You can’t, but I suspect they’ll compromise on size, range or throw in the towel and get another ICE.
Official Honda statement on availability
- Thread starter DucRider
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2002
Well-Known Member
I think you would be in a very small minority. I can't imagine hardly any car buyers would be willing to wait six months for a car. People will do that for an exotic European import but not for a PHEV which they are already somewhat uncertain about. There probably will be people who know someone who has a Clarity, are convinced it is the exact car for them, and are willing to wait months to get it. But if that's what it takes then I think we will be able to count Clarity sales in most states on one hand.
And so far this is the only example we have of someone successfully ordering a car in a non-ZEV state. Well depending on the definition of success. Unlike the usual stories we hear where people are told by dealers that it can't be ordered, in this case the dealer accepted the order, but the buyer gave up after two and half months with no word on when it will arrive, so they moved on. The car eventually showed up months later.
I waited over a year to get the first Insight in the mid-west and over a year to get the first Clarity PHEV in Ann Arbor. OK, I'll admit I'm not a typical car buyer. I thought I was waiting over a year for the Honda e, but then Honda said no dice, you undeserving American.
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MPower
Well-Known Member
@insightman Your beloved Honda e is now available . . . in Europe https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/10/20858725/honda-e-price-launch-date-battery-range
You really know how to hurt a guy! I'll show 'em. After buying nothing but Hondas since 1986, I'm gonna get an electric MINI to satisfy my need for a sub-compact BEV. But I'm not comfortable with a name-change to miniman.
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Trying to get John "Plasma Boy" Wayland to bring his converted Insight project to NDEW. 400+ miles of EV range.
http://www.plasmaboyracing.com/silverstreak.php
Wow! 71 kWh packed into a tiny Insight while retaining the car's original interior passenger and cargo volume--that's amazing! Thanks for linking that--how can he possibly resist showing up at your NDEW event?
New owner here. Bought ours 2 weeks ago.
As Oregon residents we searched the state for a Clarity. First via dealer inventory on the internet, then by working directly with a dealer in Oregon. The dealer could not locate one in the state and contacted numerous dealers in California to see if they would agree to a vehicle swap. None would unless is was a Clarity for a Clarity. Not possible.
Finally the dealer put us in contact with a CA dealer who was willing to deliver the vehicle to Oregon and handle all the necessary paperwork to document the sale as taking place in Oregon. The dealer informed us the they would be selling another Clarity, in Oregon, to a buyer from Seattle a few days later.
We had been in Southern California earlier and test drove a Clarity prior to the purchase. That particular dealer was unwilling to transport the vehicle to Oregon. They were also unwilling to sell the car without collecting California sales tax. They said the tax would be refunded when I registered the vehicle in Oregon. I asked them to provide a document to show that their claim was true. They were unable to produce such a document.
So far we really like mostly everything about the car. I hope the vehicle is better than their public announcements.
As Oregon residents we searched the state for a Clarity. First via dealer inventory on the internet, then by working directly with a dealer in Oregon. The dealer could not locate one in the state and contacted numerous dealers in California to see if they would agree to a vehicle swap. None would unless is was a Clarity for a Clarity. Not possible.
Finally the dealer put us in contact with a CA dealer who was willing to deliver the vehicle to Oregon and handle all the necessary paperwork to document the sale as taking place in Oregon. The dealer informed us the they would be selling another Clarity, in Oregon, to a buyer from Seattle a few days later.
We had been in Southern California earlier and test drove a Clarity prior to the purchase. That particular dealer was unwilling to transport the vehicle to Oregon. They were also unwilling to sell the car without collecting California sales tax. They said the tax would be refunded when I registered the vehicle in Oregon. I asked them to provide a document to show that their claim was true. They were unable to produce such a document.
So far we really like mostly everything about the car. I hope the vehicle is better than their public announcements.
Mid City Motor World in Eureka. They delivered (drove) the car to Brookings.
MPower
Well-Known Member
I can't deal with the idea of a Mini. It takes me back to 1963 riding with a friend driving in her Mini Cooper through Sterling, Scotland, at night at 90 mpg with my eyes open.
