"Vehicle registrations and especially plates are legally the property of the State that issues them."
That may be true in SOME states, I wouldn't know, I have only had vehicles registered in Montana, Washington, Hawaii, California, and Wyoming.
Here in Montana, the license plates are MINE! When I dispose of a vehicle, no matter where it goes, I keep the license plates. If I purchase another vehicle, I can register the "new" vehicle using the old plates.
In California, the plates stay with the vehicle forever, until it leaves the state. I still have the CA license plates that were on the vehicles that I bought there.
I still have some of the Wyoming plates that I had when living there.
I used to have the Hawaii and Washington plates that were on my vehicles.
Come to think of it, none of the states I have lived in have ever asked that the registration papers, the license plates, or anything else be returned to them when I established residency in another state. I just titled and registered the vehicles on my new state of residence, and that was all.
To the OP, yes, I do think the advice of a competent civil attorney is what you need at this point.
Good luck.
CM1, USN (RET)
2002 Fleetwood Southwind 32V, Ford V10
Toad: 2006 Jeep Rubicon LJ
Other toad: '06 PT Cruiser, Kar Kaddy dolly
Toy: 1977 Dodge W100 CC SWB, 3/4 ton axles & springs
"When seconds count, help is only minutes away!"
jsosborn wrote: I was wrong about the dealer being out of business, and La Mesa RV in Tucson responded to my phone call yesterday and helped me through the process. Basically, this is an out of state purchase as far as the dealer is concerned, and I will owe the difference between what I paid in sales tax in Arizona, about $5,000, and the tax California would have charged, or about $16,000. While that's a lot, it seems like it's what would have happened if I'd gotten it right the first time, without the long, drawn out divorce making access to paperwork impossible, and leaving the RV sitting, untouchable for over 2 years.
My only question now is whether to hire a lawyer. What kind of specialty would I be lookhng for? There doesn't seem to be a category for "vehicle law".
If you can show that you were not a CA resident or working in CA for 1 year while owning the rig then you do not need to pay CA sales tax. Again read the CA BOE pub 52. That sounds like the initial DVM assumption when you paid $900 which was probably just registration for 1 year.
jsosborn wrote: I was wrong about the dealer being out of business, and La Mesa RV in Tucson responded to my phone call yesterday and helped me through the process. Basically, this is an out of state purchase as far as the dealer is concerned, and I will owe the difference between what I paid in sales tax in Arizona, about $5,000, and the tax California would have charged, or about $16,000. While that's a lot, it seems like it's what would have happened if I'd gotten it right the first time, without the long, drawn out divorce making access to paperwork impossible, and leaving the RV sitting, untouchable for over 2 years.
My only question now is whether to hire a lawyer. What kind of specialty would I be lookhng for? There doesn't seem to be a category for "vehicle law".
You could hire a lawyer but probably be much easier to hire a car dealer to do your transfer work.
The DMV is not a court of law... so you could get 5 different answers from whoever is the clerk. Best way to deal with the situation is bring in all your proof of sales tax payment(s) and relevant paperwork.
jsosborn wrote: I was wrong about the dealer being out of business, and La Mesa RV in Tucson responded to my phone call yesterday and helped me through the process. Basically, this is an out of state purchase as far as the dealer is concerned, and I will owe the difference between what I paid in sales tax in Arizona, about $5,000, and the tax California would have charged, or about $16,000. While that's a lot, it seems like it's what would have happened if I'd gotten it right the first time, without the long, drawn out divorce making access to paperwork impossible, and leaving the RV sitting, untouchable for over 2 years.
My only question now is whether to hire a lawyer. What kind of specialty would I be lookhng for? There doesn't seem to be a category for "vehicle law".
If you can show that you were not a CA resident or working in CA for 1 year while owning the rig then you do not need to pay CA sales tax. Again read the CA BOE pub 52. That sounds like the initial DVM assumption when you paid $900 which was probably just registration for 1 year.
He was a resident of Florida at the time of the purchase.
My suggestion would be to go back to Florida with the correct paperwork (the Statement of Origin MSO and the original sales contract) and register it there and get a title and registration since you were a resident of Florida then. You will only have to pay the different in taxes of the TI and the New Purchase. If you try to get the first Registration and Title in California, you will pay for the full purchase price. You might have to pay a penalty, but the way it should have been done in the beginning.
jsosborn wrote: I was wrong about the dealer being out of business, and La Mesa RV in Tucson responded to my phone call yesterday and helped me through the process. Basically, this is an out of state purchase as far as the dealer is concerned, and I will owe the difference between what I paid in sales tax in Arizona, about $5,000, and the tax California would have charged, or about $16,000. While that's a lot, it seems like it's what would have happened if I'd gotten it right the first time, without the long, drawn out divorce making access to paperwork impossible, and leaving the RV sitting, untouchable for over 2 years.
My only question now is whether to hire a lawyer. What kind of specialty would I be lookhng for? There doesn't seem to be a category for "vehicle law".
.
How is it that you paid Arizona sales tax and were not a resident of that State. Paying the Sales Tax, would have generated either a temporary paper DMV plate good for usually 30 days to secure your own registration from another state or you would have had Arizona registration done. Arizona doesn't do it any other way
A Temporary Paper Plate should have been the clue that you had to do something more to secure permanent plates. The dealership will NEVER transfer out of state plates to a newly purchased vehicle unless they have completed the entire transaction for taxes, registration and title for the other State and that State allows plates to be transferred to the new vehicle rather than new ones being issued. Some dealerships will do this for out of state buyers and others just put the temp plate on and advise you that you will have to complete the transaction with your State as it is Against the Law in Most states.
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