Thanks everyone for following. It was a really fun trip. And so far it looks like this 4.8is was well cared for.

RB... why is Cali's gas so much more expensive? :dunno: Do they have a really high state gas tax or something? Here in TX we are @ $2.50ish for premium 93 in some places... and $2.79 at shell stations. Regular is under $2 in limited locations. :thumbup:

Yes, I paid California tax (7.5%ish I think, would have to check purchase agreement). They gave me a one way trip permit to drive the vehicle back to Texas.

Ooops! The dealer should have not charged you taxes. Hmmm.

I'll see if I can find out anything on reimbursement....

Cali gas prices are so high because California alone is the number one consumer of gasoline, second is the United States. Supply and demand.

Cali gas is expensive just 'cause. Really, not too long ago it was $2.50-ish, but then "things" happen, blend this, refinery that, (BS if you ask me :) ). And they hike the price like crazy. Even with the barrel price STILL low.

When you get into San Francisco it will go up another $.50/gallon. They say it's because the real estate their stations are on is worth so much more. I say it's because there aren't many gas stations (relatively speaking) in SF proper and they can gouge you that much more. Don't want to run out on a bridge.

Here in Iowa the highest I've been able to get is 91 and it's currently sitting at about $3.65/gallon, while 89 (with ethanol) is at about $2.50. They gouge you here on the non-ethanol blends because they want you to support all the corn farmers around here.

Me? I support corn farmers. The ones who grow corn for food instead of growing corn for ethanol and High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Great looking 4.8...looks awfully familiar. :) Makes me wish I had bought mine further away last summer. I guess I did take it to CO and back a couple weeks after I bought it.

Its called government bureaucracy bro. Not that we don't have it as well in Jersey, but we also have a TON of oil refineries in Jersey. Highest I've seen for 93 octane lately at a Shell is around 3.09, and thats in the most affluent town in the state.

They have a ridiculously high gas tax to pay for all the government programs they are running over there I'm sure.

@thrillcat, I'm with you bro. I support corn farmers not working for Monsanto lol

I checked and was confirmed by a couple of members that if the vehicle hits California roads at all, the dealer has to charge tax. I don't have to pay it again here in TX obviously when I register it. The dealer said I could have the car shipped even just across the state border and he wouldn't have to pay taxes. I figured I'd rather drive. :cool:

I agree with others that gas prices are artificially manipulated and don't follow normal supply/demand curves. 99% of people can't get by without purchasing gas so the oil industry has a fairly captive consumer. :( From what I understand OPEC and other producers are stock piling barrels as fast as it comes out of the ground rather than putting them on the market to try and prop up the barrel prices. It's all crap. I'm not a huge environmentalist or anything, but the sooner our country makes a real investment in alternative energy sources, the better. Germany seems to be making it work as well as many of the other progressive European countries.

I also agree I'd like to see corn being used for food and not for gas consumption. It lowers MPG and performance which negates any environmental benefit it may have had. But it sure makes the oil industry more money because people have to fill up more often. :rolleyes:

Edit: Just did some more research and re-confirmed what I had been told by the dealer. Must pay sales tax to drive it away. No taxes will be paid here in TX when I register since they have already been paid to CA.

Well actually that's what the trip permit is for.

I have a really good tax man, 30+ years in Cali.
I've been texting them about your deal. I was told they could charge you Texas tax, but most likely wouldn't bother. Then when you confirmed you did pay California tax, I told him and he said, "hmmmm". Just like I did.

Last year I flew to Cali, handed over a wad of cash to a dealership and drove my bimmer back home out of state to Oregon. No taxes were involved because the dealer did the appropriate reasearch on my purchase before I arrived. They flat out told me they could not charge tax on a car leaving the state with a trip permit. After the purchase, my tax man asked me if I payed taxes while he was chuckling. He then told me that dealers will do it all the time....

I read one of your confirmations (josh dub), he was only telling you what a dealer told him.

So, what to do next? Have you registered it yet in Texas?

Nope, haven't registered yet. Got it inspected though and was going to register in the next week or so.

The difference we are talking here is ~$360 between what I paid CA and what TX charges. Not insignificant, but not something I want to have to spend 3 months trying to get back either.

The confirmations I got were from other car forums. At least 3 instances involving the same type of transaction and they were told the same thing. Some of the members responding were BMW dealer representatives in California. :dunno:

I work at a dealership. For taxes if the customer lives out of state we are required to collect the taxes for the state they live in not where the vehicle is purchased. So if you live in TX but are buying a car in CA the dealer collects the taxes for TX and then forwards them for you to TX. You don't pay CA tax period since you are not registering the car in CA.

The only exception is if the vehicle is being shipped out of the state, in which case the dealership is not required to collect the TX taxes (however the customer would then pay those taxes themselves when they register the vehicle). Hope that clears it up:thumbup:

LOL nope. Wish it did. California dealer reps are all saying we have to collect CA taxes if you drive it here. :dunno: Are you at a dealer in CA or the ATL? Laws may be different... I don't know. This is my first out of state purchase, and it being from CA, I was expecting to have to pay some higher than average fees. :rolleyes: