purchasing and registering a car in CA from out of state?
10-05-2015, 10:36 PM
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purchasing and registering a car in CA from out of state?
Hey all, wondering what's the procedure for purchasing and registering a car from out of state? I've done this aeons ago and don't recall, but know that there is a smog check and inspection involved. Car may be coming from North Carolina and have AAA if that matters. I recall that with my previous purchase, I brought the car to AAA and they checked it out to make sure that all the safety equipment works, but the kicker is that this car that is coming from out of state has a turbo kit on it that is not normally passable. The questions are:
1)As long as I get a smog check and it passes here, am I clear for that section?
2) With the inspection, will they flat out refuse the car if they see that it has a turbo kit on it, or are they predominately inspecting to see if the all the lights are there and working, safety equipment is intact, etc?
Thanks for all of your help!
1)As long as I get a smog check and it passes here, am I clear for that section?
2) With the inspection, will they flat out refuse the car if they see that it has a turbo kit on it, or are they predominately inspecting to see if the all the lights are there and working, safety equipment is intact, etc?
Thanks for all of your help!
10-06-2015, 11:11 PM
#2
I have bought multiple cars from Out of state over the past few years. I also have AAA and my comments below pertain to the AAA DMV.
1) You will need a CA SMOG Check. Any Out of state SMOG check is invalid and CA doesn't care. If your SMOG station passes you with the turbo then you should be clear. As you know, SMOG stations should always be checking for CARB stickers on aftermarket mods. If you do not have a CA SMOG Check before you register your car, the DMV will give you a temp reg and you will have to return with the valid SMOG Cert.
NOTE: For out of state cars, DMV needs the long SMOG check number and not the certificate number that can be found at http://www.bar.ca.gov/pubwebquery/Ve...PubTstQry.aspx. Make sure you get the paper printout and bring that to the DMV.
2) My AAA DMV didn't really care about what was on or in the car. They basically checked the VIN number and mileage and might have opened the hood to check the emissions sticker under the hood (50 state/California Certified). One of my out of state cars had tinted windows, tail lights, etc that were not CA legal and AAA DMV didn't care. They are not a BAR Referee station. If you get sent to a BAR Referee station, then you better believe your car needs to meet all CA laws.
Let me know if you have other questions.
1) You will need a CA SMOG Check. Any Out of state SMOG check is invalid and CA doesn't care. If your SMOG station passes you with the turbo then you should be clear. As you know, SMOG stations should always be checking for CARB stickers on aftermarket mods. If you do not have a CA SMOG Check before you register your car, the DMV will give you a temp reg and you will have to return with the valid SMOG Cert.
NOTE: For out of state cars, DMV needs the long SMOG check number and not the certificate number that can be found at http://www.bar.ca.gov/pubwebquery/Ve...PubTstQry.aspx. Make sure you get the paper printout and bring that to the DMV.
2) My AAA DMV didn't really care about what was on or in the car. They basically checked the VIN number and mileage and might have opened the hood to check the emissions sticker under the hood (50 state/California Certified). One of my out of state cars had tinted windows, tail lights, etc that were not CA legal and AAA DMV didn't care. They are not a BAR Referee station. If you get sent to a BAR Referee station, then you better believe your car needs to meet all CA laws.
Let me know if you have other questions.
Hey all, wondering what's the procedure for purchasing and registering a car from out of state? I've done this aeons ago and don't recall, but know that there is a smog check and inspection involved. Car may be coming from North Carolina and have AAA if that matters. I recall that with my previous purchase, I brought the car to AAA and they checked it out to make sure that all the safety equipment works, but the kicker is that this car that is coming from out of state has a turbo kit on it that is not normally passable. The questions are:
1)As long as I get a smog check and it passes here, am I clear for that section?
2) With the inspection, will they flat out refuse the car if they see that it has a turbo kit on it, or are they predominately inspecting to see if the all the lights are there and working, safety equipment is intact, etc?
Thanks for all of your help!
1)As long as I get a smog check and it passes here, am I clear for that section?
2) With the inspection, will they flat out refuse the car if they see that it has a turbo kit on it, or are they predominately inspecting to see if the all the lights are there and working, safety equipment is intact, etc?
Thanks for all of your help!
10-07-2015, 06:25 PM
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I have bought multiple cars from Out of state over the past few years. I also have AAA and my comments below pertain to the AAA DMV.
1) You will need a CA SMOG Check. Any Out of state SMOG check is invalid and CA doesn't care. If your SMOG station passes you with the turbo then you should be clear. As you know, SMOG stations should always be checking for CARB stickers on aftermarket mods. If you do not have a CA SMOG Check before you register your car, the DMV will give you a temp reg and you will have to return with the valid SMOG Cert.
NOTE: For out of state cars, DMV needs the long SMOG check number and not the certificate number that can be found at http://www.bar.ca.gov/pubwebquery/Ve...PubTstQry.aspx. Make sure you get the paper printout and bring that to the DMV.
2) My AAA DMV didn't really care about what was on or in the car. They basically checked the VIN number and mileage and might have opened the hood to check the emissions sticker under the hood (50 state/California Certified). One of my out of state cars had tinted windows, tail lights, etc that were not CA legal and AAA DMV didn't care. They are not a BAR Referee station. If you get sent to a BAR Referee station, then you better believe your car needs to meet all CA laws.
Let me know if you have other questions.
1) You will need a CA SMOG Check. Any Out of state SMOG check is invalid and CA doesn't care. If your SMOG station passes you with the turbo then you should be clear. As you know, SMOG stations should always be checking for CARB stickers on aftermarket mods. If you do not have a CA SMOG Check before you register your car, the DMV will give you a temp reg and you will have to return with the valid SMOG Cert.
NOTE: For out of state cars, DMV needs the long SMOG check number and not the certificate number that can be found at http://www.bar.ca.gov/pubwebquery/Ve...PubTstQry.aspx. Make sure you get the paper printout and bring that to the DMV.
2) My AAA DMV didn't really care about what was on or in the car. They basically checked the VIN number and mileage and might have opened the hood to check the emissions sticker under the hood (50 state/California Certified). One of my out of state cars had tinted windows, tail lights, etc that were not CA legal and AAA DMV didn't care. They are not a BAR Referee station. If you get sent to a BAR Referee station, then you better believe your car needs to meet all CA laws.
Let me know if you have other questions.
Originally Posted by petawabit' timestamp='1444113385' post='23767330
Hey all, wondering what's the procedure for purchasing and registering a car from out of state? I've done this aeons ago and don't recall, but know that there is a smog check and inspection involved. Car may be coming from North Carolina and have AAA if that matters. I recall that with my previous purchase, I brought the car to AAA and they checked it out to make sure that all the safety equipment works, but the kicker is that this car that is coming from out of state has a turbo kit on it that is not normally passable. The questions are:
1)As long as I get a smog check and it passes here, am I clear for that section?
2) With the inspection, will they flat out refuse the car if they see that it has a turbo kit on it, or are they predominately inspecting to see if the all the lights are there and working, safety equipment is intact, etc?
Thanks for all of your help!
1)As long as I get a smog check and it passes here, am I clear for that section?
2) With the inspection, will they flat out refuse the car if they see that it has a turbo kit on it, or are they predominately inspecting to see if the all the lights are there and working, safety equipment is intact, etc?
Thanks for all of your help!
Thanks Wooward! Much appreciated
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