Buying an Alpine & selecting a Montana LLC

[rbguinn]

My wife & I are ready to seriously shop for a 03-04 36' mid-entry & save sales tax via a Montana Limited Liability Company. Any suggestions locating an Alpine Coach &/or any recommendations which company in Montana has provided premium service in setting up a LLC company. rbguinn@swbell.net

[rbguinn]

My wife & I are ready to seriously shop for a 03-04 36' mid-entry & save sales tax via a Montana Limited Liability Company. Any suggestions locating an Alpine Coach &/or any recommendations which company in Montana has provided premium service in setting up a LLC company. rbguinn@swbell.net

[dgerstel]

I have used Bennett's for years, they have taken good care of us.

Dale

[Basil Shannon]

Greetings from Camp WRV,

Bennett's is a good choice. We have great service from then. We also title our toad there.

[APEXMAN]

Try Bennett Law Office,866-543-5803.Good people

[EngineerMike]

Can't tell you about the LLC bit, but for locating options for a coach, try Randy Wellete @ 541-912-1905. He works for Guaranty RV in Junction City, OR and can fill you in on what they have available. I-5 Uhlmann in Chehalis, WA may also have some used units available (both outfits treated ACA very well at the Newport, OR Pre-Rally recently; don't have a contact there but you can find them w/a yellow pages search).

[alpinerver]

Have used Bennett for years, excellent service. Also insurance is far less than a lot of other states. some ins. companies won't insure a LLC though. I have GMAC with no problem. A new concern is a federal fuel tax on LLC owned vehicles claiming they are commercial vehicles
Larry

[gjstacy]

rbguinn,

We have also used Bennett for a number of years, and we also register our toad under the LLC so the license plates match...thought that would help avoid scrutiny. We use USAA and Progressive for insurance, and have no problem with the LLC.

For used vehicles, EMike has two good suggestions for you, plus you should look on the Internet. I think you can find the appropriate sites (RVSearch.com, etc) by doing a google search for "used RVs".

Good luck! Sure hope we can welcome you to our happy family soon.

[VAGABONDMAN]

Before you use a Montana LLC, I suggest you review your state laws. In Washington, they can take your rig and fine you as well if they catch you. I have a friend who got caught during a state audit because he paid for his $30.00 tabs thru his company; it cost him over $60,000 plus his attorney fees. Some states are more agressive than others at this - be carefull.

[Rick Coleman]

If you are from California you might want to consider just keeping the coach out of the state for 90 days. That rule is apparently back! It was increased to 1 year, but I just read that it has reverted to 90 days. You can completely avoid the sales tax!! Big savings!! I'll bet Lindsay and Rich from Guaranty will find a place for you to put the coach for 90 days.

[htg3]

Make sure that you are familiar with the 90 rule. We were one of the last coaches to qualify under the old 90 day rule before it went to one year. Then it required the coach to be "in use". Storage did not qualify.
We took a great trip around the US, but kept all of our receipts and took pictures of every RV park we stayed at. I made up a nice "scrapbook" for the nice people at the Exemption Office. Even then, my claim was audited CAREFULLY three times when we got back to claim our exemption.
My personal opinion is that this reversion to the 90 days will not last long. It was a political "gift" for a politician who has an RV or boat. Most of the politicians dislike it beacause it favors the "rich" people who can afford to own an RV or boat.
Enjoy your trip, but document it carefully.

[Chuck & Marca]

Best of luck on finding your Alpine. We have used Bennett's Law Firm since 2002 and have received excellent support from them. Also, they will make sure you have the most current laws for the state in which you plan to reside or house the motorhome. This way you be informed as to the laws in effect. Marlene at Miller Insurance Agency, Lake Oswego, OR handled finding the best insurance for us and we ended up with Safeco for the TOAD and Progressive for the motorhome. Again, the insurance can become state specific and of course not all companies insure LLC's.

Look forward to seeing you down the road.

[EngineerMike]

HTG- Here is an interesting Calif. 90 Day Rule discussion covering the current state of the law. The author is an attorney that apparently advises maritime and aviation customers where the potential tax bucks are way big. The actual law quote is here on the DMV's website w/the currently operative clauses all the way at the bottom of the page, and the interim 12 month rules comprising most of the page.
We currently live near the governmental black hole of Sacramento, but essentially all our travel is to AZ, MX, and miscellaneous travel outside CA. Before our new 08 rubber hits any CA road we should have a letter ruling (actually in about "<span class="ev_code_BLUE">two weeks</span>" per BOE's tax advisor) on what new & improved tests result in the Board of Equalization exemption. I'll post those when they come.

[lundy]

I am curious. Say you are a resident of Calif; take delivery out of state and stay out for 6 or 12 months to save on the sales tax. How is your rig registered during that period?