DMV Help?

[Don Bradner]

Hate to argue with you Pete, but the primary fee, called Vehicle License Fee, is
the same 2 percent on both new, and used. The thing is that 2/3 of that, on both
new, and used, has been "offset" since early in the Gray Davis years, so for all
vehicles it starts at .66%.

That is the one they were hitting the original poster with.

The transfer fee is NOT based on value. It is a flat $15, and only applies for
purchases from another California resident. If you purchase from a Non-Resident,
there is a $17 Original Service Fee instead.

The registration fee is $31

Here's what it looks like today, for a used $160,000 vehicle purchased from an
out-of-state party, resident of a 7.25% sales tax area:

Current Registration: 31.00
Current California Highway Patrol: 10.00
Current Vehicle License Fee: 1,041.00
Current County Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies Fee: 1.00
Current Fingerprint ID Fee: 1.00
Current Auto Theft and/or DUI Crime Deterrence Program: 1.00
Current Abandoned Vehicle Fee: 1.00
Current Air Quality Management District: 4.00
Use/Sales Tax: 11,600.00
Non-Resident Original Service Fee: 17.00
Reflectorized License Plate Fee: 1.00
Grand Total Registration Fees: $12,708.00

If the vehicle were a brand new one, from a California Dealer, every number
above would be identical except there is no transfer or original service fee,
making the total $12,691.00.

For any question on variables, use the online calculator at
https://mv.dmv.ca.gov/FeeCalculatorWeb/index.jsp

Don Bradner
90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
Eureka, CA

On 7/13/2007 at 6:43 PM Pete Masterson wrote:

>The $1000 appears to be the "vehicle transfer fee" rather than the
>sales/use tax.
>
>If you register a vehicle in California, you have three basic fees:
>Registration -- that's based on the value and age of the vehicle. It
>starts at 2% for a new vehicle and through a rather complex formula
>works its way down to .69% (about 2/3 of 1 percent) for an older
>vehicle. The value (may be) based on the depreciated new cost of the
>vehicle.
>
>Vehicle Transfer Fee -- a one-time fee based roughly on the market
>value of the vehicle at the time of the transfer. It the case that
>was being discussed, the vehicle transfer fee should probably have
>been in the range of $300 to $400 or so as the "market value" was
>incorrectly set at $160,000 or so (for an 84 FC).
>
>Sales/Use Tax -- this is a minimum of 7.25% ranging up to 8.25%
>depending on the county where the registered owner lives or where the
>vehicle was delivered if purchased in the state. If purchased from an
>in-state dealer, the dealer will collect the Sales Tax based on the
>net purchase price. If purchased out of state, then the use tax will
>be collected by the DMV when you register the vehicle, unless the
>transaction is subject to one of the (few) exceptions. You may also
>get credit for any sales tax paid to another jurisdiction. For
>example, if you simply move from another state to California -- and
>didn't buy the vehicle recently -- then you may be exempt from paying
>the use tax.

[Pete Masterson]

Ok... I'll take your word for it. I spent a whole bunch of time on
the DMV web site reading sections from the Vehicle Code and the Tax
and Revenue Code to try to figure this stuff out.... I guess I was
well confused by it all...

Thanks for your list, it will actually help me with a related situation.

Pete Masterson
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
El Sobrante CA
aeonix1@...



On Jul 13, 2007, at 7:36 PM, Don Bradner wrote:

