AZ emissions testing for Cobras

[moore_rb]

Originally Posted by C5GTO

Robert: you nailed the answer. Thank you very much, it's help like this that makes this forum so valuable!

I do have a follow up question. Does AZ assess a "use tax" as part of the titling process for specially constructed vehicles? CA does and they go great lengths to say it's a "use tax" and not a sales tax. In CA, they require receipts for major car components (e.g. chassis, engine, drivetrain, body, wheels, etc.), the dollars on these receipts is summed (minus sales tax shown on receipts), and use tax calculated from this amount. For example, if receipts total $50K and use tax is 6.25% (which it was last time I did this), then $3,125 in use tax must be paid prior to title being issued.

Obviously, it would be painful to have already paid this in CA and have to pay again in AZ.

If transferring the existing title from CA to Az, then no- the entire transaction is usually $25-$45 (title change, registration and plates)


Also, I have re-titled several customs via the bonded title process, and the most expensive part of that process is the bond itself... I think the most expensive Surety bond I have had to purchase was around 500 bucks (AZDMV sets the bond amount via some back-office math-magic that they perform.


If you (as an Arizona resident) purchase a car from an out of state dealer, and if that dealer does not assess a sales tax on the invoice, I think that is the only scenario (I am aware of) where Arizona might hit you with a use tax before they will issue you a registration. Other guys who have applied for a new title from an MCO document can comment about whether they had to pay the use tax or not- I have never done the MCO process; and the only vehicle I have ever paid the use-tax on was a boat that I purchased out of state (from a dealer) and had towed back to Az. Az hit me with a 6% use tax on that transaction, because the dealer did not put a line-item on the invoice showing that any sales tax had been paid.

Conversely: When I traded one Cobra, for a different Cobra at a dealer in St Louis, the dealer actually knew all the tax laws for both states, and so they wrote my invoice to show that I had paid all the relevant sales taxes in Missouri... and so the Arizona process of doing the title transfer on the 2nd car was just the easy, one stop $25 document transfer.