Last update: 06/26/2008

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the state buy vehicles?

As the agency responsible for purchasing vehicles for state agencies, GA awards and administers model year light vehicle contracts each year. (Medium and heavy-duty trucks and specialized equipment are purchased on separately bid individual purchase orders for customers) Awards are based on size classifications of vehicles and only one manufacturer's vehicle from one dealer is awarded each classification. Besides state dealer licensing requirements and equipment specification compliance, award criteria include consideration of; base bid price, option pricing, prompt payment discounts, local sales tax differentials, fuel economy and residual value.

What types of vehicles are available on state contract?

Over 40 different classifications of new model year automobiles, police vehicles, utility vehicles, small pickups, full size pickups, cab & chassis trucks up to 19,000#GVWR, cargo and passenger vans are available on contract. Special categories are also included for alternative fuel, hybrid, and high MPG vehicles whenever available.

Am I eligible to purchase vehicles on state contract?

State of Washington state agencies, colleges, universities, and institutions are automatically eligible to purchase vehicles on state contract. Political Subdivisions of the state of Washington who are members of the state purchasing Co-op are also eligible to purchase provided the dealer and their manufacturer have agreed to extend state contract pricing to such organizations. To join the Co-op, you may register at Customer Registration/State Purchasing Cooperative.  Through a cooperative agreement between the states, state of Oregon political subdivisions who are members of their purchasing co-op may also purchase if the dealer and their manufacturer agree, though added delivery costs may be incurred. Qualified Co-op member non-profit corporations within the state of Washington are sometimes eligible to purchase. To determine your eligibility for a particular purchase review the "Special Conditions" on vehicle contract's Current Contract Information document found through our Vehicle Contract Listing or the chart on the Online Vehicle Ordering Menu. All purchases are for official business use only.  Trade-ins and leases are not included on the contract.

Why are the state vehicle contracts seasonal?

The contracts are bid and awarded each summer for the succeeding model year's vehicles. Manufacturers provide their dealers with fleet production allocations and price protection for only a limited period of time, usually ending in the spring of the following year. Our contracts are bid to be available for purchase from October through March (With production build outs some vehicles may not be available for ordering for the entire period). Beyond March orders may be submitted on a "will try" basis until factory model year cutoffs are announced.

When will the 2009 model year contracts be available?

The 2009 bid document will be released in August 2008 with a bid opening date in late September (some model year 2009 vehicles may be available earlier based on model year 2008 vehicle contract extensions). Awards will be released incrementally beginning in October 2008. Contracts will be available for ordering immediately upon award at the VAT website and the Office of State Procurement Contract Listing Website. Individuals who have previously registered their e-mail addresses with us will automatically receive an e-mail announcement of each award or contract extension. For a preview of the vehicle categories likely to be on the contracts, visit our Online Vehicle Ordering Menu.

How do I order vehicles from the state vehicle contract?

Each of the vehicle contracts may be found at our Vehicle Contract Listing.  All orders are transmitted to the contract dealers through GA via state purchase orders. Dealers will not process orders received directly from customers. The source document for customers to submit their order to this office is a state purchase requisition. Once you have determined your eligibility (see above) you may order vehicles manually or electronically. The manual process entails filling in a contract price sheet/order form with your equipment and color selections for a particular vehicle and mailing or faxing it with an accompanying purchase requisition form to this office. ( A requisition form and ordering instructions may be found at the back of each contract) The electronic process consists of Online Vehicle Ordering  requisition templates for each vehicle where you merely point and click on your color and equipment selections and submit your order via an e-mail automatically sent to our Web server. Due to limited production capacity and seasonal backlogs it is always best to order as soon as possible to assure product availability and a reasonable delivery timeframe.

How long will it take to receive my ordered vehicle?

Your requisition will normally be processed by this office and a confirming purchase order transmitted back to you via e-mail within one business day. In turn, the dealer will receive their copy of the state purchase order from us and submit the order to the manufacturer for production. After production the vehicle will be released to a common carrier, shipped to the state, prepped and driven to your "ship to address". Total time from requisition submittal to receipt of your vehicle is usually within 90 calendar days for automobiles, 120 days for all other vehicles. Special equipment and/or paint may extend delivery time.

What if I want to know the status of my order?

Call the dealer contact indicated on the state purchase order and be prepared to provide the state purchase order number under which your vehicle was ordered. Depending on market demand, production capacity, and equipment selected it may take anywhere from a few days to several weeks for the dealer to receive notice back from the manufacturer of the scheduled production week for your vehicle. Until the vehicle is scheduled it may not be possible to provide you with a projected delivery date. Once the vehicle has been produced and shipped, the dealer will be able to provide you with a reasonably firm delivery date. When the vehicle is ready for delivery, the contact person you indicated on your requisition will be called. If you have a concern over a delay in delivery that the dealer is unable to resolve, please call or e-mail our office for assistance.

When do I pay for my vehicle?

You do not pay until you have received the vehicle and contract required paperwork. The dealer will invoice you directly for the vehicle price plus state and their local area sales tax. Payment is due to the dealership within 30 days of receipt of the vehicle and correct paperwork. It is important that dealers be paid in a timely manner as after 30 days the dealer is entitled by the contract and state statute to assess a 1% late payment fee for which you will be responsible. If you can pay in less than 30 days you may also be entitled to a prompt payment discount from some of the contracted dealers.  If a prompt payment discount exists, it will be noted on the state purchase order and dealer's invoice.

Are other vehicles available besides those on contract?

In an effort to better serve our customers GA is now posting all piggybacking opportunities on the State Contract Listing. Piggybacking opportunities are available on those single purchase requisitions that were bid and awarded with an option for additional purchases by members of the State of Washington Purchasing CO-OP. All subsequent purchases are subject to mutual agreement between the vendor and the state and are to be documented by a new purchase order issued by the State Procurement Officer (SPO). For a list of the available add-ons for all commodities go to the STATE CONTRACTS LISTING and display all contracts sorted by contract number. Once the listing appears in numerical order, scroll to the bottom. You may also go to the listing and search contracts by the keyword "veh" to view contracts and add-ons that are vehicle related only. All documents that begin with AD are available for piggybacking.

The contract is over, what do I do for a vehicle?

The first thing to do is to check our In Stock Vehicles site to see if there are any in-stock contract vehicles left over that might meet your needs. If not, and/or your vehicle type is beyond the scope of the contract, check our Purchase Orders available for Piggybacking to see if we have a purchase order with an add-on option that might meet your needs. If a used vehicle might meet your needs, you can check with our Surplus Property office. Finally, if you can not wait for the next contract, for an additional fee we can separately bid and award a purchase order for a retail stock vehicle.

I’m a dealer, how do I sell vehicles on the state contract?

To be eligible to sell vehicles to the state you need to obtain a state of Washington dealer's license from the state Department of Licensing. To register with this office for placement on our bidders mailing list or to view our current bidding opportunities, visit our Doing business with the state site.

Why does your office charge a contract management fee?

The Office of State Procurement no longer receives appropriated general funds from the State Legislature and is self-supporting. Fees charged are assessed at levels that will reimburse the office for expenses incurred in providing current procurement services and ongoing process improvements such as the VAT website, on line ordering, and VROOM. The current vehicle contract management fee is one half of one percent (.005) of a contract dealer’s quarterly sales. (It is billed directly to the dealer, we no longer have the dealer invoice the customer for the fee.) This fee is the lowest fee charged on the mainland West Coast: Oregon now charges 1%, while California charges 2.56%.

What is VROOM?

The Department of General Administration developed the Vehicle Rapid Order Online Messaging (VROOM) enhancement for online ordering of vehicles on state contracts. The customer and the dealer receive their state purchase orders via e-mail rather than fax. With the e-mail message a link is provided to an assigned website address for downloading and printing of each purchase order.  Not faxing the orders reduces our paperwork, saves time, and improves the readability of your print copy. Maintaining an accessible list of orders for customers and dealers helps assure that no orders or changes are overlooked or duplicated.

  • How long will my Purchase Orders remain online?
    VROOM will maintain and show a cumulative list of vehicle purchase orders dated within the last 150 days.
     
  • How do I access my purchase orders?
    After an Purchase Order is processed and completed, an email notification is sent to both the customer and dealer with a hyperlink to access their purchase orders.
     
  • How often will I be notified of completed purchase orders?
    For Customers, a notification is sent within 15 minutes of completion of the purchase order, M-F, 8 AM - 5 PM.  For Dealers, notification is sent twice daily at 10 AM  and 3 PM.
     
  • Do I have to wait for email notification to view purchase orders?
    No, purchase orders are available on the Internet within 15 minutes of completion of the purchase order.  Customers and Dealers can access their purchase orders at anytime.  Dealers are provided with a login and password to access their VROOM purchase orders.  Customers can access their orders directly without a login and password by merely bookmarking their initial PO hyperlink.
     
  • What if my Purchase Order does not print correctly?
    The online purchase orders were designed to print portrait style on 8.5 X 11 or 8.5 X 14 paper.  If your purchase order is not printing  with the correct width,  the margins can be adjusted within your browser.

    Internet Explorer users: From the menu bar select File, then Page Setup.  Adjust the right and left margins so that the purchase order fits the paper correctly.

    Netscape users: From the menu bar select File, Page Setup, then select the Margin & Header/Footer Tab.  Adjust the right and left margins so that the purchase order fits the paper correctly.