Had nothing to do with that. Had everything to do with AZ car registration costing an arm and a leg, especially with new(ish) cars. They base the cost on a percentage of the vehicle's MSRP, not what you paid for it. I had well over $8K in discounts from the dealer so I didn't pay anywhere near MSRP for it. Highly unfair, but that's AZ for you I suppose.
California did that, at least when I lived there 30 years ago. But I don't remember them levying a personal property tax.
Virginia, where I live now, charges the same to register a car independent of its value, but they levy an annual property tax on each vehicle. We have two old cars (15 and 17 years old) and one new truck (2 years old), and I think we paid over $600 or $800 last year, maybe even more. That's every year.