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Ok, my husband moves to Vermont next week. I will be following soon and am up in the air as to where to purchase my Impreza. I currently live in Northern Virginia and I have a Toyota Corolla that I will probably trade in. Should I just wait until I get to Vermont or should I do it here in Virginia. I figure I may get more money for my Corolla here in VA....but should I buy the car here and then have to deal with transferring everything over to Vermont. Or should I just buy in Vermont? Also - every dealer I look at (online) has 1 or 2 of the wagon Imprezas and that's it. They may have 5 Imprezas on the lot altogether and this is across the board.... I have looked in Virginia, New Hampshire, Vermont.... What is the deal? Is it just not in demand?
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,690 posts, read 57,994,855 times
Reputation: 46166
Used?
One owner / by owner in the Southwest or PNW.
Lower price, Nice weekend 'freedom trip' to drive it home and RUST free!
Be SURE to get a sport Model with manual tranny
Better suspension, cooling , braking, wheel size, ..
I use a nationwide craigslist search. Ad Hunt'r - Search ALL of Craigslist™ and more! now that Crazedlist got the axe.
I have bought many sight unseen, but you can find Subie enthusiasts to check it out for you, or pay a mechanic.
I fly in and drive home! (often in beaters, often in winter) NEVER have had an issue with the car. EVERYTIME my seller has been Late to Airport, causing some tense moments, especially in a MN blizzard. I just take along a few tools / parts and head out. EXCITING challenge to get home safe and fast.
Usually I will fly on a Friday and be home by Sunday (Driving Straight through). But with a Subie, you will be stopping a lot for gas. My fleet goes 1250 mile per tank of free French fry grease. (bit of a challenge in a blizzard... A good time to Pay for #1 Dino Diesel, or get some jetA or Kerosene.)
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 11-07-2013 at 06:29 AM..
Lower price, Nice weekend 'freedom trip' to drive it home and RUST free!
Be SURE to get a sport Model with manual tranny
Better suspension, cooling , braking, wheel size, ..
I use a nationwide craigslist search. Ad Hunt'r - Search ALL of Craigslist™ and more! now that Crazedlist got the axe.
I have bought many sight unseen, but you can find Subie enthusiasts to check it out for you, or pay a mechanic.
I fly in and drive home! (often in beaters, often in winter) NEVER have had an issue with the car. EVERYTIME my seller has been Late to Airport, causing some tense moments, especially in a MN blizzard. I just take along a few tools / parts and head out. EXCITING challenge to get home safe and fast.
Usually I will fly on a Friday and be home by Sunday (Driving Straight through). But with a Subie, you will be stopping a lot for gas. My fleet goes 1250 mile per tank of free French fry grease. (bit of a challenge in a blizzard... A good time to Pay for #1 Dino Diesel, or get some jetA or Kerosene.)
Stealth, I think the fumes from your waste cooking oil to fuel processing have finally done your little gray cells in ...
the OP is in the Eastern reaches of the USA and heading to almost the farthest reaches of New England ...
so adding the costs of a one-way flight to the other coast and the travel distance/time/stops enroute to the purchase price of the car constitutes a huge additional ... and uneccessary expense. Few folk can do the 4,000 mile travels in a "weekend" like you can when you drive 2,000+ miles per day after arriving at your destination in a refreshing $19.95 airline special promotion deal with shuttle service to the doorstep of your $1.98 accomodations which would regularly cost most folk $135/night.
Few folk are capable of successfully negotiating a long-distance automobile trade-in and quality car purchase with 100% success like you have done since horse traders starting dealing in the new-fangled invention of horseless carriages. The OP might not want to have to deal with a used car purchase warranty issue from thousands of miles away ... or while on the road attempting to get home with the car.
You apparently are a master genius expert at fixing anything with nothing and so look forward to that challenge ... judging from your posts on C-D, you do this 195 hours per week, 75 weeks per year, and must have acquired at least 1,000 vehicles in the last few years with complete success which you've taken back to your extensive repair facilities in Oregon for pennies on the dollar compared to any regular buyer. You're clearly in the top 0.000001% of savvy automobile purchasers, and I know for sure from your posts that if there was a Nobel Prize for smart automobile ownership & operation and green energy efficiency, you'd have won it every time it was awarded. NO Contest, you're simply the Einstein of automotive economic efficiency. The best part is that you can drive all 175 of your active fleet of cars every day and get 50+ mpg on surplus joy juice that folk pay you to haul away!
