DeepSea117
08-16-2005, 07:32 PM
Just jumped through some hoops, so hopefully this will help any California resident get a Non-Resident Marauder :)
I originally had my car come from Minnesota. Bringing a car back to California requires that the car either be over 7500 miles and pass a smog check, OR if it's under 7500 miles, the car must meet California's standards (50-state exempt, not 49-state exempt.) This sticker is located under the hood, and get smogged. My Marauder was at 3998 when I first test drove it, and it's happily charging around with 5400 miles. Now, after going through obstacle after obstacle with going to Minnesota and all, funding, negotiating, transferring funds, titles, liens, and finally shipping, I kidded the former owner that I still had to battle California's DMV. Boy, was I right.
Fast-forward a month or so later, and I encounter a problem when registering the car. The clerk says a New Car from out-of-state (under 7500 miles, don't ask me why), can only be registered by a Non-resident. I told her it has the 50-state exempt sticker, and residency doesn't matter if it's exempt. She takes my money and says it may or may not pass. I have the inspector verify AGAIN that the sticker is under the hood, which it is. I tell the clerk I've read the rules, and there's not a thing saying a California resident can't register a NEW car from out-of-state. She insists that I can't. I'm on my lunch break, I gotta go back to work.
I get to calling Sacramento and get a DMV Compliance office number from them (the clerk neglected to inform me of this number, even when asked), and they say with the 50-state sticker, it doesn't matter. Armed with this info, I go back today and talk to the registration supervisor. He disagrees with me like the clerk until I call the DMV compliance center and they tell him to FAX over the paper work, which they weren't planning on doing beforehand. Long argument short, the clerk was wrong, but the supervisor makes it clear he denies hearing the clerk say anything, just to be a prick. I'm as polite as they come, but he seemed so...prissy about it. So I made him concur that it's okay for California residents to register a NEW non-resident car, which was the whole reason I went back in the first place.
I found out the problem is, even though a car is registered as legal and certified for sale in California, it may not be so in the DMV's system, where my Marauder is listed as a 49-state vehicle, which they neglected to explain. The Compliance center told the office I was at to run a VIN check on a another Marauder and compare results (which the office also neglected to do.) The clerk even had the nerve to play amrchair mechanic and ask me if I've ever "looked under a lot of cars" at the smog devices, because for some reason she knows without question what is under there. A likely story, patronizing sucker.
Anyone in California, make sure you have them verify the sticker under the hood. Also verify they check the smog results. Make sure your registration gets handled right away by the DMV Compliance center, by fax. Believe me, there's tons of misinformed people at the DMV, who won't bother to explain why they make their statements because they represent the almighty DMV. Pardon my rant, I've just went through two months of this hassle getting my Marauder, and I'll be damned if the DMV tries to stop it. :fire:
I originally had my car come from Minnesota. Bringing a car back to California requires that the car either be over 7500 miles and pass a smog check, OR if it's under 7500 miles, the car must meet California's standards (50-state exempt, not 49-state exempt.) This sticker is located under the hood, and get smogged. My Marauder was at 3998 when I first test drove it, and it's happily charging around with 5400 miles. Now, after going through obstacle after obstacle with going to Minnesota and all, funding, negotiating, transferring funds, titles, liens, and finally shipping, I kidded the former owner that I still had to battle California's DMV. Boy, was I right.
Fast-forward a month or so later, and I encounter a problem when registering the car. The clerk says a New Car from out-of-state (under 7500 miles, don't ask me why), can only be registered by a Non-resident. I told her it has the 50-state exempt sticker, and residency doesn't matter if it's exempt. She takes my money and says it may or may not pass. I have the inspector verify AGAIN that the sticker is under the hood, which it is. I tell the clerk I've read the rules, and there's not a thing saying a California resident can't register a NEW car from out-of-state. She insists that I can't. I'm on my lunch break, I gotta go back to work.
I get to calling Sacramento and get a DMV Compliance office number from them (the clerk neglected to inform me of this number, even when asked), and they say with the 50-state sticker, it doesn't matter. Armed with this info, I go back today and talk to the registration supervisor. He disagrees with me like the clerk until I call the DMV compliance center and they tell him to FAX over the paper work, which they weren't planning on doing beforehand. Long argument short, the clerk was wrong, but the supervisor makes it clear he denies hearing the clerk say anything, just to be a prick. I'm as polite as they come, but he seemed so...prissy about it. So I made him concur that it's okay for California residents to register a NEW non-resident car, which was the whole reason I went back in the first place.
I found out the problem is, even though a car is registered as legal and certified for sale in California, it may not be so in the DMV's system, where my Marauder is listed as a 49-state vehicle, which they neglected to explain. The Compliance center told the office I was at to run a VIN check on a another Marauder and compare results (which the office also neglected to do.) The clerk even had the nerve to play amrchair mechanic and ask me if I've ever "looked under a lot of cars" at the smog devices, because for some reason she knows without question what is under there. A likely story, patronizing sucker.
Anyone in California, make sure you have them verify the sticker under the hood. Also verify they check the smog results. Make sure your registration gets handled right away by the DMV Compliance center, by fax. Believe me, there's tons of misinformed people at the DMV, who won't bother to explain why they make their statements because they represent the almighty DMV. Pardon my rant, I've just went through two months of this hassle getting my Marauder, and I'll be damned if the DMV tries to stop it. :fire: