So I am looking at this 350z from a guy local from me. He is privately selling his Z but he wants to sell it through a dealer because he wants the tax break from buying a G37. He told me what will happen is I would have to pay the dealer the price he put on his Z + sales tax + tag. The money will automatically be credited to his account. Is this perfectly normal or is there something else he is hiding? I am assuming he just wants the tax break but I could be wrong. Last thing I want is to be hit with hidden fees from the dealer. Should I just stick with auto tagging instead?

 

ask the dealer!

 

more than likely there would also be dealer doc fees

 

But won't you end up having to pay sales tax on the car when you purchase it from the dealership. If that is the case then all you are doing is paying the tax that he is saving. Unless you are getting a really good deal on the car, it doesn't sound very fair to me.

 

you will pay the same sales tax from your state when you go to register it

 

Good point. NC calls it Highway Usage tax and I thought you paid that at the dealership as well. But I just checked the paperwork on my Z and notice that it only has sales tax.

 

It's called a pass through and it is kind of frowned up on in the industry. The seller is attempting to save sales tax on his new car purchase. I would tell him that at the very least he needs to split the savings with you

 

What exactly is this "pass through" method? Does the price of the car get deducted from the new car he is buying and taxed on that amount?

 

Pretty much. Lets say the car he wants is $20,000. If he buys it he will pay roughly $600 in sales tax (at 3%). Let's say he trades in the Z and they give him $15,000 for it, he then only owes the dealership the $5,000 difference. He would then be taxed on $5,000 which would be about $150. Then the dealer sells you the car for the $15,000 that they gave him. But as someone mentioned earlier, make sure you are not paying the Doc Prep fee that dealerships charge on most sales.

 

so basically I am buying the car from the dealer at the price he sets?

 

Well you and the seller should determine the price you are willing to pay. Then the dealer would give the other guy that amount as the trade in value and deduct it from the cost of the G37. The dealer should then only charge you what they gave the seller for the 350Z.

If they start tacking on fees like doc prep fee or try to charge you more for the car than they deducted for the trade in value, I personally would just go find another Z.

Good luck, and don't let this situation screw you over. There are too many people wanting to sell their car these days. Don't settle.