I, too, have bought used Subie's around the country ... and the PNW marketplace is one of the most expensive, particularly compared to the New England market. Fact is, I've never found used Subie's cheaper in the USA than in the New England area, and that's been my go-to source for buying and shipping them out to the Rocky Mountain area (another strong Subie market, although not as pricey as the PNW).
As well, you project your excellent superior fabulous mechanical skills acquired over a lifetime of working on equipment/cars falsely upon what appears to the situation of a woman who just needs to buy a car and get it to the new family home. She's highly unlikely to want to travel with a set of tools and anticipate minor repairs on her own if there's a problem with a car she's bought sight unseen ... and I doubt she has the skills to use those tools and diagnose problems that you have.
And I'll be the first on this thread to again note that you've totally commingled your 175 car fleet of waste oil burning free VW diesels with the OP's desire to buy a Subie which they've determined is appropriate to their needs in Vermont. What the hell does an older diesel VW have to do with the Subie? NOTHING!
Drover nailed it a long time ago on these pages. Your perpetual touting of your waste grease oil burning diesel VW's is bringing nothing to the table for the common automotive user .... and you don't ever miss an opportunity to post all about how you get that 50+ mpg on this stuff. If it was such a great deal, I know folk who transport freight for a living with semi's ... and they cannot justify the time or expense to use such a fuel source ... and these are folk with $1,000's of fuel expense every week. Converting to free fuel would be a huge benefit to them ... but the reality is that the fuel source isn't as readily available as you consistently assert it is. The restaurants in my area rely upon pro waste services under contract to provide storage on-site and routine pick-up, and the only folk who can pick up the waste grease is the contracted service ... not a casual user. Oh, wait a minute ... maybe you stop by every week and pick up the hundreds of gallons of waste because you're driving 90,000 miles per week and can use all that fuel in your spare time.
PS: jetA in our area is well over $5/gallon and not readily available except at the bigger airports (our little airstrips only have 100LL), good luck getting out on the ramp at the commercial airports and getting a couple of gallons dispensed into your container. #1 dino diesel is at a premium price over the winter treated #2 diesel, when you can even find the #1. And K-1 kerosene is running close to $5 gallon, too. Yes, everybody is flocking to wanting to second guess the weather conditions in their area and eagerly looking forward to being a fuel chemist and blending their own wintertime fuel ...
still others have spent the dough to install a 5-way fuel valve so that the can have two fuel tanks in their vehicle ... one for the free waste grease and the other for their winter diesel blend. They so look forward to starting their car on the one fuel, driving it until the engine is warm and then changing over to the free grease. Then, they look forward to changing back to the winter diesel a few miles before they are going to stop the vehicle so that the fuel system is purged of the grease. Yeah ... this multi-fuel set-up is just what every automotive owner wants to do, the height of convenience and operation of their cars.
the real decision you have to make is where can you buy the Subie that will meet your requirements at the least total net cost and inconvenience to you.
I don't know the Subie marketplace where you're at right now, but where you are heading to is a very active trading area for this marque.
I think you'd do best to make some phone calls to the dealers in your local market and then to the Vermont dealers and ask what the out the door cost would be for the car you are seeking to buy. My bet is that when all is said and done, you'll not find a big difference in a trade deal between where you are now and in Vermont.
As you point out, there will be the additional time/expense of dealing with license/registration buying in the one state and moving to the next. While it's not a big deal, it's still something that you have to take care of ... what's your time worth to you? Until you are a resident of Vermont, you will have to pay the fees and licensing of your current home state if you buy there ... and you may not get credit for them in Vermont when you move. Best to check with the motor vehicle departments of the states before you buy a car.
If I had to make the choice you are presenting, I'd say wait until you got to Vermont to buy your Subie.
I have heard of dealers working together on 1 deal.
For example, buy and trade in at dealer A and take delivery of the new car at dealer B.
See if this is an option as you mentioned you might get a better trade in price for your Corolla at your current location.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,690 posts, read 57,994,855 times
Reputation: 46166
$89 for coast to coast flight on SWA, (free exchanges if you don't use the ticket) and 3 days driving (I stay in $10/ night guest homes).