The car was unusual for the time. It had seatbelts that were a full harness over both shoulders. I had them pulled so tight I could barely breathe. The streets were so narrow, the castle wall was so big!
2002
Well-Known Member
It is good that you didn't trust them, it is well documented on the official California website that if an out of state buyer takes delivery of the vehicle in California, sales tax is due in California. For Oregon this would be really bad as you don't pay vehicle sales tax there (although you pay 0.5 percent use tax). I looked up sales tax rates in California for a $30,000 purchase, of course it depends on where the dealer is located:
$2325 Orange County/San Diego
$2775 San Francisco
$2850 Los Angeles
Those rates are roughly comparable to the other two adjoining states Arizona and Nevada (also Washington which I just glanced at briefly). California does not refund sales tax, however if the tax paid to California is greater than or equal to the local tax due, then those states waive the local tax. If the local state tax is higher (many parts of Nevada and Washington) then the buyer has to pay the difference to their state when they register the car.
As for the dealer who was refusing to ship the car, what people were doing with Prius Prime in those situations was arranging shipping themselves, which can be done relatively simply online, which also allows you to get multiple quotes, and which will probably be cheaper than having the dealer arrange it for you. Not saying that the particular dealer you had the experience with would have even gone along with that idea, as they sounded very inflexible to begin with, but it seemed with Prius Prime dealers were less resistant to the idea of shipping out of state if the buyer is making the arrangements.
Of course finding a dealer like you did who is willing to drive the car across the state border to deliver it is fantastic. We have someone on here who reported a similar experience a few years ago with another car purchased in Sacramento which a dealer employee delivered to Reno. California recommends that dealers have a notary present during signing at the delivery location, and they said that's what happened. I assume that means delivery took place at the notary's office, unless the notary met them in some parking lot somewhere. Did you have a notary present when you took delivery in Brookings?
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4sallypat
Active Member
Congrats on the car and glad you got it after jumping thru hoops!
As for CA tax - you will not be able to get that money back as the sales/use tax is not refundable once it is paid.
The only exception is if you have a reseller's permit and prove that it's for out of state (like a shipping manifest or delivery proof) then you can claim the tax back against taxes owed.
I know, I have a CA BOE reseller tax permit for my small business.
I used to have the most minimal of Minis, a Morris Mini Moke (also sold as the Austin Mini Moke--"moke" is Australian for donkey). The British Motor Company designed the Moke to be parachuted from a cargo plane to troops on the ground. Once, when I was push-starting my white Mini Moke down my steep driveway, someone came to the front door of my house and warned my roommate that someone was stealing his golf cart. I can assure you the modern BMW Mini is nothing like a 1963 BMC Mini--for one, no Lucas electrics AFAIK. There's a company now offering an battery-powered Moke look-a-like but, unfortunately, it isn't much faster than a golf cart.I can't deal with the idea of a Mini. It takes me back to 1963 riding with a friend driving in her Mini Cooper through Sterling, Scotland, at night at 90 mpg with my eyes open.
The car was unusual for the time. It had seatbelts that were a full harness over both shoulders. I had them pulled so tight I could barely breathe. The streets were so narrow, the castle wall was so big!
We met at the DMV in Brookings. The DMV employee looked at the car, no VIN check required on a new car, then wrote down the amount due for registration. We drove a short distance to a notary to sign the appropriate documents.
The odd part was, we wrote a check to the Oregon DMV, which the dealer took back to Eureka to submit with all the paperwork to Salem. My previous experience with registering a vehicle in Oregon, which includes 4 cars and a motorhome, is: write check, get license plate.
Yes, my trust level for a car dealer is quite low. Our recent experience was one of the most pleasant. My faith in ever getting a dime back from California is nonexistent.
The odd part was, we wrote a check to the Oregon DMV, which the dealer took back to Eureka to submit with all the paperwork to Salem. My previous experience with registering a vehicle in Oregon, which includes 4 cars and a motorhome, is: write check, get license plate.
Yes, my trust level for a car dealer is quite low. Our recent experience was one of the most pleasant. My faith in ever getting a dime back from California is nonexistent.