2021 Mustang GT Premium convertible, Florida repo to San Diego, and the California registration part

chris, San Diego. 2021 Mustang GT Premium convertible, the 5.0 with the 10 speed auto, Oxford White, black top, 31k miles. bank repo out of a lender yard in Lakeland, Florida. i bought it in april on the m&a auction, sealed bid, one shot. my number was 31,900.

why that number. dealers in El Cajon and Kearny Mesa had 2020 and 2021 GT Premium verts at 36 to 38k with similar miles, and private sellers on the local listings were asking 34 and up. i figured i had room for shipping and the California fees and still come out ahead.

shipping is the catch on a cross country buy. Lakeland to San Diego was 2,450 road miles on their sheet. the first 1,000 are free, the rest is 70 cents a mile, so 1,450 times .70 is 1,015. it came 15 days after i wired, a day later than the 14 they quote, the driver lost a day in a West Texas storm. listing and bid were through M&A Auto Sales.

writing this mostly for the California registration part, since that's what i couldn't find anywhere. next post.

dry, clean, no sand. found a parking pass from a Lakeland apartment complex in the sun visor, which was a little sad.

California, for anyone doing the same. the DMV wanted a VIN verification, which they did right in the parking lot at the Clairemont office. smog check first, 50 bucks at a station in Kearny Mesa, 15 minutes. the emissions label under the hood says 50 state, which is the one thing i'd confirm on any out of state car before bidding. then use tax on the price, 7.75 percent here, 2,472. registration fees on top of that were a little over 500, they're based on value. Florida title with the lien release, the lender's bill of sale and the odometer statement covered all the paper they asked for. two visits, because i didn't have the smog done the first time.

saw that one. 2020, 49k miles, base GT not the Premium, and a dealer doc fee on top. close, not the same car. if it had been a Premium with 30k i'd agree with you and you'd have saved me a month of checking my phone.

i will say what you said is the real cost of buying from a lender yard across the country. the bid has no premium on top of it with m&a, but the delivery past 1,000 miles is real money, and if the car is 2,500 miles away you have to build it in. i did and i'd still do it.