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Jan 2014: Bill to permit direct sales in Arizona

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I guess I don't see the point. I like the fact that I was able to select, buy, and fill out all the paperwork at home. No hassle from the salesman, no hassle from the financing guy. The car was delivered to my door, what's wrong with the way it is now? The only hassle was having to go into the DMV and I was in and out in like 20 mins.
 
I guess I don't see the point. I like the fact that I was able to select, buy, and fill out all the paperwork at home. No hassle from the salesman, no hassle from the financing guy. The car was delivered to my door, what's wrong with the way it is now? The only hassle was having to go into the DMV and I was in and out in like 20 mins.

This would remove all remaining hassles...
 
I guess I don't see the point. I like the fact that I was able to select, buy, and fill out all the paperwork at home. No hassle from the salesman, no hassle from the financing guy. The car was delivered to my door, what's wrong with the way it is now? The only hassle was having to go into the DMV and I was in and out in like 20 mins.

The point is that some people LIKE to go into a store, check out the car, ask questions, and get general sales help. You and I are happy doing it from home, but Tesla is surely losing some sales because many people will not make such a major purchase without more hands-on experience and more contact with the product/seller.
 
The point is that some people LIKE to go into a store, check out the car, ask questions, and get general sales help. You and I are happy doing it from home, but Tesla is surely losing some sales because many people will not make such a major purchase without more hands-on experience and more contact with the product/seller.

It's called galleries and test drives. No need for a dealership.
 
> Sales Tax that Arizonans are currently paying to Tesla. [INATM]

Not clear why AZ cannot demand full $ales Tax before AZ new car title is issued, like WY does for example. Something tells me they have been doing so with Teslas since day one.
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> Sales Tax that Arizonans are currently paying to Tesla. [INATM]

Not clear why AZ cannot demand full $ales Tax before AZ new car title is issued, like WY does for example. Something tells me they have been doing so with Teslas since day one.
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Usual rule with an out-of-state purchase is that you pay a use tax on the "unpaid" portion of the sales tax. Fremont, CA is 9%. AZ sales tax is 5.6% plus county plus city, which can be higher. AZ has exceptions to the general rule that buying in CA is expensive. And if you buy from Fremont you can get the factory tour...
 
I'd guess there'd be a chance of this passing, since Arizona would really like to get that Sales Tax that Arizonans are currently paying to Tesla. In other states with lower sales tax that Fremont visit looks a lot more expensive...

Arizonans pay sales tax to State of Arizona at time of registration. We do not pay sales tax to Tesla, California, or anyone else. I paid over $6,000 in sales tax when I registered my car. Arizona sales tax on Tesla and other new vehicles is equal to 5.6% state tax plus 0.7% county tax plus city tax, if applicable.
 
The point is that some people LIKE to go into a store, check out the car, ask questions, and get general sales help. You and I are happy doing it from home, but Tesla is surely losing some sales because many people will not make such a major purchase without more hands-on experience and more contact with the product/seller.

And? Arizona already has a showroom floor in Scottsdale that you can walk in check everything out and even arrange test drives. The only thing you can't do is actually purchase one. They tell you to go online and do it. As far as sales tax goes, it's collected at the moment you register the vehicle. I love how people that don't live in the state assume they know what is going on here.
 
I guess I don't see the point. I like the fact that I was able to select, buy, and fill out all the paperwork at home. No hassle from the salesman, no hassle from the financing guy. The car was delivered to my door, what's wrong with the way it is now? The only hassle was having to go into the DMV and I was in and out in like 20 mins.
Dychen, it's important for two reasons, in my opinion.

First, a significant fraction of consumers still are more comfortable making purchases in the manner that purchases have been made for the past several millennia. In that even one potential buyer is more likely to purchase a Tesla through TeslaArizona means that the company is better off with the removal of the 1920s era ban.

Second and more importantly, TMInc is waging a corporate war against the entrenched and very deep-pocketed dealer franchises throughout the entire USofA (and Canada too, I believe). The more of their bastions that fall, the more victorious TMInc is.
 
Usual rule with an out-of-state purchase is that you pay a use tax on the "unpaid" portion of the sales tax. Fremont, CA is 9%. AZ sales tax is 5.6% plus county plus city, which can be higher. AZ has exceptions to the general rule that buying in CA is expensive. And if you buy from Fremont you can get the factory tour...

As others have said, Tesla does not collect CA sales tax when shipping the cars to AZ. The only time they would is if the car was picked up in CA -- but since that is ~3% more expensive, we have the cars shipped to AZ instead (there may be someone that did Fremont Delivery, but I haven't met anyone from AZ that has done that yet). We then have to pay use tax to AZ when registering the car...
 
As others have said, Tesla does not collect CA sales tax when shipping the cars to AZ. The only time they would is if the car was picked up in CA -- but since that is ~3% more expensive, we have the cars shipped to AZ instead (there may be someone that did Fremont Delivery, but I haven't met anyone from AZ that has done that yet). We then have to pay use tax to AZ when registering the car...

OK, never mind, I read more, the city tax isn't covered by reciprocity, so would always be in addition.

Anyhoo, as far as the bill goes
- 60 miles is inconsistent with the 75 miles for historic minority interest.
- with modern car shopping being Internet+test drive anywhere+Internet+get car, I think miles are becoming arbitrary.
- "a dealer" is vague; it should say "one of its dealers" as the bill says elsewhere; if this language is not corrected it could be a legal trap that prevents operation of factory stores until the bill is amended
- Even with correction, it's not that great for "factories" since the law limits advertising according to the consumer/lead. If you think of each dealer having a 60 mile radius dome, the factory would not be able to do any campaign that hits people in those domes, which would make marketing difficult, especially internet marketing. The factiry would basically be, very precisely, filling in the spaces outside the domes.
- Since Tesla doesn't have dealers they would be unaffected by the (corrected) amendment.
 
I love how people that don't live in the state assume they know what is going on here.

You are the only one making assumptions. I lived in Phoenix until not too long ago, visit regularly, and remain quite well informed on what's going. And I stand by my earlier comment as well as AudubonB's rephrasing thereof: while this initiative may not have much perceived value to YOU, any limitation or restriction on the sales process may (will?) intimidate or dissuade some buyers from closing the sale. This is not a $3.99 impulse buy.
 
You are the only one making assumptions. I lived in Phoenix until not too long ago, visit regularly, and remain quite well informed on what's going. And I stand by my earlier comment as well as AudubonB's rephrasing thereof: while this initiative may not have much perceived value to YOU, any limitation or restriction on the sales process may (will?) intimidate or dissuade some buyers from closing the sale. This is not a $3.99 impulse buy.
We may be looking at this from a different perspective. What if we were looking at it from a different brand (ie Ford, Chevy or Honda) perspective. that would allow them to sell direct.