Why would I buy a car in DC or MD over VA?
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Anonymous
| When the sales tax is 6 percent in DC/MD and 4.5 percent in VA, is there any reason why I shouldn't buy there instead? |
Anonymous
| You are taxed by the state you live in or where it will be titled. Also, Va tacks on a dealer fee that Md doesn’t. |
Anonymous
Both MD and VA have dealer fees. Unlike VA, MD has a state-imposed cap on dealer fees that historically has been lower than the average dealer fee assessed in VA (VA isn't capped), but as of late (within the past year) the MD cap has been raised from $300 to $500, such that it's closer to the average dealer fee in VA (which also sits around $500). |
Anonymous
Is this true? It's based on where you live and not where you purchase? |
Anonymous
Yes. You'll pay that tax to the dealer, and the dealer will pay it to the state where you reside. |
Anonymous
That's common knowledge, OP, by the way. Are you very young? |
Anonymous
| Yep it doesn't matter where you purchase- you'll pay based on where you live.... |
Anonymous
| You would not buy a car in D.C., because I don't think D.C. has any dealerships within its boundaries. But yes, you pay based on where you register the car, not where you do the transaction. |
Anonymous
| D.C. has no tax at all on electric cars or hybrids that get above a certain MPG, for what it's worth. |
Anonymous
Only if you live in DC. Taxes are based on the address where you register the car |
Anonymous
| Thanks! Yes I’m young and I live in DC. |
Anonymous
DC has a lot of dealerships within its boundaries. https://dmv.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dmv/publication/attachments/DC%20DMV%20-%20Dealers%20By%20Status%20-%202021-05-31-07-01-25.pdf |
Anonymous
Interesting list. From what I can see, the only new car deealership in DC is Tesla. The rest are used car lots. It's possible I missed one of course. It's weird that list from DC has VA and MD in it. They don't even list all the VA and MD car dealerships, there's a lot more than that just on Rockville pike. |
Anonymous
| Virginia dealer fee is $799 and Maryland $500. We live in MD but bought a car in VA this week (because they had what we wanted at a better price despite higher dealer fee). |
Anonymous
Sorry, yes, that's right, no NEW car dealerships. I think the Tesla one isn't technically a dealership because they don't use that model. |