Wow so happy for you! (wish it was me tho! LOL!)
Please post some pictures and sound bites after you get her home.

 

Do you mind that it has a manual gearbox, Rodney?

 

No...I drove a stick for 13 years. I had a Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4; it was my daily driver. I bought that car brand new - it's the only brand new car I have ever purchased. But I kept it until the wheels fell off.

The clutch was very stiff on the VR4 car. The clutch on the DBS is very easy/soft.

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/cars/a...on-martin-dbs/

 

For you guys in GA, the state has changed the way they compute the Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT).

The state now has established (What it considers) "Fair Market Value" for cars. Also, they do not allow payoff to be used when subtracting from the FMV to determine the taxable amount...they now use trade in allowance.

The state of GA has FMV for the DBS at $142,750.00!!! The TAVT on my DBS was $7432.00. Pretty ridiculous. And I am sure at 6.75% we're probably a lot lower than some other places.

The TAVT and gas guzzler tax on a new Vanquish must be close to $15K. Also, the amount of the TAVT increases each year until they reach 7%. So the move to the new TAVT was a good idea to get away from the yearly Ad Valorem. But, like just about everything, the state gov has found new ways to screw us.

So about $8200 of my costs were taxes and fees.

 

Will see if I can make it!

 

In Ontario, Canada where I live, the DMV has a similar evaluation system for caclulating sales tax, however, it was designed to accommodate the normal vehicle transaction, not an exotic car. There is, at least here, an appeals process, where you can offer up evidence that the "book" value used to calculate tax is not appropriate. I would look into this to see if you can argue that the $142k number they are using in your case, is not realistic. It would certainly be worth your time.

Oh, and congrats. Great find and very exciting, I'm sure.

 

Sounds like a complex setup. I bought my XKR for £40k, then paid £490 for a year's Road Fund License (a.k.a. "road tax"). That's it. Sales tax on new cars is 20%, but most dealers only pay tax on their profit when selling a used car. So, some of that £40k was tax, but it was invisible to me.

What I hate is when anything is quoted on a pre-tax basis, and you suddenly find it's costing you more than you expected. It's a practice that used to be common here, because businesses don't care about the sales tax on things they buy - they just take it off the amount of tax they have to pay when they sell their product/service. So sellers would advertise prices without sales tax, with the argument, "Oh, some of our customers are businesses". Which was a great way to have cheap prices that weren't actually cheap when you came to pay. Advertising standards have now changed, so it doesn't happen, but it was bloody annoying while it was going on.

 

Yes...I think businesses should be required to post prices that include taxes and fees on cars (and everything else for that matter).

Once it starts impacting their bottom line, we would see changes in our tax code.

Taxes in the US are too high, and 51% of the people that live and work in the US pay essentially no income tax. In fact, a large percentage of people actually get money from the government AND pay no tax.

 

Sounds like you got your Aston Martin......CONGRATULATIONS

Paying the taxes are just part of the deal. In another month or two, the frustration will pass.

However, there must be some sort of justification on how the FMV is arrived at. I agree with Syd, that you may want to appeal the tax based on the high dollar FMV. If the FMV was really that high, the dealership would NOT have listed the car $30,000 below FMV.

Will the dealership provide a letter to you showing what they feel the FMV is?

That might help your cause and getting a few hundred or thousand buck's back makes some sense to try to make an appeal, if it is even allowed in Georgia. Who would know better than an authorized Aston Martin dealership.

It does look like NADA.com is pricing the car over the State of Georgia's FMV @ $159,200


Original MSRP Base Price $265,000
Low Retail Average Retail High Retail
$139,000 $159,200 $179,100

If this is the case, looks like you got a great deal and the State tax is immaterial, although since you paid the tax, you may not feel that way.

States need money and one way to get it is thru the consumer.

Most of all enjoy the car...it is something special, and feel honored that you were able to financially afford the car. Very few people can buy premium automobiles such as an Aston Martin, you are one lucky man.

Keep us posted on how you like the Aston after a few weeks of driving it.

 

Hey, Rodney, you could have bought this one:



The Aston Martin Atom - only one in existence.

 

Congratulations on the new car. Many miles of happy and healthy driving.

All you need is a pair of 007 cylinder Mont Blonc cufflinks and you will be ready for reporting (English accent) dyuty.

 

and Welsh Corgi :-)

 

Congrats. That is one gorgeous car and if you paid only 112K before taxes and fees you got a great deal. You were fortunate that the car was in your back yard since it was the least expensive 2009 DBS listed on cars.com and you managed to beat them up some.

The big AM's have such a presence that you really appreciate when you see one in person--pictures just don't do them justice. They may not be the fastest or have the latest tech, but they are in a league of their own. Enjoy.

 

You will never feel understated showing up in that car. It is awsome, when I went looking for my car I started the DB9 and fell in love but the extra $40,000 for a weekender put me in the XKR, which I am very happy with.
Enjoy and looking forward to the pictures.
Jim

 

Congrats you bought a great car!

 

When I was in LA last week I looked at a 2014 Vanquish loaded with carbon fiber. It was a very impressive looking car. They only wanted about $250K...Yikes. They also had several Ferrari 458s. I'd go for the 458 before the Vanquish.

 

Congrats. Enjoy your DBS!

 

Gorgeous car! I bet you'll look at it in your garage every night before you go to sleep. Hope your wife doesn't get too jealous over your new love!

As for the ad valorem tax, a small consolation is the fact that you paid it only once, unlike the previous GA ad valorem "birthday" tax that was payable every year. You still got a great deal even when you add that tax into your net cost of the car. And the pride of owning such a rare work of automotive art is priceless! Hope you enjoy it as much 5 years from now as you do today!

Stuart

 

Thanks Stuart. If all goes well I will probably trade it in 2 to 3 years on a Vanquish.

I am gonna try and make it to the British thing happening in Alpharetta this Saturday that Hammish was talking about. If you are up that way look for my car and we will talk.

 

Really?! Damn...

What's the 0 to 60 time??? I guess the tech is only slightly behind our Jags and the DBS???