I'll try to make this short, and your opinions will be appreciated.

About 3-4 weeks ago I got in the mail a post card like mailing from my Lexus dealership were I bought my RX 350 on Dec 23rd, 2011.
It stated something about a $500.00 county sales tax on my RX in the county were I live.
The RX was purchased in a different county.
I figured it was just a follow-up statement in case I needed it to file my income tax.

At the time of purchased in Dec 23rd. 2011, on the price agreed on, all license transfer, trade-in price on my 2000 RX 300, including ALL taxes was noted on the statement and sign be me,.

Today I got a call from my Lexus dealership, and they tell me the "county tax" were I live was not on the purchase order and I need to pay them $500.00 of my county tax that they already paid.

Now my Question:
"Can they come back AFTER a contact is sign and try to collect county tax if it wasn't originally noted on the purchased agreement a month and a half later?"

I told them to talk to the salesman that sold my my RX, but he no longer works there as of a couple weeks ago............

 

When a dealership pays the tax and license fees on a new vehicle they are doing this on your behalf. So ... if the tax was not in the original purchase agreement, then you still owe it. It sounds like an honest mistake. Just pay it. If you are not comfortable with that, then you can check the specific laws in your state/county. But, the taxing authority is going to win this one.

The sales rep does not have anything to do with this. The dealership finance person that wrote up the contract and handled the administration of the sale is the person that can help you resolve this issue.

 

First off the sales rep is know longer working at this dealership.

Second, if there was a error in the contact, they should eat any tax error they made.
A sign contact of agreement is just that, a sign contract.

 

On the line of the purchase document that shows the taxes that were paid isn't there an explanation of the %/amount and what it's for? I.E. ______County Sales Tax.

 

Yep, on the contact it list state tax $$$ amount, and under county tax and local tax it has a N/A after each.

 

Sounds like they didn't collect any county tax due. But if it's due, then it will be collected, one way or the other. Doesn't sound like you're being cheated, just that there is still unpaid tax due. If you bought in a different county from where you live, it might not be their responsibility to collect it. But it's still due for where you live.

 

there are only 2 options i see here.

1. Pay the $500 and move on with your life.
2. Ignore it and wait for the call from collection agency.

@GRPFAN, i think what you want them to do is to cover the $500. right? ala slash it from the agreed price of the RX?
Then that will negate the contract that you signed. if you and the dealer agreed, let's say $42,000 as the price excluding the title, lincense, tax etc.. by going with your logic, it will be $41,500 for them to cover the $500 that they paid on your behalf.

No offense intended here, but if you don't want to pay a high county tax or Property tax, then don't buy a car that's more than $20,000.
i remember when we used to live in the North East, we pay property tax, roughly a $1000/car per year.

 

Here is the Wisconsin law:

Retailers who are not located in a county with a tax are still subject to the county tax and are required to collect and remit it, if they:

a). Make taxable sales that are sourced to (i.e., take place in) a county with a tax; or
b). Sell a motor vehicle, boat, recreational vehicle, or aircraft that will be customarily kept in a county which has adopted the county tax.

So the tax is definitely due. The dealership would know the tax is due. But, it looks like in Wisconsin that the dealer is the responsible party. The next thing to research is how much it should be; here is how you do that:

https://ww2.revenue.wi.gov/STRB/application

I would check the amount because $500 sounds a little high. Aren't most counties .5% in Wisconsin?

Finally, you can contact the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. They would be able to give you some guidance on new car purchase contracts. These contracts are binding purchase agreements in the state of Wisconsin.

E-mail: dealers.dmv@dot.state.wi.us
Call: (608) 266-1425
FAX: (608) 267-0323
Write to the address below:

Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Dealer & Agent Section
4802 Sheboygan Avenue, Room 201
P.O. Box 7909
Madison, WI 53707-7909

They would be able to give you some guidance on exactly how these new car purchase agreements are enforced in your state. You can also contact a lawyer, but that might not make financial sense. One final thing you might want to do is read your contract. It may contain wording that states that the state taxes/fees are estimates or some such wording ... ie. the amounts can change. Also, check any additional documents you signed. You may have signed another document stating that the taxes/fees are estimates and you are responsible for the actual amounts.

Of course you should contact the dealer, if you have not done so already.

ADDED: I looked at my purchase contract here in CA. It specifically states that the contract can not be changed without the written consent of both parties. If that wording is also used in Wisconsin AND the payment of the tax is the responsibility of the retailer, then you may be able to decline the additional cost. Perhaps that is why every dealership I have ever used has a finance sales guy to actually produce the final purchase contracts. I noticed on my contract that they also noted that fees were estimates only.

 

When I buy a vehicle I negotiate a price to the bottom line including any taxes and fees. Yes, his taxes are due, however it looks like he thought his bottom line was one number and now it has increased AFTER he took delivery.

I would talk with the owner of the dealership and see if you can reach some form of agreement. I would think that they would be interested in not being known for making expensive mistakes that end up costing their customers after the sale.

 

i agree with you on your latter suggestion of speaking with the dealer for an agreement.

Everytime we buy cars, we too haggle. But how in the world can you negotiate taxes? license fee?
i know what you're trying to say.. like i'm getting this car and i'm only willing to pay $45,000 total. ( out the door total). let the dealer play with their numbers and come back to you.

BUT, in reality, you are only negotiating the MSRP/ Invoice price and the addition/deduction of the add ons. right?
i know this is kind of a technicality, but you CAN"T negotiate how much the DMV will charge for the new plates.. it's fixed whether you're buying a $15,000 vs a $65,000 car.
Same thing with the county tax, sales tax, it is based on computation.

 

It seems like the person who did the paperwork assumed that you lived in the county where the dealership is and if you did the tax is not due. The fact that you live in another county then what ever fees/taxes are owed are really your problem. They made a mistake but you owe the money, whatever the taxes are. Have them go over everything with you and pay what you owe............

 

It is my understanding that almost all Wisconsin counties have a sales tax (and some have additional taxes that are rolled into the sales tax - stadium tax for example). I think that this is clearly just an error someone made.

 

This is what I'm thinking.

If I do or not owe a county tax legally, I stall say this should of been mention at the time of signing the contract.

According to the Lexus dealer on the phone, they paid the county tax, and now a month and a half
later, their asking me to reimburse them.

 

The reason that weeks went by was because in Wisconsin business owners only pay their sales taxes once a month (15th of each month I think). It was at that point that they computed and paid your taxes. It was also at that point that they realized the error on your sales contract. They sent you a note, you didn't respond immediately and that is how you now find yourself six weeks after the sale.

The dealer had an obligation to pay the correct tax on the transaction by state law. Since the dealership made an error on your sales contract, I don't know if you need to reimburse them. The specific content of your sales contract and state law would determine responsibility. You should call the Wisconsin Department of Transportation as I suggested above, I'm sure that they could point you in the right direction. It is conceivable that you can legally refuse to pay; however dubious that may be from an ethical point of view.

 

I always tell them my out the door price (includes ALL fees including title, taxes, tags, etc). That way they have to do the math on any part of the deal that gets me there. It also stops the hard sell on high margin dealer added items. I would never settle on the price of a vehicle and then start adding fees. I have never had a dealer balk at working this way.

I guess this may just be semantics, but I want to know exactly how much money will be coming out of my wallet before I agree to anything.