CA Resident Needs to Know Process for Buying Out of State and Registering

[FRS]

Hi all. I live in California and am in the process of buying out of state. I will pay it in full and have the car transported here. This is my first time doing this, so i am a little nervous about the process and want to understand all the potential pitfalls regarding registering and getting my title. Can Californian owners who did the same give me some advices about the process?

At a high level, i understood that i need to do the following steps:

1. Wire transfer the money to the dealership and wait until it clears.
2. Dealership will mail me the bill of sale and related paperwork to sign then i will need to send it back to them.
3. Transport company will bring the car to CA.
4. I will need to drive the car for about one hundred miles so the emission history is established. Can i do this legally without a temp. tag?
5. Complete application for title and visit DMV for inspection and initiating the paperwork. Pay CA sale tax. Are there other forms that I would need to fill out? Besides the bill of sale, do I need to show any other document to apply for a title?
6. Smog check the car to complete the registration process.
7. Finally, wait for registration sticker and plates.

Did i miss any step or paperwork above? Thanks in advance!

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[dphunky]

I’m in the process right now and the cars on the transport arriving this week from Michigan to the Bay Area.

Buying process was pretty seamless. Dealer mailed all the paperwork along with a return envelope. I sent it back along with a cashiers check.

You have to fill out DMVs REG 343 but that’s as far as I’ve gotten waiting for my car to arrive. Dealer says I need the bring the certificate of origin which is in the car.

Once I receive the car, I planned on getting the smog done, vehicle inspection at dmv, then bring all of that into DMV. I wasn’t aware of driving 100 miles emission history though.

 

[35YearsOfHondas]

Registration for a Vehicle Purchased from a Dealer

And, some nuances about smog inspection requirements here:
CA DMV smog inspections web page
And click the first FAQ
"Starting January 1, 2019, if your vehicle is less than 4 model years old, you can pay a smog abatement fee instead of getting a smog inspection for the first 8 years that your vehicle is registered. " - the abatement fee is about $20...

Finally, I've had positive results using the chat feature on the DMV site.

 

[Milosdad]

I posted a video about the process when I purchased my CTR from Ohio and had it shipped to CA. I may have missed one thing in the video, which I cover in step 3 below.

1. Wire money to dealership. Make sure they send you high-res photos and videos of the car.
2. Arrange transportation (ideally you don't want the car sitting on the lot for too long).
3. Once car lands, you can drive the vehicle legally on CA roads for 45 days. The dealer provided with me temp tags. (but make sure to insure vehicle). It'll take about two weeks for the title from the dealership to arrive in the mail.
5. While I was waiting for my title, I drove about 100 miles before the emissions system was ready for smog. (maybe you can pay the smog abatement fee but I was told that smog is required since the vehicle is coming from out-of-state.
6. Once you pass smog, you will receive a smog certificate which needs to be shown to the DMV employee, during the VIN verification process.
7. Register vehicle and pay any taxes due.

Make sure to bring the following to the DMV:

Certificate of smog completion
Title


Hope this helps!

 

[FRS]

Thanks for your inputs. @Milosdad did you pay Ohio sale tax for them to provide you a temp tag? My dealer isn't charging me any of their state sale tax, so I am not sure if i will get a temp tag.

 

[Milosdad]

Thanks for your inputs. @Milosdad did you pay Ohio sale tax for them to provide you a temp tag? My dealer isn't charging me any of their state sale tax, so I am not sure if i will get a temp tag.

I paid OH sales tax of 5%. Upon registration in San Diego, I paid the difference of 2.75% but it could be slightly higher or lower depending on which part of CA you’re located.

 

[Roocer]

I’m in the process right now and the cars on the transport arriving this week from Michigan to the Bay Area.

Buying process was pretty seamless. Dealer mailed all the paperwork along with a return envelope. I sent it back along with a cashiers check.

You have to fill out DMVs REG 343 but that’s as far as I’ve gotten waiting for my car to arrive. Dealer says I need the bring the certificate of origin which is in the car.

Once I receive the car, I planned on getting the smog done, vehicle inspection at dmv, then bring all of that into DMV. I wasn’t aware of driving 100 miles emission history though.

I also bought my CTR from Michigan and shipped out to the bay area recently. Congrats!

 

[MERAKIAUTOWORKS]

Wasn't for my CTR, but I bought a car out of state for CA registration. I drove the car around without temp tags, figured if I did get pulled over, I can explain the situation.
Have to smog before going to the DMV as you need to show the smog cert.
Pay all the sales tax, have the right papers, and you're good to go.

Also it could be more than 100 miles, I had to do 500 miles for the computer to give the green light on all systems.

-Josh

 

[FRS]

Wasn't for my CTR, but I bought a car out of state for CA registration. I drove the car around without temp tags, figured if I did get pulled over, I can explain the situation.
Have to smog before going to the DMV as you need to show the smog cert.
Pay all the sales tax, have the right papers, and you're good to go.

Also it could be more than 100 miles, I had to do 500 miles for the computer to give the green light on all systems.

-Josh

Wow, 500 miles is a lot. Did you have to show the Smog Check Station any paper from DMV?

 

[FRS]

I also bought my CTR from Michigan and shipped out to the bay area recently. Congrats!

@Roocer, @dphunky what carriers did you use? Could you provide me a referral? I'm in Nor Cal as well but the carrier that I'm reaching out to is not very responsive. Thanks.

 

[dphunky]

@Roocer, @dphunky what carriers did you use? Could you provide me a referral? I'm in Nor Cal as well but the carrier that I'm reaching out to is not very responsive. Thanks.

I went with Montway with an enclosed truck for ~$1700. It takes them a few days to assign it to an actual trucking company. The first assigned trucking company cancelled (not Montways fault) on me the day they were supposed to pick up so Montway reassigned to someone else that took another 2 days. The car is scheduled to arrive tomorrow (fingers crossed). So far it’s been an ok experience.

 

[FRS]

I went with Montway with an enclosed truck for ~$1700. It takes them a few days to assign it to an actual trucking company. The first assigned trucking company cancelled (not Montways fault) on me the day they were supposed to pick up so Montway reassigned to someone else that took another 2 days. The car is scheduled to arrive tomorrow (fingers crossed). So far it’s been an ok experience.

Thanks. Please let me know on your experience after you receive your car tomorrow. I hope everything will go smoothly.

 

[rondre3000]

Thanks for all the great info thus far. I'm following as I'm on the lookout for a SGP that was sold out from under me locally.


-Ron.

 

[menikmati]

5. While I was waiting for my title, I drove about 100 miles before the emissions system was ready for smog. (maybe you can pay the smog abatement fee but I was told that smog is required since the vehicle is coming from out-of-state.

The initial registration requires a smog check, but the following registration renewals will automatically have the smog abatement fee.

 

[FRS]

I went with Montway with an enclosed truck for ~$1700. It takes them a few days to assign it to an actual trucking company. The first assigned trucking company cancelled (not Montways fault) on me the day they were supposed to pick up so Montway reassigned to someone else that took another 2 days. The car is scheduled to arrive tomorrow (fingers crossed). So far it’s been an ok experience.

Have you received your car yet? Are you satisfied with Montway?

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