Are cars more expensive in the Bay?
Moving east (low cost of living area) to west. Should I buy a car here, drive there. Or buy a car there? Does it cost more? Honda, Toyato, nothing fancy Tc 160
You pay sales tax on a car so if your local tax is lower than the 9.5 whatever % then it will be more expensive in CA. Also registration might be slightly higher but not sure. Also you’re supposed to pay the sales tax difference if you come and register it in CA and you’ve owned it less than 1 year, but that’s up to you and how much you’re willing to lie about when you made the purchase
I think it’s sensible to buy a car outside of the Bay. When I was looking for a used car here I found prices to be over inflated (I assume sellers know people earn more here so they can charge more for the same used junk). I ended up traveling out of state and buying a used Toyota and even accounting for plane tickets and gas back I found it to be a lot cheaper than the bay. Might have been a special case but something to consider Only thing that caught me by surprise was the smog test and registration fees, which can add up a bit, but as the comment above it’s up to you how much you lie about it
Yes. When trying to buy new cars in the bar area, I found dealerships marking up prices and not negotiating much. Went up to Sacramento and saved thousands compared to every bay area dealership
Don't ever buy cars. It is a depreciating asset. Rent them.
This is very dependent on what type of car you buy, for instance when I was in college I bought a $4,000 car with 150,000 mi on it, I drove it until I had 250,000 mi on it and sold it for $1,000. Sure I had to sink some cost into it with oil change and regular repairs, but overall I think I came out way ahead of what I would have been if I had leased a car for that same time period.
If rather rent out a Tesla and drive that than a $4000 junk :/