Colorado Residents - Advice Needed

[bjcheung77]

Hey everyone, anyone here a CO resident?  I'm looking at some vehicles online (Autotrader) and came across Nissan EV's in Colorado!  To keep the story brief and short, Nissan and their dealerships are having an amazing sale on their EV vehicles.  I am looking for the 2 for 1, yes... I buy two vehicles for the price of one (after the rebates are done, I guess).  I've not done a purchase of EV vehicles before, so I don't really know how the rebates work, I guess they're immediate if you're a resident already.

Here's an example: New Nissan Leaf (2025) for $13K plus New Nissan Ariya (2025) for $30K, that's $43K USD.  If I purchase the Ariya from WA state brand new, it's already very close to that price point.  I mean, I can get someone in CO state to purchase, wait for all the rebates to come through and then change the name to mine.  The person who helps me purchase can get X months of free use while waiting, as I'll be co-owner on the purchase.  Then they can transfer it to my name, and I save the $.

Does, or will that work? I just emailed them a few minutes ago, it's going to be at least a day wait for answers.  PS: $25/month lease of a Nissan Leaf is also available, it's on their website here, that's like coffee for the week and you get a vehicle lease (I didn't look at the terms, but should have a deposit/down payment): Trusted Nissan Dealership | McDonald Nissan

[LevelUP]

That deal sounds tempting, but be careful since most EV rebates have strict residency and usage rules. If the car is flipped or transferred too soon, it can trigger audits, and the original buyer (your CO contact) could be on the hook to repay the rebates or face penalties. Definitely worth double-checking with the dealer and rebate program before moving forward.

[Jonathan Whatley]

The Colorado package of rebates includes state and federal rebates. For the person receiving the federal tax credit, the IRS states "To qualify, you must: Buy it for your own use, not for resale"

[ss20ts]

Looks like you need to move to Colorado really soon LOL

[bjcheung77]

WA State has similar federal and state discounts, just not as great as Colorado. For a couple thousand savings, not going to waste too much time debating a move...

[HeatherCO]

Hi bjcheung77, I'm a Colorado resident!

I haven't been looking at cars lately so I'm not familiar with the rebates you mention, but I wonder if they're related somehow to the Colorado ownership tax.  This is a very sucky thing I first encountered when I bought a Dodge SRT and had to fork over $6940 to the State of Colorado.  Turns out if we would have registered it in Flathead County, Montana, it would have cost me only a few hundred dollars.  

Then again, Colorado is all about the environment, and maybe these EV rebates are genuinely free money!  Now I'm curious, and happy to help if it's easy.  I don't drive much, but I have a very big driveway with only my 4runner parked there.  Most houses around here have six or seven cars parked outside and nobody seems to care.