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Need help from New Jersey OSDers!!!

11K views 47 replies 22 participants last post by  neandertal 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi Guys,

My car has finally arrived in Newark. :) I'm currently waiting for it to clear customs. I know that our dealership has told us we need to take care of registering the car, so I was wondering if anyone could let me know how this process worked in NJ? Did your dealership take care of the inspection or did you have to do that as well?

My husband and I are going away on the 28th and we are hoping to have the car for the trip (wishful thinking :)), but in case it did make it to the dealership, I wanted to make sure I had everything ready to go for the registering process.

Any information would be a great help.

Thanks everyone!

Becky
 
#2 ·
Becky,

Although my dealer does not want to take care of the DMV paperwork in Trenton, he charged me a documentation fee and he is going to do the paperwork since I told him I would not since he charged me (actually, I believe they use US Car to handle the paperwork). My co-worker bought an OSD 2 months ago and went through the same thing with the same dealer. The dealer ended up taking care of it, although the paperwork was refused the first time at Trenton DMV because they sent the Swedish registration and insurance without a certified translation. After talking directly with Trenton DMV Foreign Title Unit, my co-worker was told that the Swedish registration and insurance paperwork should not have been sent by the dealer.

Anyway, I have a copy of a fax from DMV to the dealer of what is required. (He gave me the copy when he said I had to take care of the paperwork) It includes:

1. Original Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin. Purchaser's name must be on the front. Dealers must not stamp the reverse side.
2. A fully completed application for Certificate of Title ( Form OS/SS-7). It may be obtained from www.njmvc.gov
3. Original shipping document from importer or shipper of vehicle. Must contain year, make, model, VIN.
4.Original or carbon copy of Environmental Protection Declaration Form (Form 3520-1). May be obtained from www.epa.gov
5. Original or Carbon Copy of Customs Entry Summary (Form 7501) from US Customs Border Protection containing ORIGINAL Customs stamp. Get form at www.cbp.gov
6. Original or Carbon Copy of the Declaration Form (Form HS-7) from the US Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Association. Can get at www.nhtsa.gov
7. Original pencil tracing or photograph of the vehicle's VIN plate
8. Original Bill of Sale/Invoice from the selling Manufacturer that must contain make, model, VIN, purchase price, purchase date, purchaser's name, address and signature.
9. Check or money order made out to NJ MVC ( amount to be given- depends on lien or not). No Cash.

The form I took the info off of is "Foreign Direct Purchase (R2/09)

My dealer told me that my co-worker and I are the first OSD customer's out of a few hundred to use financing (US BANK) and the only reason they finally agreed to do the paperwork is because they are responsible to make sure a lien is on the title. I had to repeat several times that I paid a documentation fee and would not go to the DMV myself.
He also told me they have plans to charge a OSD customer $100 in the future as a lien fee that is refundable after the customer does the paperwok themselves and proves there is a lien. I told him I didn't think that would work because I don't think a buyer can title a vehicle if it has a lien. But maybe.

As a side note- I picked up my car last week. I gave the dealer all of the paperwork given to me from Sweden at the time of delivery. However, I still do not have any of the shipping/US Customs etc. paperwork that the dealer says will be sent directly to me. (My car came to port Newark June 29th). Therefore, nothing can be done in Trenton anyways until it comes.

My dealer either is not very versed in OSD or acted like he wasn't. I also got the impression they don't make as much money off of it and therefore do as much to discourage it as possible. I had a ton of little mistakes during my prcess that I had to point out to them to get corrected. Everything from total sale price addition errors (where I was overcharged about $800), to last week when I picked it up and they only gave me a temp tag for 18 days instead of 30. ( there are more examples, but I've written enough already).

Anyway, good luck with the titling process. I hope this helps....
 
#3 · (Edited)
It disturbs me to hear stories like this!!!! Just reading this post got me quite riled up!!!!

Becky,

Get a New Jersey DMV title application, take that, your bill of sale, the OSD odometer statement, the MSO (looks like a title), and get the address for US Bank lien info. If you financed your taxes in your loan, then the dealer has already collected that $$ and he should do your title work....PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!!!! No additional fees are needed!
 
#4 ·
Bob,

I'm glad you added to this. Although I listed what was on the form from NJ DMV for a Foreign Direct purchase, they definately need the the OSD odometer statement too. I know that from when I personally imported a car from Canada two years ago....

By the way, as I mentioned before, I will definately go through you next time to avoid the issues I have had with my dealer. I wish I had found this forum sooner!!!
 
#5 ·
I want to thank both of you for all the information. This will be a great help!

@volvodahc - Thanks for all of the detailed information. We also paid all the documentation fees, so it looks like I have some fighting to do. I sent you a Private Message when you have a chance.

@Bob - Thanks for your help. Don't worry this won't deter me from doing another OSD. Volvo was a great help throughout the whole process, as well as everyone on this site. The only issue we ran into is with the registering through our local dealer.

Thanks again,
 
#6 ·
Hi Becky,

I went through this myself just over a month ago with my Orange Flame Metallic V50. Initially, my dealer said they couldn't do anything to register the car because it was a foreign-titled car (ummm - WRONG!) Then, they claimed that since 9-11 Jersey has been a BEAR to deal with and they COULD do it, but it would take a couple months and a MOUND of paperwork in order for them register the car since everything had to go directly through Trenton - the only way I could register the car "on the spot" would be to go out to Trenton personally - if I tried to register the car at a local MVC facility, I would walk away with nothing and would again have to wait for weeks since THEY would have to send everything out to Trenton (again thinking this was a foreign-titled car).

I finally got sick of the various stories and about a week before the car got to my dealer, I took my MSO to the Freehold MVC facility on a fact-finding mission to get some first-hand information. After consulting with someone "in back" I was told there was absolutely no reason why I couldn't register the car there, and was given all the necessary forms. IIRC, there was an Application for Title, Application for Registration, and a Luxury Tax form.

When I went back to my dealer with this information, the woman who deals with registering the cars on a regular basis challenged what I was told by MVC (basically said they were lying to me, and that I would be lucky if they weren't), and then said that the agency they used COULD take care of registering it for me but because it wasn't titled to them, it would again take WEEKS and the same MOUND of paperwork... basically, I just kept getting the run around. Then she and my sales guy disagreed over whether or not they would be the ones to collect sales tax - she said they HAD to, he said NO. At least my sales guy understood that since THEY weren't going to be registering the car, THEY couldn't collect the sales tax, and I would be paying it when I registered it... She insisted he was wrong, but handed me a sales tax form to fill out just in case...

The one thing my sales guy WAS able to do - and HAD to do so that I could register the car - was complete the Luxury Tax form that MVC gave me. This needs to be completed by your dealer - basically, if the car doesn't meet certain minimum MPG ratings AND costs more than $40k or $45k (I forget which) there is an additional tax you have to pay (I suspect Hummers, et al, fall into this category). This IS needed at the time you register your vehicle, so make sure you have that signed by your dealer.

When the car made it to my local dealer, I promptly headed to Freehold MVC with paperwork in hand. To be on the safe side, the manager there called their help line to verify that the car could be registered there (apparently he was concerned that it would meet US emissions standards - even though it clearly states on the MSO that it is a US-spec'd car and even meets the stricter California emissions standards!) I forget the lady's name with whom he spoke, but I think I still have it at home if you want/need it. After faxing virtually every piece of documentation I had with me - including the Customs Forms that were sent to me, my MSO, my Bill of Sale, my original sales order, and anything else they could shove through the fax machine, about 45 minutes later they finally were told "yes, the car can be registered."

But then I ran into a slight glitch with the paperwork - it turns out ALL paperwork submitted requiring your signature (e.g., application for title, etc.,) MUST be signed by everyone whose name appears on the MSO. In our case, we had intended to register the car only in my name, so I thought I was the only one who needed to sign the paperwork. WRONG - because our MSO had both my name and my husband's name on it, he needed to sign everything as well. SO, I had to wait one more day to register the car - and that night he signed all the forms. SO, make sure EVERYONE listed on the MSO signs the various State forms before you head to MVC.

We went back to MVC the next day and just to be safe, my husband (paulgraz is his handle on here) came with me. We ran into a bit more of a delay when the clerk AGAIN had to call the help desk (the manager from the day before was OFF that day) and told the whole story to them again, told them that everything had been faxed the day before, etc., etc., etc. The clerk we had was great - finally decided to just go ahead and process us then and there - she collected our sales tax, and we then walked out with registration in hand.

