The taxes can vary a lot by state - this will make everyone's "buying experience" different. I am a Virginia resident, and even though I bought the car in TN, I had to pay the VA auto tax upon purchase/tagging. Florida does this as well, and Florida's rate is one of the highest in the US I believe. Here's an article/thread that explains it.
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showt...tle-in-Florida
I think VA's is around 4 percent now. It went up in 2013 from 3% when I bought my FRS. You can't really get around it, but consider that when people throw out "OTD" prices that are not tagging it in your state. It makes a difference. If you buy out of state, you're just going to have to pay that to register it in FL.