My story has never changed.. I only have 34 VW diesels (+ 3 I bought this yr) but who is counting? (175...rolleyes Never claimed more than 22mpg on my only gasser (VW Riata motorhome)
The OP wanted a Subie and couldn't find any (didn't say new or used...), Why buy a NE rust bucket?
so... Nationwide Craigslist will find HUNDREDs in 2 minutes and she can ship a NON_RUST car for $800 cross country (I use u-ship .com) I have had RUST FREE cars delivered from TX / AZ in less than 3 days for under $500 by a hotshotter. AND the used car market in TX is DIRT cheap
Done deal...
RE: transfer of title... Just buy one AFTER you can license in VT (NH would be MUCH preferred... several of my cars live in 'Boarding school', other states Where I have homes) / regions without emissions / sales taxes. I Never failed emissions...I just don't need the expense of testing 34(37) cars + trucks. WA dyno's Diesels and I am not keen on turning an 'Attendant' loose with a stick shift on a Dyno, they usually kill it several times, and really are keen on SLIPPING a torquey Diesel. Bio D or grease is NEVER detectable for emissions, and THEN you have to explain THAT!
VT should not have emission requirements outside major cities.
OP, Can you domicile in SD? I had 3 friends move to and later have to leave VT due to taxation and fees.
I will honk next time I pass by your exit in WY, as I did at 3AM on 15 Aug 2013
Today... 13,000 miles away from WY enjoying seafood and the cars the REST of the world gets to drive (no subies to be found).
Your fun May vary. But getting a used one owner car or truck from an OCD retiree has served me well many times.
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 11-07-2013 at 08:13 AM..
Ok, my husband moves to Vermont next week. I will be following soon and am up in the air as to where to purchase my Impreza. I currently live in Northern Virginia and I have a Toyota Corolla that I will probably trade in. Should I just wait until I get to Vermont or should I do it here in Virginia. I figure I may get more money for my Corolla here in VA....but should I buy the car here and then have to deal with transferring everything over to Vermont. Or should I just buy in Vermont? Also - every dealer I look at (online) has 1 or 2 of the wagon Imprezas and that's it. They may have 5 Imprezas on the lot altogether and this is across the board.... I have looked in Virginia, New Hampshire, Vermont.... What is the deal? Is it just not in demand?
See which state has lower taxes and negotiate online with 1-2 dealers in each state (near where you live/ will be living) and see what's cheaper total cost (tax, title...). Also factor in your trade-in.
See which state has lower taxes and negotiate online with 1-2 dealers in each state (near where you live/ will be living) and see what's cheaper total cost (tax, title...). Also factor in your trade-in.
Usually this won't matter. When you register in a new state the new state will want the tax unless you owned the car for a while. (This is to prevent people from crossing state lines just to avoid sales tax on the car.) Virginia's is lower than Vermont's, but in the case of buying right before moving, you'll owe Vermont the difference anyway. So this is moot.
I'd probably move first then buy. The amount of miles between (assuming you drive whichever car you have between the two) won't really have a big effect on values of either car, but it might be good not to take the brand new car on a long sustained drive. (This is debatable.) Also, if you buy up north the dealer will presumably handle or help you through the titling and licensing for VT. If you buy in VA, you'll likely have to do just a temp registration then handle the transfer yourself in VT. If you were to title it in VA then you'd be titling it twice (and paying fees twice) because you still have to transfer it to VT. You don't want to title it in VA, regardless of where you buy. There is nothing to be gained from that.
You might be able to get some feel of regional valuation differences from a site like Edmunds. I doubt it is that big a difference.
Dunno where you're headed but you can also check MA for Subaru dealers. Not sure what's with the inventory, they are probably in a changeover to 2014 model year around now.
$89 for coast to coast flight on SWA, (free exchanges if you don't use the ticket) and 3 days driving (I stay in $10/ night guest homes).
You never give up, do you, projecting your incredible superior deal finding skills and driving abilities?
short term (1-week in advance) SWA Newark to Seattle is $400, web only special. Buy it 3 weeks out and it can drop to $121. I haven't seen "coast to coast" on SWA for $89, but that doesn't necessarily address all of the cost that the OP would have getting from her home to the airport, from the destination airport to where she's buying a car ... especially a private party deal where the seller isn't inclined to drive to pick somebody up at the airport some distance from their home. Again, you project your exceptional professional level expertise and abilities upon the average person ... and it's a total fallacy. If it was so f'ing easy to do, everybody and their cousin would be doing it to their profitable advantage ... and it simply isn't so.
