The Pub

Hello All,

According to the CA DMV website a car that is being brought into CA from out of state is considered new if it has less than 7500 miles on the odometer and therefore has to be CA Certified in order to be registered..

My Healey has just undergone significant restoration, including a new set of gauges., the odometer reading is now about 20 miles.. Of course, the old one was broken which is why it required replacing

Anyone got any advice / experience of this? I believe I can register as a historic vehicle (1922 onwards and more than 25 years old ) so that may be an option

Thanks,
Ben



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2020-05-21 05:18 PM by BenF04.

Ben,
That only applies to new cars. It's to stop people going out of state to purchase a new or newer vehicle and save on the higher sales taxes that we have to pay here. It doesn't apply in your case because even if your car is fully restored it isn't new! However you will find that the registration fees are quite high here and are based on the value of the car. DMV may ask you what the value of the car is. Make sure you tell them what you paid for it ( which is hopefully a lot less ) than the cost of a full restoration. My 61 Healey was a mess and I paid the sum of $3000 when I got it. It is now worth a lot more but my registration is based on the amount I paid for it. As far as the mileage goes, you may have to fill out a form called a "Statement of Facts" and state that the mileage is beyond the mechanical limits of the odometer and that you have no idea how many time it has gone around.
Pete

Ben,

I purchased my '67 El Camino in Florida and had it shipped here, I'd recommend you go to AAA to get registered. They provide most DMV registration services, the wait times are shorter and unlike the DMV they actually treat you like a customer. Also along with registration fees they'll charge sales tax even though the car was purchased out of state.

Kevin, Peter,
Thank you for the replies, I'll go to AAA and get it done there once they open again. With the exception of 25 offices, the DMV is also currently closed in CA so it looks like I'll have to wait before I can get out in the car in any case. I'd take the risk and go for a drive if it had the PA license plate still on it and argue that the DMV is closed so I have to wait for registration if I got stopped but without a plate it may be pushing it a little bit. Besides, it gives me the time to apply the PPF before any chance of a dreaded stonechip.

Thanks,
Ben

Kevin,
You can only use the AAA if you are a member.
Pete

Might be worth contacting one of the many Bay Area private vehicle registration services. I use a private service and it usually costs about $125 in addition to fees. Well worth it. My AAA office declines to assist with out of state transfers. I’m guessing a trip to DMV in SF could be less than pleasant.

Craig

Peter,

You drive an old British car without a Triple A membership, do you also play Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun?

Kevin,
I never said I 'm not a AAA member and don't know where you got that idea. All I was pointing out to Ben is that you need to be a member to use their services in the event that he wasn't a member. I personally have been a member since 1977.
Peter

Hi All,
I ended up using an agent to get it done. Marty came out to the car at 09:30, checked the VIN, we did the paperwork there and then and he called me at 16:30 to inform me that the plates, registration and tags were available. Job done. No hassle, no waiting in line at the DMV (the majority of which are still closed) and no worrying about getting any hassle at the DMV about importing the car into CA.

Marty is a really good guy, great to work with and very efficient.

If you need him, call Marty at http://www.middlemanliens.com/ and tell him Ben with the LS3 Healey told you to get in touch.

Cheers,
Ben



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-06-05 11:44 AM by BenF04.

Ben,
Glad to hear it went well. I see that you are in the SF bay area. If you are interested, I would like to extend an invitation to you to join the Golden Gate Austin Healey Club. We have over 150 members and are pretty active throughout the year with numerous Healey runs. Annual dues are $30 and any Austin Healey is welcome, you don't even have to have one to join in the fun. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic we have delayed our season opener and a number of our earlier events had to be cancelled. We are kicking off this season with our first run on the 13th of this month. Please send me a private email if you are interested and I can provide more details.
Pete

https://goldengatehealeys.com/

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