[SchnellBoy]

Can someone give me some advice on this situation?

I bought a car from a dealer in Houston, TX. The car is a 1997 993 C2S, silver, 16k miles. I had everything checked on it (PPI), and I was happy with the final price of $56k.

Everything is fine with the car. I received the title yesterday from the dealer and I went to the DMV to register the car. I live in the Bay Area in California. At the DMV, I was kindly notified that I owed about $4500 in California SALES TAX for this car. Is this right??? I thought I was to pay the registeration fees and stuff like that, but not the SALES TAX. I almost had a heartattack right there, and I think I'll have another one until I find out what the policy/law/process is.

I was always under the impression that if I bought a car out of state, I wouldn't have to pay CA sales tax. Thus, I was always looking for "that great deal" in states like Oregon or Nevada. If I knew I had to pay sales tax, I would have looked closer to home. Thinking about it now, what's the point in buying a car out-of-state for a cheaper price, when I still have to pay that 8% sales tax PLUS the $1000 shipping costs? I had several friends in college back in the good ol' days who bought cars in Delaware, specifically to take advantage of the lack of sales tax.

What's going on? Remember, I bought the car from a respectable dealer. Is the sales tax issue the same if I bought from a private seller? I'm confused and miserable right now, and I may be out another $4.5k, money I was going to spend on the car!