As long as the car has more than 7,500 miles, I can buy it out-of-state and I don't need to fit it with CA smog equipment in order for it to pass because they will test it to its original 49-state requirements, right?

 

Mileage really has nothing to do with it. If it is a used car that has been previously registered in another state, then you can bring it in to Ca. and it only has to meet 49 state regs. The reason the out of state registration requirement was put in was that people were going to Arizona to buy new cars when smog laws first went on the books to get out of the cali smog requirements. They passed a law requiring that any car that only meets 49 state regs must have been registered out of state. They may have had a minimum mileage requirement to avoid having someone buy a car in Pheonix and drive around a bit, then want to bring it in as a used car, but Third Gens are old enough now that no questions will be asked. You can't go to Arizona or anyplace else and buy a new third gen to bring in to avoid cali smog.

 

That's great news. Thanks. So at least I don't have to worry about that, but this thirdgen is still out of the question.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ponti...09352051QQrdZ1

 

I think almost all cars came with CA emissions standards, so you should have no problems bringing an out-of-state car into CA, as long as all the original smog equipment is still there and functioning properly. I cant think of what a CA car has that others wouldnt, other than maybe something different in the chip.

 

Here's the link to the seller.

http://www.musclegarage.com/1988%20GTA%20A170.htm

$22,995 was it's selling price.

 

There would have benn no problem registering that car and smogging it in CA. It's been registered in another state, so you might have gotton a cert of non-compliance, but the ARB would have let it slide.

Some of the federal cars didn't have AIR pumps when CA did, and they did come with different proms and stuff. Very minor differences though.

 

Clean car. It just needs to lose the CB radio. Those are aftermarket t-tops too.

 

I think he is in dreamland regarding the price, but in the rust belt he might get it. I don't think it would go that high in Cali even in the condition it is in. He is asking TTA money for it and it isn't in the same class as a TTA.

 

Well now a buddy of mine is saying any car brought in from another state needs to pass CA smog requirements. He says he's getting his info from his brother who used to own a smog shop and is pretty confident in his response. I can't find any official position on this matter online and so I'm still in the gray. Has anyone found any legal verbage? I'm inclined to call a ref.

 

It has to pass our sniff test, no questions there.

My 86 TA is a 49 state car, it was not equipped with the CA emissions package. IIRC the PROM and something with the canister purge valve are different and thats it. I just take it in and have it tested, no issues and never had any.

My 89 GTA was an out of state car, all I had to do was get it smogged and pay fees.

 

What exactly are you looking for. I have my Law book regarding smog inspections, so I can give you information verbatum, or I can just tell you that no matter what, a 49 state car will NEVER have to retrofitted with equipment that was on it's 50 State(California) counterpart.

As for Bringing in out-of-state cars, the rule is that if it's less than 4 years old AND has <7500 miles on it NAD is only 49 state certified, then you will be issued a certificate of non-compliance(kind of a wierd name for it). It will show that the vehicle passed or failed, but you will also receive another form that you have to fill out and send in to the ARB(Air Resources Board) and they will ask for proof that the vehicle was not bought out of state just to bypass CA smog regulations.

It's an old rule that's still on the books for when people would go out of state and purchase a car that didn't have EGR or AIR injection because they thought that without them, they would get better performance.

When buying an older car like the GTA in the auction, you would have no problem since the car is so old.

 

I just want to know that if I buy an older out-of-state vehicle, I won't have to worry about retrofitting it with CA smog equipment even if it were from say Florida should it fail smog. I don't want to have to worry about where the car is coming from within the states, regardless of whether it runs clean enough for CA standards even as a 49-state vehicle, as some people seem to have pointed out. If you have verbage on this I'd appreciate if you can post it or scan it. Thanks...

 

Back in the late '80s early '90s, when you brought in a car that was 49 State compliant, the State of California charged you $300 and you needed to retrofit the vehicle to meet CA requirements. Some time in the mid/late '90s the Supreme court ruled this action Unconstitutional and all the person who payed this fee were given a refund by Mr. Gay Davis ... I mean Gray Davis.

I know because back in 1993 I had to go through this when I purchased my 1984 Z28 and yes, I was refunded the $300 plus inflation and tax. Although it took a couple of months to get, I did receive my state check. This is probably what your buddy was referring to, but rest assured that is no longer the case. In 2002 all F-Body vehicles became 50 State compliant, as did other GM models.