Because I registered the car myself, I did have to take it through inspection personally, but at the time it was registered, I was given a form that said this was a new car, that it didn't need to be inspected, and wouldn't need to be inspected for 5 years. All I did was take the car there during normal inspection hours, handed them the form I was given, and they slapped the appropriate sticker on the windshield. The one caveat here is that, at least at the Freehold inspection station, you need to go through the "reinspection" line, NOT the "normal" line. Didn't know this and had to maneuver over to the appropriate line after entering the "normal" bay - fortunately it wasn't busy.

Registering the car took a little longer than usual and took two visits (due to the lack of signatures) to get through it all. Honestly, I cannot think of any reason why your dealer can't handle it other than their not knowing the process/procedure for registering OSD cars in Jersey. I think is the case with my dealer since we appeared to be the first OSD they had done in many, Many, MANY years - I know for a fact that our sales guy hadn't done one in over 12 years, and we had to teach HIM a bunch of stuff about how the program works as we were going though it - he didn't even have access to the correct paperwork when we walked in to place our order, and he KNEW in advance that we were going to be doing OSD...

The good news is if your dealer flat out refuse to do anything for you, you can register the car yourself with very little hassle.

Nancy
 
#7 ·
Wow Nancy............that is some story! Thanks for sharing..............I am sure you have a lot of readers rolling their eyes!!!!
 
#9 ·
Thanks again everyone for the help! I wanted to give an update. My car just arrived at the dealership today. We spoke to the dealer and they said I need to come in and meet with the lady that takes care of the title work. She will fill out all the paperwork, but we will still need to take this paperwork to Trenton. We tried to go up today to fill out the paperwork, but apparently she is only in until 4:30 each day. That's pretty hard with my work schedule, so unfortunately it looks like I'll be waiting a little bit longer.

Nancy, when you went to the MVC did you have to pay the title and registration fee as well? If so, I need to fight more with the dealership because we already paid for these fees when we purchased the car.
 
#10 ·
Thanks again everyone for the help! I wanted to give an update. My car just arrived at the dealership today. We spoke to the dealer and they said I need to come in and meet with the lady that takes care of the title work. She will fill out all the paperwork, but we will still need to take this paperwork to Trenton. We tried to go up today to fill out the paperwork, but apparently she is only in until 4:30 each day. That's pretty hard with my work schedule, so unfortunately it looks like I'll be waiting a little bit longer.

Nancy, when you went to the MVC did you have to pay the title and registration fee as well? If so, I need to fight more with the dealership because we already paid for these fees when we purchased the car.
I still do not understand why your NJ retailer will not handle this. They can do it, as a service to you, very efficiently and without any hassles...I had never had any issues registering and titling the cars from my NJ customers even though my store was in PA... :rolleyes:
 
#12 ·
Becky,

I do not have my title or registration yet, but my wife is driving our car on the 30 day NJ temp tag that our dealer gave us while they (reluctantly) do the DMV work in Trenton that we paid for. My co-worker ended up having to get a second temp tag before his paperwork was done even though they originally said they couldn't give a second temp tag.

Since you have paid for the documentation fee as you mentioned before, why don't you enlighten your dealer to NJ Criminal Statutes, specifically N.J.S 2C:20-4 which is theft by deception. The statute reads:

"A person is guilty of theft if he purposely obtains property of another by deception. A person deceives if he purposely:

a. Creates or reinforces a false impression, including false impressions as to law, value, intention or other state of mind, and including, but not limited to, a false impression that the person is soliciting or collecting funds for a charitable purpose; but deception as to a person's intention to perform a promise shall not be inferred from the fact alone that he did not subsequently perform the promise;

b. Prevents another from acquiring information which would affect his judgment of a transaction; or

c. Fails to correct a false impression which the deceiver previously created or reinforced, or which the deceiver knows to be influencing another to whom he stands in a fiduciary or confidential relationship."

I believe you can argue that they took your money by deception; specifically to perform a service for which they are not performing.

Another option is to contact the New Jersey Office of Consumer Protection at 973-504-6200 and report what appears to be a deceptive business practice.

Of course, none of this will help get your plates any quicker.
 
#13 ·
Now if the importer wouldn't have closed their office in NJ we may have the papers needed to pick up the car. The car is at the dealer since Tuesday and we have no Customs papers since they were mailed from Newark port to the importer in Baltimore and then mailed to us! This is crazy, nothing is going right in the end of this deal.
 
#14 ·
FYI-- In NJ, I got my Customs papers 8 days AFTER I picked my car up at the dealer and drove away on temp tags. I had to drop off the Custom papers when they came. That was a couple weeks ago.

