I second getting the 4:10s. When I bought my '03, the number one reason was for towing. I in fact test drove one with 3:73s, and when I got back to the lot, there was another grey four door there for $50 more. The only difference was it had 4:10s. Long story short, I had to finish the paper work and my wife had to go to work. So she took my new truck that I still hadn't driven and I drove the old one home (they wouldn't give anything on a trade).

Today, I have BFG 285s which gives any effective gear ratio of 3:90. 70 mph runs ~2000 rpm, maybe a little more.

 

Cowhand,

Are you going to be able to avoid double sales tax? Tax from the dealer's state and tax in CA? When you talk about taking delivery are you saying an out of state dealer can sell you the truck in CA and not tax you in their state?

I bought mine out of state with no CA emissions approval, a federal engine. Then waited the required 6 months or whatever (actually waited till the reg was due) and registered it in CA. That way I only paid sales tax in NV and I got an HO

As far as I know the new trucks are all 50 state legal, but they must have the CA approval sticker to be sold here new or registered here as new. However, they do not need the CA approval if brought in "used" (7500 miles and 6 months). In that case anything can be registered with a DMV VIN# inspection or statement of facts signed by a police officer.


John

 

It sounds like the guy who started this thread wants to get 4:10s and that is great.

all i wanted to add here is most of you who have chimed in have the 48re and it is a world apart from the 68rfe. I just came from an 05 with a 48 and it would be hard to compare the two.

unless you were pulling max all day everyday you don't really need 4:10s with the 68rfe. and remember the 6.7 trucks don't get as good of mileage as the 5.9 even those who are getting the best from them are still less than the 5.9.

I will add one more thing. the 6.7s run WAY hotter than the 5.9s. normal driving i am between 900-1100 most of the time. average about 1000 EMPTY.

yesterday cruise set at 65-67 (again empty) it went into Regen and was at 1350-1400 for about 10 minuets. what was considered the danger zone with the 5.9 is normal for the 6.7. and yes that is PRE turbo!

 

I bought my CTD new in Montana. I confirmed with a supervisor at CA DMV as well as Dodge that the truck would be legal to bring into the state. Once again I had no trouble registering it in CA. If you are a legal resident of another state, you can bring in a vehicle you purchased out of state if it has at leaste 7500 miles on it before you register it in CA even if it does not meet CA smog regs. The 7500 mile rule does not apply if you are a CA resident and you purchase a new car out of state. To avoid the CA "Use Tax" (sales tax by another name) the vehicle has to be kept out of state for at least 365 days from the date of purchase.

 

This is what I'm talking about. It's not a matter of whether it can be done, just how to not be taxed twice. Driving an out of state licensed vehicle in CA is no big deal, I've done it for years with no problem. So he can probably wait out his required time for registration, if needed, here. Will he keep it registered out of state for the required amount of time? Will he get out of being taxed by the state where he buys it? Can the out of state dealer complete the transaction in CA to avoid the tax? If so, he can just register it here and be done with it

In my case I registered it out of state and then switched the registration later. I was charged sales tax in NV but not in CA when I re-registered it.


John

 

With me, it was not a big problem. I have property in Montana, and registered and insured it there. My son goes to college in Washington, and he drove the truck for a year. I didn't bring it into CA until more than a year had passed from when I pruchased it. You do have to be careful of the smog regs, because if you are a CA resident and buy a car new out of state that does not meet CA regs you can never register it in CA. That is why it was important to confirm that the 2006 Dodge Cummins was a 50 state legal engine before I bought it. BTW, Montana has no sales tax.

 

Big,

I am a CA resident. I bought my truck in Nevada. It is an '04 HO that was NOT available in CA. And I registered it in CA after the required waiting period. No problem, it definately can be done.

It's just nice to get a handle on the system before jumping in. I was determined to get an '04 HO and to not be taxed twice.

I'm currently driving a VW TDI that also was not available in CA. I have since bought property in NV and so it will remain licensed there.

I did it with a truck I bought in Hawaii too. It had the CA emissions I think, but the trick was to declare that it had arrived in CA within 10 days of the application for a new license. Hawaii has an annual inspection with dated stickers that must be current to re-register the vehicle. So the clock was running and the trip back to get it inspected was a bit much!


John

 

When I bought my truck in Vegas they charged me CA sales tax. They actually overcharged 1% and sent me a refund check. They will give you a temporary, 15 day new vehicle pass and overnight the contract to the DMV of your choose. You will then need to pay lic, registration and get a weight certificate. It cost me about $400 bucks with my personilzed plates. The sad thing was that the Vegas dealer had there poopoo together. CA DMV on the other hand, that's another story! CA DMV downright SUCKS! The title has the unladen weight on it from the factory, you'd figure that should be good enough? NOPE! That's were the weight cert came in.

 

Buck,

They charged you CA sales tax and no NV sales tax?. If so, cool, that's how it all gets settled. Interesting that you could buy a truck in NV and pay no sales tax in that state.

John

 

They kinda specialize in CA deliveries. They just charged the about $50 in NV fees if I recall, drive off permit and some other small fee. I didn't really care considering the $$$ I saved. Sticker was $43K+ and I got it for $31K + tax and fees.

 

When you buy a car they're supposed to charge you tax based on the address it will be registered. Does buying out-of-state change that?

 

I special ordered mine from Dave Smith. Upon arrival off the train and transported to DSM,extras were added per my instructions. DSM charged me a nominal Wa fee and issued a temporary permit and it went onto the auto transport truck for its trip to San Diego. After arrival and an inspection from yours truly,I had it weighed at Mayflower for a whopping $10.00. Within a few days,DSM had my paperwork Express Mailed(next day) to me. Lined up@ DMV(don't mess with the appointment crap)@7;30 A.M. Even with waiting for a state employee to show up 20 minutes late,I was outa 'dere in 45 minutes. All taxes and fees were paid to DMV. DSM and the DMV were on a roll for me. My truck came out at thousands lower than any dealer locally and Les McDaniels@DSM was great.

 

If your '04 HO was a 600 series engine I believe all of those are supposed to be 50 state legal, even if it wasn't being sold in CA at the time. I also read somewhere (my memory fails me) that vehicles sold in states bordering on CA met CA smog regs. I don't know why that would be true, but I did read it somewhere. This whole mess is created by CA deciding that the smog regs good enough for the other 49 states are not good enough for the Peoples Republic of California.

 

That's because in the People's Republic of California, we have Boxer Fienstien and twice as many people living in half as much space.

As much as I hate the tree fornicators, I have to agree that the air quality in the area I live in sucks. Pretty much everything that comes into the port of Long Beach/LA goes by truck or rail to distribution centers within a 25 mile radius of where I live. That and I'm getting too old for smoke.....it's great for the sled pulls and dyno days, but I have no use for anything other than a slight puff that says "I'm BOMBed". My 96 will kill mosquitoes in a 1/2 square mile radius if I nail it with less than 10lbs of boost.

On a lighter note....looks like I'll be taking delivery on Friday. 2500 Mega 4X4 Laramie, 6.7/68RFE

 

Just in time to initiate it into the offroad world at Nick's race in Lucerne!