Colorado folks, step in, please

[Salty Crusty]

I have recently acquired a nice '83 Suburban 4x4 that I think I want to gift and send to the grandkids in Colorado, from Texas. I remember that when the kids first moved there, they talked about a big tax/registration penalty for vehicles being imported from another state to Colorado.

Is this a real thing and how expensive is it?

I apologize if this is the wrong place, I couldn't find one that I thought was really appropriate.

Thanks!!!

 

[oldretiredafguy]

Might check the Colorado DMV/DOT site to see what requirements exist for registering an out of state vehicle.

 

[Bextreme04]

Its not a penalty for out of state... it is similar to Arizona in that your registration fees are based on a percentage of the MSRP of the vehicle in the first few years of ownership. If you have an older vehicle that was never registered in the state before, you get hit with that in the first few years of registration. This is really bad if the vehicle is only a few years old and you got it cheap and used. Its probably not bad at all for an 83 Suburban. It will be based on the original MSRP of the vehicle when sold new. It looks like it starts at 2.1% of 75% of MSRP for the first year and goes down to $3 after 10 years. It looks like MSRP for a 1983 K20 Suburban was ~$12,000... which would make the tax about $189. They also have emissions and some other stuff to consider depending on the county they are in.

It is old enough to qualify as a collector car and might be able to get around some of that based on age. I would recommend a call to the Colorado DMV for clarification.
https://dmv.colorado.gov/sites/dmv/files/SOT Attachment - Tax Tables with Examples (1).pdf

 

[Salty Crusty]

It's bone stock, as far as can tell. Rebuilt crate engine 60K ago, 700R4 rebuilt 40K ago. Still has the smog pump and all associated plumbing and the belt is in place. I'm debating converting it to TBI, there are plenty of donors nearby. Part of the reason is the ability to convert to a serpentine belt at the same time. It should actually run cleaner with a good functioning TBI than with a carb and AIR pump, or so I have been told.
Thanks for the info, I'll have them contact their local authorities so we know we have the info directly from the horse's mouths. Horse's somethings anyway.