janB7

I live in MA and bought a CPO S4 from a dealer in NJ. At the time of the sale the MA sales tax was calculated on the difference between the CPO car price less the trade in price. All the financing paper work was signed using this calculation method. At the time of registering the new car in MA the NJ dealer paid the sales tax on the full price of the CPO car without deducting the trade in value. The dealer has now come back to me saying I owe them the additional sales tax as MA RMV will not deduct the value of the traded car as this trade was out of state.

Is this correct?

hinckley

Wow. I just traded for my S4 in MA and paid sales tax on the net amount, so I can't confirm the "out-of-state" rule. But I'll give you a quick story that may be relevent.

After I completed the paperwork for my S4 and went over the car with my SA, I was getting into the new car to leave. Just then, the business manager runs out to the car and asked me if I had given the payment check to the SA. As it turns out, they forgot to ask me for payment and I forgot to give it to them. Now I'm an honest guy and I got out of the car and wrote out the check. But, when I asked the business manager what would have happened if I had refused, he said the dealership would have been SOL since all the papaerwork showed a completed sale.

In other words, if your dealer screwed up, why should it be your problem? Good luck.

uberwgn

I got caught up in a similar scenario a couple years ago when we purchased our CPO wagon in MD. Did your financing run thru VCI? If so, they have an odd rule about the handling of the sales tax.

janB7

Yes, the car is financed through Volkswagen Credit who insisted that the sales tax be included as part of the finance package. However, in the finance deal the tax went thru as calculated on the difference between the cars. I think the dealer made a mistake when they paid the MA sales tax and now do not want to try to retrieve from MA RMV. Easier to get it from me!

helix139

Yeah, that's the dealer's mistake, not yours. A deal is a deal. They can eat it.

hmn4858

A little late to the party but if the dealer isn't registered with MA RMV then the sales tax due is for the full amount of the vehicle. It has nothing to do with the trade being out of state. You'd be hard pressed to find a CT dealer where you wouldnt get the trade in credit.

I bought a Q5 in NJ financed through Audi financial but at the time they did not collect sales tax. When I went to register in MA they told me I owed tax on the full amt since the dealer wasn't registered. I called the head sales guy to find out what was up since I only traded in my car to get the credit. Couple of weeks later I got a check from the dealer for the difference.

doobs41378

Just move to NH....Who wants to deal with sales tax anyways

Huey52

... but I wouldn't want to deal with your high property tax. There's no free lunch.

JD15

I'd like to if I could.