Locating those proverbial "$10/night guest homes" on your schedule may be easy for you to do as you've asserted through the years ... but even my adventuresome wife wouldn't consider such an arrangement with strangers. And she's backpacked through a fair number of countries, camped out alone in the wilderness, stayed at hostels and YMCA's and similar places where she's been reasonably comfortable. Ask how many guys would want or feel comfortable having their wife stay in the circumstances that you describe? even at that, how is the lady getting from the airport to the guest home accomodations? hitchiking? cab? rental car from the airport? or is she just gonna' walk, carrying her travel stuff and the emergency toolkit that she's supposed to have to fix the car enroute to back home?
As well, driving from "coast to coast" ... well, you're still superman when it comes to long distance driving and everybody else is just a wimp. IIRC, you were a pro driver and from what you've described, were driving in excess of daily limits when you were doing so. From LA to Burlington is a 3,000 mile trip, which reasonably and realistically is around 50 hours of driving time in good weather conditions. 50 hours in 3 days is approx 17 hours per day driving. Maybe some folk can do that comfortably for a day, but to do it 3 days back to back for the average person and have the time to take reasonable breaks, stop for food, etc .... now you're looking at 20+ hours of being awake/alert/and responsible as a driver. Get a clue, stealth ... there's very few normal people that can do this. It's called sleep deprivation, and even the pro drivers and their regulations prohibit such behavior for good reason ... it's simply not a safe thing to do.
Normal folk use places called "motels" for their cross-country travels. And they tend to eat most of their meals at places called restaurants. All of this takes time and money which gets added to the acquisition costs of their purchase. I wouldn't consider a 3,000 mile drive these days without several overnight stops. It's simply not worth the driving risk or hassles to push the trip any faster than that ... and in inclement weather, which happens during the next few months for much of the country, the driving chores are more strenuous and the time to travel can be longer.
My story has never changed.. I only have 34 VW diesels (+ 3 I bought this yr) but who is counting? (175...rolleyes Never claimed more than 22mpg on my only gasser (VW Riata motorhome)
The OP wanted a Subie and couldn't find any (didn't say new or used...), Why buy a NE rust bucket?
so... Nationwide Craigslist will find HUNDREDs in 2 minutes and she can ship a NON_RUST car for $800 cross country (I use u-ship .com) I have had RUST FREE cars delivered from TX / AZ in less than 3 days for under $500 by a hotshotter. AND the used car market in TX is DIRT cheap
Hey, stealth ... I got news for you. The delivery marketplace to VT is very different than quoting routes like TX/AZ to Oregon. Why? because the haulers have frequent schedules on the routes you're quoting.
Fact: I've arranged for transport using hotshotter and car transport brokers from Burlington VT to Denver ... and had to do Denver as the destination because they wouldn't even consider Cheyenne, it was out of their way. I've paid the full transport fee up front to a broker and waited MONTHS for a driver to have a route where they could be in VT and come out West, and I've had to cancel the delivery and get a refund for non-performance. The story from the broker has always been that the prevailing rate wasn't enough money for them to attract a driver on the board, and maybe we should up the price. Well, when it hits $1,000 each car and they still can't get a driver to take the load ... even when I have TWO cars to bring back, I know that we've got a problem that is best solved by me flying back there and driving a car home. The major point-to-point car delivery services with their own dedicated fleet of car transporters (like Dependable) have typically quoted me $1,300-1,500 and will not give me a schedule except to suggest sometime within the next 45 days. At that, I've had them blow past that time frame and take 80 days to bring me a car, with them a lot happier delivering to a terminal in Denver rather than door to door in Cheyenne (like they advertise they do ... it really doesn't happen that way in the real world).
Done deal...
RE: transfer of title... Just buy one AFTER you can license in VT (NH would be MUCH preferred... several of my cars live in 'Boarding school', other states Where I have homes) / regions without emissions / sales taxes. I Never failed emissions...I just don't need the expense of testing 34(37) cars + trucks. WA dyno's Diesels and I am not keen on turning an 'Attendant' loose with a stick shift on a Dyno, they usually kill it several times, and really are keen on SLIPPING a torquey Diesel. Bio D or grease is NEVER detectable for emissions, and THEN you have to explain THAT!
