Buying a taco in Washington, could use some advise.

so, long story short I am buying my first taco and really first vehicle that I myself have ever purchased. First car was and still is a 95 civic that my parents got for me 10 years ago (awesome first car). Anyway I have a few questions I was hoping some other Washintonians could help me with.

1) sales tax, I am probably going to be buying from a dealer. In specific I have my eye on a taco in Vancouver. I have $18k cash and the truck is listed at 19,500ish. Vancouver tax rate is 8.4% so does that then mean the asking price is technically 21,138 plus title dealer and doc fees? Or am I missing something? BTW, the fine print under the payment estimator reads "Tax, title, registration and documentation fee ($389) are extra." so why does it list "tax" in that?

2) Trade in, in reality they will only want to give me about 400 for my civic but I see ones just like it listed on CL for 2-4k all the time, so I am assuming it would be better to sell it and take the cash along with the 18k? The only issue with that is as many of you know, tacos go fast...

3) Anything I should be aware of while buying in washington?

4) Having about 90% of the price in cash I assume gives me a lot of haggling power, How much do you suppose I will be able to talk them down?

 

Take a prostitute with you...

 

Is what you're buying new or used?

 

used

 

Expect to pay close to 10% of vehicle value for title transfer if you buy private party.

 

isnt that only if purchasing out of state and then registering in washington?

 

Change of title fees are based on value of the vehicle determined by the Dept of Revenue regardless if you purchased out of state or in state. I recently purchased a Tacoma a couple of weeks ago that was titled and registered in WA and it was near 10% of what they determined the value was. They determined the value at $12K, even though a paid much lower than that.

 

I could be wrong but if he bought in Oregon he wouldn't pay tax on the vehicle itself.

Sell the Civic private party, you will always get more. Additionally, if your car is in good shape, it should sell easy. Make sure to mention the fuel efficiency, since that is the major selling point.

They aren't going to haggle on a used Taco. Tacos are highly desirable and as Beavis said, they get more out of financing.
Private party purchasing should be less expensive, but good Tacos are still hard to come by.
I always recommend trying an auto broker, such as these guys. You give them your basic criteria and they do all the searching for you - these guys in particular have access to 16 states. If they don't find anything, no money from your pocket. If you do make a purchase, you owe them a small fee for their services, and then they deliver. For me, I had to go about 8 miles to pick my truck up.

 

sounds like you're on the right track with the advise given so far. definitely sell your car private party. do not trade it... those little commuter cars are going for top dollar right now because of gas prices. plus, it's probably some 15 year old boy's dream car!

if you reside in WA, it doesn't matter where you buy a vehicle (WA versus OR), you're still going to pay ~10% of the purchase price when you go to register it.

I think you should be able to negotiate the final price though. Cash is still king. They're going to want you to finance and will keep asking what you want your monthly payment to be. Don't get caught up in that BS. Focus on the final number and the payments will work themselves out.

Good luck!

 

hmmmm, So I found one I really like, heres the problems though, I have about 18k + whatever the civic sells for (2k max, more likely 1k) to get this truck, but the asking price is about 19.5k. chunk in tax and its around 21k, The other issue is I am moving soon and have yet to find a job where i am moving to. I dont think it will be too much of an issue to find one but still, not having one lined up makes me a bit hesitant. So assuming I get a job, do I A) put all 18k down plus the money from the civic or B) put about 18k down and use the money from the civic to make the payments? Or I suppose C) wait to do anything till I get a job for sure

How far do you suppose I can talk them down? if i can get them down far enough to just buy it straight out with the 18k+civic money that would be great but the problem is that means getting them down to an asking price around 17k before taxes, think that is possible?

 

Option C is the only smart choice unless your car cannot get you to and from interviews.
Unless you have a wife who is the breadwinner, your financial situation is unstable and you need to retain what money you have to keep bills paid, rent/mortgage paid, and insure that you have enough of a safety net to protect against unforeseen circumstances, such as medical issues.
Large purchases and any debt needs to wait until you have steady income again.

Additionally, if you do have any outstanding debt, that is a higher priority. Make sure that's taken care of first.

Doesn't sound fun but you'll be able to breathe easier!