I've seen a few somewhat related posts, however my situation is a bit different. I live in NJ and I believe it is still true that Delaware has no tax. So if that is the case still I would buy my car in Delaware and simply drive it home. Anyone in this area have knowledge of this? This would save me $3500

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe you pay the tax of the state you live in. So if you went to Delaware, you'd still pay New Jersey tax. I also think some states have different taxes for cars than for basic sales tax, much the way food is sometimes taxed at a different rate. Either way, I don't think it's that easy, or A LOT of people would take advantage of that.

You pay the tax where you register and license your car.

Correct. When you go to get your tags they will charge you the tax even if you somehow fooled the dealer into not collecting it. I live in PA and this trick works for flat screen TVs and cameras and the like, but cars they have wired.

thanks very much. Does the Porsche website really have all the options on it? In building my C it just seems like there are options people speak of here that I dont recall seeing there.

There's a whole lot that the porsche.com configurators won't show. Deviating colors, for example. You need to download the order guide from the files section of caymanclub.net.

Regarding the sales tax issue: this is complicated and varies state by state. Certainly, if you initially title and register a new car in a state that has a sales tax, you will pay that sales tax, regardless of where you bought the car. But there's a little more to it than that. In Idaho, for example, if you initially reside in and title and register the car elsewhere (including a sales tax haven like Oregon) and don't move to Idaho until at least six months after titling the car, you completely avoid the tax liability. In other locales (e.g., Connecticut, at least as of the late 1990s), you must have paid sales tax on the car to some jurisdiction, else you will be assessed the tax upon titling/registration no matter how much time has elapsed.

From the Idaho goverment site: If I move to Idaho, do I need to pay Idaho sales tax on a vehicle that I bring with me?

If it’s registered in another state, and you’ve already paid sales taxes on it, you don’t have to pay Idaho sales tax. However, if your car is registered in a state that doesn’t have sales tax (Oregon, Alaska, Montana, New Hampshire, or Delaware), and you haven’t paid tax on the purchase of the vehicle, you must pay Idaho’s tax unless you bought the car more than three months before you moved to Idaho. To claim this exemption, you must fill out Idaho State Tax Commission Three-Month Exemption Claim Form ST-102 and give the completed form to the clerk when you title and register the vehicle.

Local knowledge rules.

This is probably a stupid question, but could you register the car in Delaware and just drive it in NJ with Delaware plates? I was thinking you could buy a PO Box or use a friend's address to have the plates and tags sent to. To save thousands it would almost be worth renting an apartment there for a month so you could pretend you live there.

Depends on local enforcement. Some states crack down on cars that stay around for a long time with out of state plates (Texans in NM for instance) and some don't make it a priorty. Insurance and insurance claims can be another factor. Just pay to support your local services is my motto.

My issue with that is the way they charge you based on the cost of your vehicle. If you buy an expensive Porsche in CA you have to pay a huge amount of tax on it. I know it goes towards things like roads that you use, but you aren't using these local services anymore than someone who buys a Kia. If it was just a reasonable flat fee I'd be less interested in registering my car in Oregon.

Yep, I hear you. Write your representives and vote your prefrences. I lived a bit in CA with their high taxes and felt like I should have gotten a refund when I moved here where auto taxes are very reasonable.

There is a ton of paperwork(including power of attny) to get a car registered in delaware if you are not a resident(even if your business is there). Sales tax on autos is still 3.5%(iirc). I had a client try to do that once. After he saw what he was going to go through(On a C4S mind you). He decided MD would work for him.

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Casey Parkin
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Tischer Porsche
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I don't think that color chips are much help. You really have to see a car in the color that you may want. Some colors do more for a particular car than others. How much time do you want to spend keeping it clean? Black looks great, but it's a bear to keep clean. I only ever waxed one in my life...NEVER AGAIN!