BS hypotheticals again, stealth ... The OP isn't moving to NH. Doesn't sound like she's planning on buying other residences there just for the purpose of defeating some tax and inspections money, either. Why don't you advise her to register the car in a foreign country? wouldn't that be even cheaper? how 'bout Belize? that'd be just as convenient for her to do, right? there'd be great fishing and sightseeing and a wonderful time visiting their second residence, and they could enjoy all the seafood there, too. All justified by saving a couple of bucks on VT taxes. You know what the fallacy is here? well, maybe you don't because you're so sharp ... most states these days have folks called tax collectors who are watching the use of vehicles in the area. So when a car with out-of-state plates shows up for a long duration, the local cops and sheriff's deputies are watching closely, and they will cite a vehicle for non-compliance with their state vehicle registration laws. It then becomes up to you to prove that you're exempt (out of state student, military on assignment, etc) or they want you to license your car in the state of your residence. The allure of capturing all the tax money that they are owed is very powerful.
FWIW, this isn't a new outlook on motor vehicle enforcement. I had it happen to me in Colorado back in the '60's when I was an out of state college student here and the cops spotted my car in a parking lot several days per week for a couple months. It got a ticket for not having Colorado plates, and I was residing here ...
As well, there are more and more data bases cross checking states of residency for everybody from the insurance agencies to DMV's. Get stopped in VT with an out of state registered vehicle and a VT driver's license and you may have some 'splaining to do. Here in Wyoming, they'll write you the ticket and you'll see the penalties for not having registered your vehicle within the 30 allowed days to do so. Colorado is the same, and they've been very aggressive about folk registering their cars at their mountain 2nd homes when they are actually using the cars as a daily driver along the front range where emissions inspections are required. They've taken it to a point that they even require vehicles legitimately registered in Wyoming that commute to Colorado for work to have the Colorado emissions inspection. Some of this is federal emissions compliance driven, but all of this enforcement is TAX revenue driven. Playing games with it is a losing proposition given the fines that are assessed for non-compliance.
VT should not have emission requirements outside major cities.
OP, Can you domicile in SD? I had 3 friends move to and later have to leave VT due to taxation and fees.
Now you're telling us that the marginal difference in being able to afford to live in VT is "taxation and fees" so that folk had to leave the place?
Again, so far away from the reality of the OP's situation. Try, try, try ... if you can, which I don't think you are able to comprehend: she is moving to VT because her husband got a job there. They've apparently already made the decisions about such a move and are committed enough to do this that they've decided to replace a car with another. The difference in apparent tax burden between NJ and VT just doesn't look like that big a difference .......
I will honk next time I pass by your exit in WY, as I did at 3AM on 15 Aug 2013
Honk if you must, but I'm so far off the highway that I won't hear it. Consider, too, that most regular folk other than pro drivers are off the road at 3 AM. I travel at those hours as a rep to access my accounts around the territory, and many times the highways are without any other visible vehicles for a couple of hours.
Today... 13,000 miles away from WY enjoying seafood and the cars the REST of the world gets to drive (no subies to be found).
Your fun May vary. But getting a used one owner car or truck from an OCD retiree has served me well many times.
Again, you've got those superior mechanical and purchasing skills that are in an Olympic caliber gold medal league that you've lost sight of the average car buyer and the process they go through.
FWIW, I've looked at a fair number of one owner used vehicles from Craig'sList and other sources through the years and seen a lot of highly misrepresented vehicles. It's why I've always advised folk to have a thorough pre-buy inspection by a professional before buying and taking delivery on any car (new or used), and that's what I've been paid to do by many clients for over 45 years. Folk have paid my way to look at cars all over the USA before making a buy decision ... and it's a process that the average buyer can't justify for what amounts to a commodity purchase of a common item.
Even the dealers, pro's at the used car business, get burned on long distance sight unseen deals. It's to your unique credit that it's always worked out good for you.
Last edited by sunsprit; 11-07-2013 at 12:25 PM..
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)
Never claimed more than 22mpg on my only gasser (VW Riata motorhome)
(no subies to be found).