I really wish Volvo Management would step in and make sure every dealer handles sales the same way. OSD, although a wonderful experience, should not be offered if the dealers do not know how to, or do not want to, process them in their state. Why is it different dealer to dealer???

It is funny how the feedback for OSD through selling members of this forum is fantastic, but through a local dealer is sometimes horrible.....
 
#15 ·
I really wish Volvo Management would step in and make sure every dealer handles sales the same way. OSD, although a wonderful experience, should not be offered if the dealers do not know how to, or do not want to, process them in their state. Why is it different dealer to dealer???

It is funny how the feedback for OSD through selling members of this forum is fantastic, but through a local dealer is sometimes horrible.....
I agree. The OSD program is fantastic. All the paperwork is pretty much straight forward. All the forms are there, instructions on what to do and when to do it. Then its pickup time...everyone from NJ has a different story of how the dealer handles the paperwork.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Well we have a good end to this story! Our customs paperwork arrived today and our dealership gave us temp tags until the registration and title come through. They also cut us a check for the tax and registration fees charged when financing the car. We do still have to take the paperwork to the DMV; however, they did fill everything out for us and inspect the car. All-in-all it turned out better than expected.

I appreciate all the advice that was given and I hope it works out for everyone else.
 
#18 ·
Well we have a good end to this story! Our customs paperwork arrived today and our dealership gave us temp tags until the registration and title comes through. They also cut us check for the taxes and registration fees charged when financing the car. We do still have to take the paperwork to the DMV; however, they did fill everything out for us and inspect the car for us. All-in-all it turned out better than expected.

I appreciate all the advice that was given and I hope it works out for everyone else.
So, they collected taxes but will not send in the paperwork to the DMV and handle this for you?
 
#19 ·
Does anyone have a more recent experience with acquiring their paperwork and registration in New Jersey after and OSD. I have been reading the above posts and I am now going through the same process. My car has been on the lot at the dealer for a few days now, but I cannot do anything until the customs paperwork arrives. Does anyone know when the paperwork is actual mailed? Is it after the car is shipped from the port to the dealer. Also, my dealer will not handle the registration, so I have been pulling together as much paperwork as I can before I go to the DMV (using the above posts as a guide). Does anyone have more recent DMV stories. I have a DMV in Randolph NJ that I will most likely try. Also, the dealer will not put temporary tags on the car - has that been anyone else's experience.
 
#20 ·
YOu do not need any customs paperwork. You should have everything you need. Just make sure the dealer does a NJ state inspection. Take the bill of sale/MSO/odometer statement and the state inspection to the DMV office. If you paid you sales taxes to the dealer, take that rec't as well. It amazes me how a dealer would not handle this for you????
 
#21 ·
Thanks for your help Bob. I was told I needed these 3 forms - I have all of the others - but not the below. Does the NJ inspection need to be done before I go to DMV? They would do the inspection at the dealer?
Form 3520-1 - EPA form
Form 7501 - Customs Entry form
Form HS-7 - Declaration.
 
#25 ·
Talk about ruining an otherwise wonderful experience. This is where Volvo needs to step in and ensure that dealers ( I know, hard to do) are doing the right things. Charging a doc fee for nothing is just plain and simple profit. Dealer performance is more than just selling cars.
 
#26 ·
This sounds really weird. Which dealer are you working with? I used Cherry Hill Volvo and they were great. Car arrived on their lot from Port of Newark late on a Thursday, they called and we agreed I'd pick up the next day at noon after they had time to prep and wash it for delivery. I told them to leave the Swedish oval identification sticker on the back, which they did. When I got to the dealer, they had affixed a 5-year NJ new vehicle inspection sticker to the car, as well as NJ temp plate. (The following week they called to advise they had the plates and registration from DMV, and told me to stop by at my convenience to be installed).

The OSD rep made sure to keep the OSD plates in her desk, as she said "they can walk away" if left in the car. She also provided me with an extra Factory Delivery license plate frame (for the front) as well as several extra Euro "S" oval stickers.

Bottom line - it was delivered like any other car should have been.

I'd reach out to Volvo HQ in North Jersey to at least make them aware of your experience.
 
