Importing a 2002 from Germany

[Henning]

9 hours ago, Conserv said:

But California, under its current rules, is a country unto itself.

 

Ah yeah, we know that. It's called Bavaria here.

 

 

henn

[irdave]

New Hampshire?  Vermont?  One of them has a system by which you can register your car there, through the mail, with no title- because they don't title cars over 20 years old or something.  Have to pay fair tax, but that's about it.

 

And other ways that are less legal.

 

More legal, I bet some place like Nevada or Wyoming wouldn't give you too hard of a time, then go to CA with it.  I believe CA only requires smog on '76 and newer, so as long as the car is older than that.

[02Les]

I thought when you moved your vehicle one State to a another, you had 30 days (or so) to retag/re-title it to the State you moved to. A 'friendly' police man notified me of this when I moved from TX to TN.

So, even though you register the car in a friendly State; if the final destination is CA, wouldn't if have to be re-registered in CA anyway to be road legal?

[bavariaboy]

Here it PA a buddy just imported a '72 Bauer Cabriolet from England. The only service equipped to the do the title work(and from reading the above posts CA is NOTHING like PA) was AAA.  The rest of the process, plates, mechanical inspection, were a breeze. For what it's worth.

 

And I paraphrase my favorite CA Slogan.  "It is known to the state of California that everything on this planet, including air and water(salt and fresh) contains a cancer causing carcinogenic element. Everything!"  

 

My condolences.

 

Steve

[Stealth02]

48 minutes ago, 02Les said:

I thought when you moved your vehicle one State to a another, you had 30 days (or so) to retag/re-title it to the State you moved to. A 'friendly' police man notified me of this when I moved from TX to TN.

So, even though you register the car in a friendly State; if the final destination is CA, wouldn't if have to be re-registered in CA anyway to be road legal?

 

Would make sense. Which is what my thought would be. My US 'home address' and my US drivers license is registered at my parents, somewhere in the central/midwest US. I'm thinking I could likely ship the car there, register it where I 'live' for whatever statute of limitations are required, then bring it to CA.

 

I feel the biggest hurdle is getting US paperwork for the vehicle, but once that's done, I think the problem *should get easier to then title in in CA. Or at least that's my blind hope!

 

And if the ~2500-3g costs are to be believed, that feels like a deal. I was expecting more, TBH. 

[markmac]

30 minutes ago, bavariaboy said:

And I paraphrase my favorite CA Slogan.  "It is known to the state of California that everything on this planet, including air and water(salt and fresh) contains a cancer causing carcinogenic element. Everything!"  

 

My condolences.

 

Steve

Pick another state - I know that isn't helpful.  Lived in California my whole life, I had a couple of MB 190e 2.3-16's over the years.  Nearly impossible to get those cars smogged/registered.  On their best day new, they would barely pass (and they were US spec cars).  I can't imagine bringing in a Euro registered car here regardless of the age.  Anyone that lives here knows that they (the state) really don't want you to have a car, let alone an old car, classic car or other.  Best of luck with your journey.

[Stealth02]

16 hours ago, markmac said:

Pick another state - I know that isn't helpful.  Lived in California my whole life, I had a couple of MB 190e 2.3-16's over the years.  Nearly impossible to get those cars smogged/registered.  On their best day new, they would barely pass (and they were US spec cars).  I can't imagine bringing in a Euro registered car here regardless of the age.  Anyone that lives here knows that they (the state) really don't want you to have a car, let alone an old car, classic car or other.  Best of luck with your journey.

 

Pickin' another state to end up in isn't an option. 

 

But picking another state for the car to start out in, is. 

 

As in, If I had the car shipped to another state to have it titled and registered there, would it get any easier to then bring the car out to CA? It's a project car, after all... and if emissions is the biggest hurdle, a different engine than what is in it is fine with me. 

 

Thank you everyone for the thoughts and feedback, I'm going to reach out to a couple of the importers mentioned to get their impressions/estimates. 

 

mgf-

Stealth02

[irdave]

Yes, if it's a car already registered in the States with a title from somewhere *here*, as long as it's not a '76, it should be easy.  Unless something changed while I've been gone (it's been a while), only '76 and newer cars have to deal with emissions at all.

[Conserv]

4 hours ago, irdave said:

Yes, if it's a car already registered in the States with a title from somewhere *here*, as long as it's not a '76, it should be easy.  Unless something changed while I've been gone (it's been a while), only '76 and newer cars have to deal with emissions at all.

Dave,

 

I believe the latest tightening of the California car-importing rules dates to ca. 2013. If you’ve not lived in CA since that time, you might be surprised.

 

The following is certainly not authoritative — it’s a blog by a firm that specializes in importing non-U.S.-spec vehicles — but it does mention that (a.) one should probably not try to import ‘68 to ‘74 models, and (b.) a car registered in another state (where its owner was resident) might have a shot at California registration. 1975 and new models are under a somewhat different standard. The requirement for bi-annual emissions testing for 1976 and new models is an entirely different issue, and one not likely to effect @Stealth02, unless he owns a 1976 1502.

 

https://www.importavehicle.com/blog/california-legalization-for-imported-vehicles

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[Stealth02]

Yep, the car is in the grey area of post 68, and pre 76, so less worries there.

 

And I've been registered/a resident at my parents address since leaving the country, and have held a DL/State ID there since as well. This is sounding like my best route. 

 

Thanks again, FAQ!

 

 

[Einspritz]

When I imported my car to California,  there were different SMOG laws depending on whether your legally registered address (different from the mailing address for the title) was in the County that fell under stricter guidelines for SMOG, e.g. the 9 S.F. Bay area counties. If it did, then there were stricter laws. I don't know if that is true today, but I registered the car in El Dorado County, at a friends P.O. Box, in order to adhere to the less stringent (Federal) law. But that was in 1983, so things may have changed. The car still had to have the "bits" for a '74, e.g vapor recovery, charcoal filter, speedometer, etc. and IIRC had to "only" comply with the Federal SMOG standards of %CO, HC levels.

 

I don't recall if I mentioned before, but the car had to comply with Federal safety standards, e.g. door impact supports had to be installed, lights, etc. There is a list of all that. It may not be necessary today.

 

Of course at the time, the intended use was for limited mileage driven during a year, in effect for "show 'n shine". But thankfully, I have never had the Feds "come a calling" to check that.

[ray_]

Don't expect to ever register it in Cali. If you manage to, that will just be a bonus.

 

GL,