. This could vary depending on your state and you may have to pay taxes when you register your vehicle. Another thing to note on taxes is if you are in a reciprocal situation and the state that collected your tax has a lower tax rate you will be expected to pay the difference upon registering.
Feb. 3 - Went to the local DMV to register because I had been told by the dealer that I had everything I needed to register my truck. This was incorrect and DMV told me I needed to have the title in order to register the vehicle (duh). They tell me that I need to reach out to the lienholder to request my title to be delivered to my address (this is very incorrect don't do this). I, unfortunately, left believing this is what I needed to do.
Feb. 4 - Call lienholder and they are waiting for my title to come in, they tell me to call back in a week
Feb. 11 - Call lienholder and they are still waiting, they tell me this could take a few weeks so just be patient and wait a few weeks.
Mar. 4 - Call lienholder and they are confused why I'm the one requesting. They tell me the local DMV has to request the title. I call the local DMV and they have never heard of this being done. I call the lienholder and they tell me to call AZ DMV. They also tell me that they have yet to receive my title so I should also call the dealer.
I call the dealer and they are sitting on my paperwork because there was a mistake. They send my information to the AZ DMV that day for title creation. I call AZ DMV to see if they can just send the title to my local DMV (bear with me, I was just learning). They say they can't, obviously, and that my local DMV has to request the title.
I call local DMV and finally, someone knows exactly what I'm looking for and submits the request to the lienholder for title to be sent to them.
Mar. 11 - I call the lienholder to check and they did receive the request for the title from the local DMV but are still waiting for the title from the AZ DMV.
Mar. 18 - I get a confirmation in the mail that the title is being requested for transfer (comforting) and the lienholder says that they are still waiting for the title to come in. Title creation takes a little while so I knew it would take a few weeks to go through.
Mar. 31 - I call the lienholder and they have a tracking number for the title being sent to the local DMV. I check and the title will arrive on Apr. 6th.
Apr. 8 - I get a letter in the mail saying the local DMV has received my title and that I'll need to come in with the necessary paperwork to register and create UT title.
Apr. 12 - I go in, they have my title, I pay registration and I'm good to go.
If I'd known the way it worked I wouldn't have had to wait for so long to get my truck registered. Luckily, the dealer gave me 90-day tags so my tags weren't expired but 90-day tags aren't common. Don't assume that the person on the other line knows what they are talking about like I did. Local DMV has to request title and hopefully, someone there knows what they're doing and just keep calling until you find someone who does. I'd also recommend checking that the dealer has sent your paperwork to their state's DMV as it does take some time to get the title created.
Feel free to tell me I'm an amateur, I am, and also feel free to throw in your own pitfalls and learnings from buying in one state and registering in another.
Jan 28. - Took delivery of truck in Utah from a dealer in Arizona. Arizona is a reciprocal state to Utah so I paid state taxes at the Arizona rate and the dealer collected my taxes and submitted them to the state of Arizona. This could vary depending on your state and you may have to pay taxes when you register your vehicle. Another thing to note on taxes is if you are in a reciprocal situation and the state that collected your tax has a lower tax rate you will be expected to pay the difference upon registering.
Feb. 3 - Went to the local DMV to register because I had been told by the dealer that I had everything I needed to register my truck. This was incorrect and DMV told me I needed to have the title in order to register the vehicle (duh). They tell me that I need to reach out to the lienholder to request my title to be delivered to my address (this is very incorrect don't do this). I, unfortunately, left believing this is what I needed to do.
Feb. 4 - Call lienholder and they are waiting for my title to come in, they tell me to call back in a week
Feb. 11 - Call lienholder and they are still waiting, they tell me this could take a few weeks so just be patient and wait a few weeks.
Mar. 4 - Call lienholder and they are confused why I'm the one requesting. They tell me the local DMV has to request the title. I call the local DMV and they have never heard of this being done. I call the lienholder and they tell me to call AZ DMV. They also tell me that they have yet to receive my title so I should also call the dealer.
I call the dealer and they are sitting on my paperwork because there was a mistake. They send my information to the AZ DMV that day for title creation. I call AZ DMV to see if they can just send the title to my local DMV (bear with me, I was just learning). They say they can't, obviously, and that my local DMV has to request the title.
I call local DMV and finally, someone knows exactly what I'm looking for and submits the request to the lienholder for title to be sent to them.
Mar. 11 - I call the lienholder to check and they did receive the request for the title from the local DMV but are still waiting for the title from the AZ DMV.
Mar. 18 - I get a confirmation in the mail that the title is being requested for transfer (comforting) and the lienholder says that they are still waiting for the title to come in. Title creation takes a little while so I knew it would take a few weeks to go through.
Mar. 31 - I call the lienholder and they have a tracking number for the title being sent to the local DMV. I check and the title will arrive on Apr. 6th.
Apr. 8 - I get a letter in the mail saying the local DMV has received my title and that I'll need to come in with the necessary paperwork to register and create UT title.
Apr. 12 - I go in, they have my title, I pay registration and I'm good to go.
If I'd known the way it worked I wouldn't have had to wait for so long to get my truck registered. Luckily, the dealer gave me 90-day tags so my tags weren't expired but 90-day tags aren't common. Don't assume that the person on the other line knows what they are talking about like I did. Local DMV has to request title and hopefully, someone there knows what they're doing and just keep calling until you find someone who does. I'd also recommend checking that the dealer has sent your paperwork to their state's DMV as it does take some time to get the title created.
Feel free to tell me I'm an amateur, I am, and also feel free to throw in your own pitfalls and learnings from buying in one state and registering in another.
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