> Hate to argue with you Pete, but the primary fee, called Vehicle
> License Fee, is the same 2 percent on both new, and used. The thing
> is that 2/3 of that, on both new, and used, has been "offset" since
> early in the Gray Davis years, so for all vehicles it starts at .66%.
>
> That is the one they were hitting the original poster with.
>
> The transfer fee is NOT based on value. It is a flat $15, and only
> applies for purchases from another California resident. If you
> purchase from a Non-Resident, there is a $17 Original Service Fee
> instead.
>
> The registration fee is $31
>
> Here's what it looks like today, for a used $160,000 vehicle
> purchased from an out-of-state party, resident of a 7.25% sales
> tax area:
>
> Current Registration: 31.00
> Current California Highway Patrol: 10.00
> Current Vehicle License Fee: 1,041.00
> Current County Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies Fee: 1.00
> Current Fingerprint ID Fee: 1.00
> Current Auto Theft and/or DUI Crime Deterrence Program: 1.00
> Current Abandoned Vehicle Fee: 1.00
> Current Air Quality Management District: 4.00
> Use/Sales Tax: 11,600.00
> Non-Resident Original Service Fee: 17.00
> Reflectorized License Plate Fee: 1.00
> Grand Total Registration Fees: $12,708.00
>
> If the vehicle were a brand new one, from a California Dealer,
> every number above would be identical except there is no transfer
> or original service fee, making the total $12,691.00.
>
> For any question on variables, use the online calculator at https://
> mv.dmv.ca.gov/FeeCalculatorWeb/index.jsp
>
> Don Bradner
> 90 PT40 "Blue Thunder"
> Eureka, CA
>
> On 7/13/2007 at 6:43 PM Pete Masterson wrote:
>
>> The $1000 appears to be the "vehicle transfer fee" rather than the
>> sales/use tax.
>>
>> If you register a vehicle in California, you have three basic fees:
>> Registration -- that's based on the value and age of the vehicle. It
>> starts at 2% for a new vehicle and through a rather complex formula
>> works its way down to .69% (about 2/3 of 1 percent) for an older
>> vehicle. The value (may be) based on the depreciated new cost of the
>> vehicle.
>>
>> Vehicle Transfer Fee -- a one-time fee based roughly on the market
>> value of the vehicle at the time of the transfer. It the case that
>> was being discussed, the vehicle transfer fee should probably have
>> been in the range of $300 to $400 or so as the "market value" was
>> incorrectly set at $160,000 or so (for an 84 FC).
>>
>> Sales/Use Tax -- this is a minimum of 7.25% ranging up to 8.25%
>> depending on the county where the registered owner lives or where the
>> vehicle was delivered if purchased in the state. If purchased from an
>> in-state dealer, the dealer will collect the Sales Tax based on the
>> net purchase price. If purchased out of state, then the use tax will
>> be collected by the DMV when you register the vehicle, unless the
>> transaction is subject to one of the (few) exceptions. You may also
>> get credit for any sales tax paid to another jurisdiction. For
>> example, if you simply move from another state to California -- and
>> didn't buy the vehicle recently -- then you may be exempt from paying
>> the use tax.
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Ryan Wright]

Keith,

Can't speak for California but this is typical of government agencies.
The DMV here in Washington will usually go by what you say you paid,
but not always. Sometimes they randomly decide what you paid was too
low and try to charge you sales tax based on what they decide the
vehicle is worth.

Case in point, I was given, for free, a junked car. I took it because
I wanted the motor. It was only running on 3 cylinders and needed a
rebuild but otherwise everything was there. The rest of the car was
trashed and the transmission was blown, so it was basically worthless.
DMV refused to let me transfer title, claimed the car was worth
several thousand dollars and tried to make me pay sales tax on that
amount.

Here's how I "fought" it: Since they refused to tell me what an
"acceptable" price to pay for the car was, I had to guess. With
cooperation from the person who gave it to me, we made up several
bills of sale listing sale prices starting at $50 and going up from
there. The first DMV office refused to transfer at $50. I went back
later and got a different "customer service" person with a $100 bill
of sale; they refused transfer. I took a $200 bill of sale to a second
DMV and they transferred it.

Sometimes you just have to beat them with persistence. My suggestion
is to go back to the DMV office and insist that you didn't pay that
much for the vehicle and you aren't going to pay that much in taxes.
If they fight you, take your documents, leave, and go to another DMV
office. Do NOT explain the situation to the next DMV office! Just
start from scratch with, "I want to register my vehicle." Play dumb.
When they come up with the high price, protest gently and do not bring
up your previous incidents, just pretend this is your first time. I
can't stress "play dumb" enough. Ask basic, honest, simple minded
questions like, "Why is it so high?" and "But I didn't pay that much.
Why are you charging me for that?"

If you don't get anywhere, thank the agent for his time and move on to
another DMV office. After 3 or 4 tries you should run into someone
with half a brain who will say, "You're right, something is wrong
here. Let me fix this for you."

It's called "social engineering" ... Play the game with them and you will win.

-Ryan


On 7/13/07, Keith Strehle wrote:
>
> When I called to ask why the license fee was so high the DMV wouldn't
> tell me the value they had listed for the Bird. But they did say it
> was much higher than the sale price. The license fee is over $1k.
>
> If they came up with their own idea of what the bird is worth how did
> they do it? They had no idea what kind of condition it was in when I
> bought it. For all they know it could be sitting on blocks. And why
> would they see the bird as different from SOB?
>
> How do I go about contesting this perceived value?
>
> Thanks, Keith
> 84FC35