 

You can buy the car, you do not need to retrofit it to CA equipment, but it does have to pass the sniffer. The Smog tech has an option to select CA/50 State or 49-state compliant . no one is EVER REQUIRED to retrofit anything onto a vehicle that wasn't originally equiped with it. So purchase all the out-of-state cars you want. :-)

Just remember, a lot of out-of-state cars don't have their emissions systems serviced like we have to just because the state might have less stringent regulations. You might buy a car and it might fail for NOx because the EGR isn't working right and the previous owner never knew. That's always a risk involved in buying a car that might not have required smog testing in another state.

I'll see what I can dig out of the law books for you though.

 

I'm not sure of other states, but I would be very careful of any Florida cars. They are technically under federal smog laws, but the feds have opted to let the states enforce smog. Florida doesn't have a smog problem, so anything goes. The likelyhood of finding a third gen in Florida that hasn't had all of the smog equipment removed is probably slim. They won't make you retrofit California equipment if the car is a 49 state car, but it better have all of the federally mandated smog parts.

 

I'd been PM'ing Russ about this since I'd read this topic, rather than posting, because I wasn't sure if I was remembering it correctly. But apparently I do remember correctly because yes, that happened to me, too, in 1990 when I moved to CA. I later remember hearing that people were to be refunded for that, but I never received one, and I'd long since forgotten about it, which is probably what the state was hoping would happen with most people.

The $300 sounds correct for a supposed retrofit, which I think was a scam because nothing was changed about the car, as I've learned in the last few years--still all Fed part numbers, including the PROM. But it seemed like there was also a fee of like $150 just for bringing it here to register, compliant or not, though I could be mistaken about that part. But it was A LOT of money to register my car here the first time!

The local Pontiac dealer, who you might remember 12secSS because I lived in North Hollywood at the time, Reuhman(spelling?) Pontiac did the supposed retrofit. Prior to the "retrofit," they never said my car DIDN'T pass a smog test, they merely said it WON'T pass. And afterward, they couldn't even tell me what they'd done to the car to make it compliant here. It was a lot of double-talk, leaving me to believe that I'd been scammed.

Can I still try to get that money back? And how? Russ suggested contacting the state, so I looked up the DMV website, but there doesn't seem to be anything related to this topic to contact them about. Also, whether I do or don't get it back, does that mean my car can start being tested for 49-state compliance instead of 50-state?

Another question: what about aftermarket engine parts for build-ups? If the car isn't, and doesn't have to be, 50-state legal here in CA, can aftermarket parts, such as heads, be only 49-state legal, too? That one's probably a whole new issue, though.

 

It was called the Smog Impact Fee ... and you can read more about it here:

http://www.dca.ca.gov/legis/1999-2000/smogcheck.htm

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...AL&btnG=Search

 

If you want to smog the car in CA, all aftermarket parts on it must be 50-state legal with CARB EO numbers on them.

 

Are you sure of that Kevin? If a person from out of state moves here with a 49 state car and some 49 state aftermarket parts can the state make them remove the parts and make it Ca. legal. If the car was a 49 state car already registered here, you might need to put only 50 state legal parts on the car. It seems like the question of 49 state parts on a 49 state car is awfully close to the case Ca. already lost as unconstitutional.

 

With regard to smog issues The Peoples Republic of California does whatever it wants.

I had to install a thermostatic controlled distributer vacuum advance control on a 1957, ninteen fifty seven, Pontiac Star chief
totally stock.

My wife, for Valentines Day, purchased a garden cultvator. According to the box it meets 2006 Calif emissions standards for off road engines.

I figure that added about $50.00 to the purchase price.

 

I know what you mean, a buddy of mine was sent a notice to have a smog inspection done before the state would register his TRAILER!!! He had no choice but to take the paperwork to a smog station with the trailer and they were able to submit some sort of correction to the state, and this was before we had to use the dyno for smog tests!

 

From my understanding of how the law reads, if its OE you're ok but once you go to aftermarket parts its non-compliant if they are 49 state parts and you have to take them off if they tell you, much the same as if you fail with aftermarket 50 state parts... get to take them off until it passes. EO's are no guarantee of anything aside of them saying you can have that part installed.

Where's our resident expert? He can tell you.

 

its fine to bring a out of state car to ca, even a brand new one, back in the day the retrofit was true but as stated thats chaged, the only deal now with bringing a car into ca is it has to have more than 7500 moles (if i remember right) or over a certain age. the reason is this, ca doesnt want people going to states that dont have sales tax and buying cars and bringing them back to ca, so i f you try reg a new car you bought say in oregon, ca will asses a tax on it, its all about the money with ca these days.