Registering leased vehicle in WA that was delivered from CA

[cj088]

I'm located in WA and recently leased a 2026 i4 from a dealer in CA (was delivered, so never driven in CA). However, the registration process has been confusing - the dealer has said that BMW is supposed to send us titling information that we can take to the DMV (or in our case the local licensing agency since DMV doesn't do vehicle registration here), but we haven't received anything for a few weeks now, and when we talked to BMW Financial Services, they made it sound like it was completely up to the dealer to take care of registration. I wanted to know if anyone had experience registering a leased car in WA from out of state, or any other cross-state experience, so I can understand what is supposed to happen?

[JeffinOregon]

Originally Posted by cj088

the dealer has said that BMW is supposed to send us titling information that we can take to the DMV (or in our case the local licensing agency since DMV doesn't do vehicle registration here), but we haven't received anything for a few weeks now, and when we talked to BMW Financial Services, they made it sound like it was completely up to the dealer to take care of registration. I wanted to know if anyone had experience registering a leased car in WA from out of state, or any other cross-state experience, so I can understand what is supposed to happen?

Generally, the dealer has 30 days to generate the titling documents. BMW corporate has nothing to do with it. At that point, they are supposed to transfer the documentation to the appropriate receivers.

In my case, I bought the car in Washington and live/registered in Oregon, which I thought would be quick and simple. It was not. At the end of 30 days, I called the dealership, their parent company, etc. looking for a timeline, which they assured me was imminent. Instead, they “decided” that they didn’t want to do it at all, and sent me the documents in the mail, which I then had to bring to the DMV, which then took another 30 days for Oregon to process before I was able to register it.

Stay on the dealer, but with low expectations is my experience.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by cj088

I'm located in WA and recently leased a 2026 i4 from a dealer in CA (was delivered, so never driven in CA). However, the registration process has been confusing - the dealer has said that BMW is supposed to send us titling information that we can take to the DMV (or in our case the local licensing agency since DMV doesn't do vehicle registration here)

Your selling dealer is blowing you off.
Did you pay the "title and registration" fee to them?
If so, how much was it?

Paper clerks at dealerships are not the brightest bulbs, and multi-state registration paperwork usually pushes the limits of their imagination. But if you paid for this service, you should either:
1). Insist on receiving services you paid for.
2). Ask for a refund of T&R fees, and have them send you the paperwork that you will then take to your DMV yourself.

It sounds like they are pushing you down the #2 path, with an added confusion of throwing around BMW NA name for no good reason.

Originally Posted by cj088

but we haven't received anything for a few weeks now, and when we talked to BMW Financial Services, they made it sound like it was completely up to the dealer to take care of registration.

BMW FS is correct.
Registration processing delays are not uncommon, which is why all vehicles are delivered with 30-day temp tags that can be renewed for another 30 days to account for registration delays.

Your calls and escalations should be directed at the selling dealership, if you paid for T&L services (as is typical).

Good luck,
a