#27 ·
I am using a dealer in the Summit NJ area - would prefer not to say the name as they have been good to work with and did make me aware a few months back that I would have to process the registration. Did your car come over in just your name - or did it have the dealer name on the documents as well? My documents have just my name. I still have not received these mysterious port forms, so I think tomorrow I am going to head to the DMV and take my chances.
 
#28 ·
Maybe Missouri is completely different from NJ, but I don't remember any of these problems when I titled/licensed my S60 in 2012.....this sounds crazy!!!!
 
#31 ·
Success! Will be driving my XC-90 home tonight!

The dealer was able to find someone at the Port to e-mail me the customs papers. Went to the Springfield, NJ DMV at 4:00 yesterday (Thursday) and there was almost no one in the place. Turns out they did not even ask for the customs forms - however I would advise bringing every document you have just in case. Here are the documents I did need for those of you who in NJ who have to process the registration:

-Original Manufacturers Certificate of Origin (Included with the documents they give you at the factory in Gothenburg)
-Odometer Certification (Included with the documents they give you at the factory in Gothenburg - Make sure you note the mileage on this form.
-Bill of Sale (Included with the documents they give you at the factory in Gothenburg )
-Luxury Tax Form (filled out by dealer-make sure you have this) See Link to NJ DMV http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/pdf/Vehicles/luxtaxapp.pdf
-Application for Certificate of Ownership - See Link to NJ DMV http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/pdf/About/ISM_SS-7.pdf

Also, check your invoice from the dealer to make sure they did not charge you the Registration fee - if so, have them refund it.

My dealer came through for me in the end - but this OSD forum was invaluable in providing great information. Thanks everyone.
 
#35 ·
-Original Manufacturers Certificate of Origin (Included with the documents they give you at the factory in Gothenburg)
-Odometer Certification (Included with the documents they give you at the factory in Gothenburg - Make sure you note the mileage on this form.
-Bill of Sale (Included with the documents they give you at the factory in Gothenburg )
-Luxury Tax Form (filled out by dealer-make sure you have this) See Link to NJ DMV http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/pdf/Vehicles/luxtaxapp.pdf
-Application for Certificate of Ownership - See Link to NJ DMV http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/pdf/About/ISM_SS-7.pdf
After getting a repeated runaround from my dealer, I decided to try the DMV/MVC myself. Went to Dayton with the above paperwork, and after a few missteps got everything (title & registration) taken care of. I still see no reason that the dealers can't take care of this, or issue a temporary tag, but nonetheless I just wanted to be done with it, and didn't want the car sitting on their lot any longer than it had to while this gets done!

A few things to add:

-As soon as you get back from your OSD trip you have all of the paperwork that you need to do this - you don't need to wait for the car to clear.

-If the dealer put both people traveling's names on the order, and they show up on the Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin that you received in Sweden, the car will need to be titled / registered in both of your names. So either you both need to go to the DMV, or bring a Power of Attorney for the other person.

-The Luxury Tax Form must have an original signature from the dealer on it - fax / e-mail copy will not suffice.

-In the upper left corner of the Application for Certificate of Ownership (OS/SS-7) put the price of the car after trade in, i.e. the total taxed value of the sale, and your initials.

-If you paid sales tax to the dealer, bring proof or they'll want to charge you again. I just brought the itemized sales agreement and that was sufficient.

All in all, it was really relatively painless once I had all the paperwork needed. Spoke to 3 different people throughout the day and none of them indicated that it would be a problem.
 
#38 ·
I have my CA registration, title and tags already with me at home (dealership did the paperwork and DMV shipped it to me shortly after I returned the car in Sweden). Car is expected to arrive in the US next month. I don't know if this is the norm as it sounds like most people get their US plates after the car arrives, but our dealer got it done somehow. Maybe its a CA thing, don't know.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#39 ·
I have my CA registration, title and tags already with me at home (dealership did the paperwork and DMV shipped it to me shortly after I returned the car in Sweden). Car is expected to arrive in the US next month. I don't know if this is the norm as it sounds like most people get their US plates after the car arrives, but our dealer got it done somehow. Maybe its a CA thing, don't know.
On our first OSD, the plates arrived shortly after we returned from Sweden and loooong before the car made it here.
On our second OSD, the plates arrived about a week after we got the car here.

I guess it depends on whether the dealer did the paperwork right away or waited until after the car was here.
 
#42 ·
No that is not a good experience. There seems to be great differences in the service provided by the different Volvo dealers. That all should've been taken care of for you.
 
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