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Idiots in Washington State.


Bimmer-Biker

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I just purchased my 1st BMW Cycle a 2004 R1150RT that has 22K on it. Excellent condition. Paid $3K. Outstanding bike. Just went to go get the title transferred and new plates. I know bimmers hold their value, but State of WA puts the value at $8 thousand dollars and wants to charge me accordingly. WTF! Even the lady at the DMV thought it was nuts. KBB lists it at $4800 from a dealer in excellent condition. So my only recourse is to show up with the KBB print out or a quote from a dealer. I can depreciate the cost by also bringing in repair(s) quotes from the dealer to subtract from the price. So I am going to have to go to my local dealer and get a quote to repair/replace any and everything that has even the tiniest scratch or ding.

Anyone have any other suggestions that would be 'typically' repaired/replaced on a bike of this type and age?

 

Thanks

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I would have them price out a final drive rebuild. Not all that uncommon on these anyway. That will eat up enough off the KBB figure to get you right.

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You should just be able to provide a bill of sale with the sale amount signed by both the selling and buying party. I'm not in Washington, but I've bought more then a dozen motorcycles in dc,va,md,and pa and always what they need is a bill of sale to tax at a lower level. Please keep in mind nearly all states have a minimum tax value but it is usually somewhere between 500 to 1500.

 

There is a bunch free online. Just print full out and sign and bring with you to registration...Good luck.

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Yeah - WA apparently has a new system in which they hard code a value in their system and you need to provide documentation as I mentioned to get them to move off that price. Big huge uproar here as they also charge Tabs based on the same system and there is no way to fight that and you are charged accordingly. So I will be billed for my Tabs based on the $8000 that they have in their system. I am just fighting the sales tax price for right now.

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Dennis Andress

They are not idiots. They are highly skilled at finding every dime needed to administer their version of utopia.

 

They valued my R1200 ST at $7400 when I bought it a couple of months ago. It was described as "Average Retail Price" derived from dealer sales data. So, maybe the DMV is using every retail sale since model introduction to come up with that average. My astonishment, and bill of sale, were all it took to get the lady to use the NADA value. (I did the transfer at Kitsap County rather then the DMV.)

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Some states have gone to a "book value" system. That is likely brought on by owners presenting fake purchase bills of sale or whatever at a price well below market and well below what they paid for it. So the cheaters of the system are the ones to blame.

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Well the argument could be made that the States suck for double dipping. Sales tax on the bike was already paid once. They are charging it twice just as a money grab.

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I almost had trouble at the DMV once. She looked at the price, and the "BMW" printed on the sheet and said, hold on a minute. I said it's a motorcycle, not a car. That put her mind at ease. Perhaps they're looking something up for a car? I have found that there is no limit to the mistakes people can make.

 

Anyway, they do that, so you can't pay $8000 for a car, and write up a bill of sale for $200 simply to avoid taxes. Oldest trick in the book. But if there's a valid reason for the unusually low price, they should listen. Usually, you write "not running" or "crashed" or something similar on the receipt.

Edited by elkroeger
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What!! I thought WA went off the value system (excise tax) and charged a flat annual registration fee of about 52 bucks for a car or motorcycle. Of course when it comes to taxes WA wrote the book. I found out when we sold our house up there and paid the state an additional 2% tax on the sale amount so commission (6%) + closing cost (1%) + tax (2%) = 9% Wow, that irritated me!

 

Am I ever glad we moved back to Oregon. 48 states not counting the other two and each of them think they know how to re-envent the wheel, what a joke!

 

Hope this isn't considered political as that is not what i intended.

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WA state will only allow about a 10-15% deviation from their listed price when calculating sales tax on a used motorcycle regardless of any bill of sale that you bring in unless it is from an accredited dealer. If you want to move them off that price you need to bring in the documentation that I mentioned in my earlier post.

 

As for the Tabs, regardless of any documentation I can provide to bring the sales tax down, I will still be charged yearly 1.3% against their apparent internal listed value of $8000 + vehicle weight tax, and flat fee taxes.

 

I have a 2015 BMW 320i and last year my Tabs cost me $569. Almost shit myself.

 

Yes we get totally [censored]ed for vehicle taxes and fess in WA,

 

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Oh, I totally forgot the state (WA) is collecting a one time sales tax on that bike. But after that it's just annual registration which should be around 50 bucks if i remember correctly.

 

WA may not have an income tax but jeez do they have a sales tax. What is it in King County about 9.5%?

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Guess that is why Illinois is broke. Registered and titled my 03 R 1150 R. Flat $25 sales tax. Registered my recently acquired DropTail trailer, $0 sales tax. $120 each for title and license.

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Guess things have changed since 2006. I'm kind of spoiled what with no sales tax and 2 year vehicle fees of around 80 bucks every two years for cars and motorcycles. The income tax can get interesting especially if you're not retired in Oregon.

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