So I just called the North Carolina DMV to get an idea of how much tax I will pay on a 2004 S2000. I gave her the VIN # of the car and she came back and said the tax value is showing as a little over $6,000 and I pay 3% of that for highway usage tax. This seems really low to me considering blue book on a 2004 is around 13k. I'm not going to argue paying only $180 bucks in tax but it's hard to believe.

Can anyone confirm this that has recently registered an S2000 (assuming your state laws are the same)

 

It is 3% as you say, but if you are buying the car, they go by the sale price. I just paid mine last week.

 

Yep. Sale price determines the value. I wish my taxes were only $180. I had to pay CA $2000 on top of the purchase price... ****ers...

 

You pay the tax on the purchase price only when you buy from a dealer.

When buying from a private party you pay 3% of the value of the car which the DMV has a database for. This was confirmed by the MV office in Raleigh.

See this link:

http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/vehicle_services/...HighwayUse.html

"Dealer Sales:

If the vehicle is purchased from a Dealer or a Leasing Company, the tax is 3% of the purchase price, less any trade in credit. A bill of sale must accompany each application.

Casual Sales:

Vehicles purchased from anyone other than a dealer must pay a 3% tax based on the vehicle's value according to a value table maintained by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles."

 

Are you asking about sales tax or Personal Property tax?

 

It's the tax you pay on a private party purchase when you go to get the car registered. It's a highway usage tax.

What I'm getting at though is how low the division of motor vehicles values a 2004 S2000. She said they were told their values are close to KBB and that obviously isn't the case with this car. Thought it was odd...