One of the best ways to save on your vehicle registration costs is to register your car, truck, or RV out of state. This is a legal way of getting around exorbitant fees that a lot of states charge. This is especially attractive to full-time RV owners, and classic car collectors in high-fee states.
We all dread that month when our vehicle registration comes due; in fact, mine is this very month. Depending on what we drive and where we drive it, we might even have that familiar feeling of buyer’s remorse. Some of it might be due to the hefty price tag for your registration in general, or perhaps you are driving an exotic car and would like to avoid the enormous tax burden by registering out of state.
Or, more generally, you may have an old vehicle that had not been registered for several years and would owe a significant amount in back taxes. Whatever the case, if you are looking for an alternative way to register your vehicle, registering your vehicle in a different state may be the best solution for you.
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Why Register Your Vehicle Out of State?
Registering your vehicle in another state can be a good option in many situations, and it is up to you why you want to do it. Here are a few of the more common reasons:
Recreational Vehicles
It is impossible to determine precisely how many people live full-time in RVs, traveling across the U.S. at any time. The numbers available range anywhere between 250,000 and two million, which is pretty broad. So splitting the difference, there are maybe around one million people living in RVs full-time.
If you live in an RV full-time, you have no permanent address, so there is no legal or ethical obligation to tag your vehicle in any particular state, mainly if you leave a state due to high taxes. Therefore, it behooves you to choose a state which offers you the best financial incentive since you are not obliged to any particular place.
Fast, Rare, and Exotic Cars
Many states base registration and taxes on vehicle value which isn’t a huge deal on a decade-old Camry, but it’s a huge deal on a Porsche, Ferrari, or the like. For example, using the State of California’s own DMV calculator, we determined the total registration and tax on a new $250,000 vehicle to be $25,692.00. Of course, this is an estimate, but the actual fee will not be far off.
Whatever your views on registering a vehicle out of state are in terms of morals and ethics, twenty-five grand is a lot of money to register a car, regardless of cost. Just because you can afford an expensive car does not mean you should have to spend thousands of dollars to register it. And let’s face it: an awful lot of the expensive cars on the road reside in California.
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South Dakota is practically a mecca of exotic car registration, although it does not come across as the ideal climate for precision sports cars. However, it is perfect for exotic car owners to legally tag their vehicle without a $25,000+ registration bill. We’ll talk more about South Dakota in a minute, but first, let’s consider another good reason to register your car out of state.
Classic Cars, Antiques, and Collectibles
As any vehicle collector will tell you, finding a vehicle and finding a title with that vehicle are two separate things. There are countless opportunities to discover old cars littering the countryside of America’s byways, but there are plenty of those opportunities missing key documents (titles, etc.).
Frankly, cars sold without titles and registration can be a real bargain since the hurdles to titling and tagging a vehicle that is missing paperwork are legendary. Another common issue is the problem of back-registration and taxes. I have personally dealt with this, and I ended up just selling the truck because, after four years, the back taxes and registration would be about one-third of the truck’s value. I would have gladly registered it out of state to keep the truck and use it if I had known about this option.
Registering your classic car in a different state lets you avoid those troubles. Oftentimes the back fees won’t follow the car to a different state. Other times, you might encounter the strange reality that some states don’t even have titles for cars older than a certain age, so if you bought a car from New Hampshire, Georgia, or several other states you might not have an existing title or registration to work with. That’s why it’s critical to take the right steps in the right order.
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Before You Register in Another State…
Depending on the age of the vehicle in question, and how much of its history may be unknown, you should purchase the vehicle identification number (VIN) verification first.
The purpose of the VIN is simple: ensure that parts on the vehicle coordinate to identify stolen pieces. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) became an industry standard in the automotive world in the 1980s, although an identification number of some sort was standard by most manufacturers long before that. It just wasn’t until 1981 that the numbers were standardized in the 17-digit standard we see today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Now, the VIN is a standard item for the titling and registration of all roadworthy vehicles.
A VIN check can also reveal some of the car’s title and registration history. If the VIN comes back good, registering that older vehicle out of state might be the best and quickest way to get back on the road.
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Other Concerns and Considerations, and Why South Dakota is Awesome
Beyond the scenery, South Dakota is great for automobile enthusiasts. Old cars and trucks are a lot of fun, but making them fit the regulatory molds of certain states can be all but impossible, particularly regarding emissions standards. Once a car reaches a certain age, mileage, and just condition of wear, it becomes tough to meet emissions standards. The concept of diminishing returns is especially true for vehicles that are not particularly rare or a collector’s item; if the car has no real value beyond what you see in it, it is hard to justify thousands of dollars of emissions repairs to keep it on the road.
It is especially true when you consider that these certain states might still flunk you on the test anyway, and they do not care one smidge for the work and money you put into bringing it up to spec. The beautiful state of South Dakota has no emission requirements, and they have a flat registration fee of $60 and a 4% registration tax. That’s right, folks. Oh, and did I mention no inspections? That’s another silent killer of wallets right there.
Dirt Legal Can Help You
Whatever the reason is for you considering making a move away from wherever you reside and registering your car, truck, or RV out of state, you should consider the freedom it will afford you. This fact is particularly true for the full-timers out there who make a living on the road their own. If you are from a state with exorbitant fees, why in the world should you keep funding those states when you don’t have roots there?
Dirt Legal is here to get that rig back on the road by helping you obtain a street legal registration from a different state. Are you missing a title or unsure about the history of your vehicle? We are more than happy to help you with those as well. Don’t hesitate; remember, the longer your car or truck sits, the less value it produces for you. Contact Dirt Legal today and let us help you register your RV, classic, or exotic in another state.
John McCoy is a lifelong car and truck enthusiast and has a strong mechanical background off the road. He spent over 13 years in the U.S. Air Force as a crew chief, assigned to the B-1B Lancer, affectionately known as the Bone to those in the community, and the KC-135R Stratotanker. He resides on a small farm in Eastern Kansas where he (sometimes) enjoys fixing ancient farm equipment.