Q: I recently bought a 1979 Corvette (L-82 automatic with 54, 129 miles) from a private party. I am trying to determine what my sales tax would be for this vehicle. I plan to register the car with the "dual registration" – standard registration and a antique car registration so I can use it as a daily driver if I wish. I understand that because I bought the car through a private sale, the sales tax would be based on the book value as found in the Cars of Particular Interest (CPI) guide. The problem is, this guide is not available to the general public without buying the guide itself or buying a subscription. How can I determine what the sales tax would be without having to buy the guide? Is there another source I can use? Are those values contained in the guide based on the condition of the vehicle?

A: The Division of Taxation representative should be able to look up your Corvette in the CPI guide and give you the information you need. Your vehicle will be taxed on the “good” condition value listed in the CPI guide, which is 7 percent of the dollar amount listed. The CPI guide lists three values: Excellent, Good and Fair condition. Division of Taxation assumes “good” condition for tax purposes.

If you bought the vehicle and made extensive repairs to it , either to bring it to safety standards (new brakes, new tires, etc.) or to restore it to the CPI guide’s value, then you should keep all original receipts and file for a refund of taxes paid. Or, if the car needs repairs of any kind you can have the vehicle appraised by a licensed dealer and attach the appraisal to the refund. Tax must be paid first at the higher value at the time of registration, and then the refund form must be filed with the Division of Taxation. The refund form can be downloaded at http://www.tax.ri.gov/taxforms/ sales_excise/sales_use.php

For more information, you can visit the Division of Taxation’s website at http://www.tax.ri.gov/ or call (401) 574-8TAX.

Gina Antonucci Zanni, supervisor of communications for the State Division of Motor Vehicles, has agreed to answer questions of general interest posed by Journal readers about state motor vehicle laws and procedures. To ask a question that would also be of interest to other readers, send a letter to Ask projoCars, Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI, 02902. You can e-mail your question to projocars@projo.com. Please put “Ask projoCars” in the subject field. Questions or complaints of a specific nature should be posed to the DMV directly and will not be answered in this column.

Confused about road rules? Or looking for a low-number license plate? You’ll find an archive of official answers to past driving questions posed by Journal readers at projocars.com