Used Cars in Paramus, NJ

Paramus is 26,723 people and more than $6 billion in annual retail sales — more than any other ZIP code in the United States. Five major indoor shopping centres, 82.6% owner occupancy, a median household income of $144,349, and Garden State Plaza alone holding 10,796 parking spaces. It is also, for one day a week, completely shut.

Apex Motors of South Hackensack is 5.6 miles away: Route 17 south to Route 46, off at Main Street. Eight minutes off-peak and considerably longer when Route 17 is doing what Route 17 does. Seven brands on one lot — Honda, Toyota, Ford, Mazda, BMW, Nissan and Lexus.

Why buy a used car in Paramus

Sunday, and why nobody sells you a car on one

There are three layers here and most explanations get them muddled. First, New Jersey law makes buying, selling or exchanging motor vehicles on a Sunday a disorderly persons offence anywhere in the state — that alone closes every dealership in New Jersey, ours included, at both lots. Second, Bergen County’s blue law bans Sunday sale of clothing, furniture, home and office furnishings, appliances, and building supplies. Third, Paramus goes further than the county: its own ordinance prohibits all worldly employment or business on Sunday except works of necessity and charity, then carves specific exceptions back in.

Those exceptions are worth reading if you are curious — the borough permits selling petrol and hiring out conveyances, but not selling vehicles. Voters have been asked twice about the county law, rejecting repeal in 1980 and defeating a county-wide referendum two to one in November 1993. The practical upshot for you: shop Monday to Saturday, and Saturday is when everybody else does too.

Paramus is where the whole county goes for inspection

Bergen County has exactly one state vehicle inspection station and it is at 20 W. Century Road in Paramus, which also serves as an MVC road test facility. Lodi’s inspection lanes are currently listed as temporarily closed, which means every car in the county that needs an emissions test comes to this one address. If you live here you have a genuine convenience most of the county does not — but note that 20 W. Century Road is not a licensing centre and not a vehicle centre, so it cannot process a title or a registration.

A high-ownership, high-income, two-car market

82.6% of Paramus households own their home — the highest rate of any municipality we cover — with 2.94 people per household and a 30.8 minute mean commute. There is no rail station in the borough; the nearest Bergen County Line stations are in Fair Lawn and Glen Rock. Buses 144, 145, 148, 155, 157, 162, 163, 164, 165 and 168 reach the Port Authority, and 171 and 175 the George Washington Bridge. This is a market where households run two or three cars and the used purchase is usually the second or third one — a commuter car, a teen’s first car, or something to take the mileage off the newer vehicle.

Getting here from Paramus

Route 17 south to Route 46 is the whole journey. It is 5.6 miles and about eight minutes when Route 17 is moving. Most Paramus buyers already drive this road; you pass our catchment on the way. If you want model-level depth on specific vehicles, our Honda and Toyota pages for Paramus go further than this page does.

What a used car actually costs in Paramus

Sales tax is 6.625%, and the number it is applied to is the price after your trade-in allowance, not before. That makes trading in worth more than the headline figure suggests. The credit only applies if the trade goes to a registered dealer for resale and the two transactions are executed together — a private sale followed by a purchase does not count.

The title fee is $60 outright, $85 with financing attached. Registration is charged on weight and model year rather than value. Most used passenger cars land between $46.50 and $84 a year. The MVC publishes a calculator if you want the exact figure for a specific car.

Documentation fees are uncapped in New Jersey, which sounds worse than it is once you know the other half of the rule — the advertised price is required to include them, with only licensing costs, registration fees and taxes allowed to sit outside it. Each documentary service also has to be itemised on the sale document in at least 10-point type.

A dealer purchase keeps you out of the MVC. The title and registration paperwork is ours to file, and you leave on a temporary registration while it processes. So although Paramus has the county’s inspection station, it has no licensing or vehicle centre — Lodi handles licensing only, and Wallington at 450 Main Avenue is the nearest agency that can title and register a vehicle. None of which you need for a dealer purchase.

Distance and directions

From Paramus to Apex Motors of South Hackensack

About 5.6 miles. Route 17 south, onto Route 46, off at Main Street — eight minutes when the road is clear, fifteen to twenty-five when it is not. Route 17 at weekend retail hours is its own weather system; a weekday evening is a different drive entirely.

From Paramus to Apex Motors of Pine Brook

About 20 miles west, roughly 26 to 35 minutes via I-80. Call ahead and we will confirm which lot has the vehicle.

Sunday closing

Closed, and legally required to be. See above — it is a state law on vehicle sales before it is a county or borough one.