About this episode
There is a reason why that cool car has Montana license platesWhen I attended my first few collector car shows and cars and coffee events as a curious, camera-wielding car enthusiast, one of the things I first noticed besides the sheer volume of Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis was that a considerable portion came with Montana plates screwed into their licence plate holders. When I made this observation known to a friend, he brought me aside and told me that there were two rules when it comes to talking to strangers about their cool cars. One was to never inquire about the age of their wives, girlfriends or partners, and the other was to never ask what the name of their Montana-registered LLC is.That second rule might sound strange if you don’t know much about the nuances of car culture or if you don’t go out to shows and/or cars and coffee pretty regularly. However, there is a good chance that the cool Lamborghini or the pristine vintage Porsche getting valet parked at your local high-end upscale joint has a Montana license plate. Although it may look like that the owners of these cars may be on a heck of a road trip from Billings or Bozeman, chances are that the hypothetical scenario may be the furthest from the truth.
James Ochoa
What you may be seeing is someone utilizing something called the "Montana Loophole:” a method that lets exotic and collector car enthusiasts completely sidestep sales taxes, registration fees, and emissions inspections in the state they actually live in by registering their vehicles in Big Sky Country through a Limited Liability Company based in the state. However, recent news may have spoiled it for some. On March 6, California state officials announced that it was taking action against those who took advantage, as California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that the state charged 14 people for allegedly evading over $1.8 million in vehicle taxes, including those on a Ferrari F12tdf worth $1.26 million, a Porsche 918 Spyder worth $1.5 million and a McLaren Elva worth $1.8 million. So why do expensive exotic and collector car owners run the risk of a serious run-in with the law? To understand the appeal, you first need to understand what car buying
