OK, this is a little bit OT because i'm talking about a motorsickle here-- but it's built w/ some traditional custom influence-- so i'll push the edge a bit. Besides DMV hell is a commonality... So, this bike is a custom I built from the ground up... hardly legal in the eyes of California law. I was able to get a VIN, MSO and all paperwork like it is a new bike from my friend who has a shop in Colorado-- even got some temp tags. I thought for sure this would smooth the process of registering it in California, as the paperwork is just like I bought a new bike. Well, went to the DMV to register it, with all my new paperwork.... and they stated I need the DMV and the CHP to inspect it for legality, emissions, etc. FUCK FUCK FUCK.... Any advise to get around this snafu? I dont have turnsignals, speedo, smog crap, etc... It's just all motor and little brake. Ponch from the CHP would probably judge it as it is-- a death trap. Thanks, -scott noteboom
what year is it? depends on how old the bike is if you will have to smog it. The CHP safety inspection is fairly simply. Find your local CHP station give them a call. They will probably ask you to bring the bike to them for an inspection. On my T they verified that it had an engine in it and that it was a complete car, not a pile of shit. They checked out the engine # etc. Now stupid tip that helped me out to no end. Get the Bike insured, for some stupid reason having that insurance tag bailed me out to end. (it is an offical document with the frame and engine # on it, i guess)
Just make your date for the CHP inspection. All they should be checking is VIN numbers. Take your MSO for the frame and the engine. They look at if check the number and sign off. Apparently some new laws are in affect starting jan 2006, but I don't know that CHP runs a CA emissions testing office.
forgot to add, when I registered my bike I started the paperwork and paid the DMV fees. I also got one them getto red month numbers and rode around with that for awhile. The day I got papers started I got insurance. Was ready to ride. Made the appointment with the CHP. Finished reging at another DMV and they let me off without the DMV inspection, they said "if the CHP saw it, it must be ok". I started at the Pomona office. I believe the DMV is very objective upon enforcing their rules.
i read a thread about this new set of laws a few months ago but i cant remember where i saw it at.......but it was very tough to get something registered starting in 2006...might have been posted on the ckdeluxe board
I suppose the man won't mind if I ride around with the plate off my '62 Vespa huh? 150cc....... 1500cc.......... close enough. Anxious to learn about the new 2006 laws. I'll research and post if I find. thanks for the help so far. -noteboom
AAA baby....go in there be real nice chat up the inspector first. if he / she is cool go for it....Super easy.
Try another person at the DMV - their attitudes range wildly. Went in and got some crusty, mean, mean old bag who assured me there would be "NO WAY" I could transfer ownership without jumping through this hoop, that snag, left nut, previous owner, blah, blah on and on......."even then - it would be unlikely", blah, blah..... Two minutes later I was in front of a guy who just smiled and wrote it all up and I got my new tags.
me too! motorcycle from out of state, Johnson county was being anal, tried each officer till i found a nice lady at the other office, she said" we get alot of complaints from the other place" keep trying. someone is on your side.
talk to your buddy in colorado again and get paperwork from him as if you had bought a USED bike from him...anything NEW brought to california will be up for all sorts of B.S. good luck... nic
Good idea about the used title. I bought my bike from texas, had it shipped, took it to DMV, and they just checked that the #'s matched the paperwork from texas. It is a 66, and they are starting to be real anal about new bikes here. The thread with the upcoming law changes is on the Jockey Journal. Do a search, easy to find. Erron
With all due respect to cleatus, my advise would be to NOT waste more time & the DMV & do what Shifty advised. . . . AAA. The registration fee will pay for itself in the other discounts you get AND they are WAY easier than the DMV, which should be avoided at all costs.
Which DMV did you hit up? Santa Teresa? That one is painful. Goto the Los Gatos or Santa Clara branches.. faster lines and usually nicer staff.
You have to do this when you buy a new car in California. The dealer usually handles new car routine but anytime you bring in something from out of state they want to verify that it is what it supposed to be and matching numbers on motor and frame are the main method. They are going to have specific questions for you. If you claim it is new just built they will hold you to current vehicle regulations and also the minimum equipment reguired to register a vehicle for use on Cal Hiways. Things like light and signals and a horn and mirrors. If it's Vintage then it's vintage but you won't have it both ways. Custom motorcycles are old business for them. don't freak out. Check the Motor vehicle handbook, the big one not the pamphlet you get at the DMV. The DMV has made a real effort to make the DMV experience less of Soviet Bureau Ordeal. You might want to talk to someone there. Those clerks are good friends to have when it comes to steering you through the shit and can save you some bucks. One tip make sure you fully understand whatever they are demanding of you before you hand them any money. Getting money back is a whole lot tougher. I am still waiting for the $300 refund due me from a class action lawsuit dating from 1993. I brought a car in from out of state and the state at the time would slap you with a surcharge because your out of state vehicle was not built to Californias stringent smog laws. Except that it was. All cars at the time and for many years were built to federal standards which matched California standards. California managed to collect 10's of millions of dollars this way until someone noticed, brought suit and the courts mandated refunds. All you had to do was get the special form (a trick unto itself) and file it and wait. For the fires of hell to burn themselves out I reckon. Still waiting except that now when I call and inquire nobody knows what the hell I'm referring to. Almost as if they planned it that way. It's like any other part of the government. A necessary evil. Give them what they want without drawing additional scrutiny or interest from them. You want them to forget all about you as soon as you walk away from the window. Good luck.
If it has to be verified AAA won't handle that for you. I know because I have tried. Unless things have changed. It has to be a DMV inspector or any CHP officer. I usually pick the one not wearing a gun. And take your proof of insurance with you. You won't be able to complete the reg until you can show this.
AAA inspected my last home built bike and gave me the go ahead. that was 3 years ago. AAA is great because you are a member (if not you should be) they treat you like a member not a PITA. I go to AAA anytime I need to do anything with my car. simple clean and no hassle. the only draw back is that you gotta pay cash or check no credit card for DMV services. If I had to choose between going to DMV or the CHP I would go with the CHP ( if you bike looks cool). The guys that I have met are cool and don't hassle much. most of the time they want to talk about the car/bike. If you can bring your wife and kids (or rent them) that seems to help as well. nobody wants to hold up a family mad. DMV sucks.
Take it to Boyd's and have him do it for you. I hear he can get a new tupperware bowl registerd as a 1932 Ford!
D'oh. I forgot that I was registering the thing in question on a salvage title. That's the part AAA couldn't handle. Sorrryy! And yes the CHP are generally cool. They inspected the old CHP cruiser I bought years ago. I forgot about that too. CRS!
Don't know about your entire situation but in 82 I went to liscence a '49 Pan and switch my original MO title to Calif title. No deal. They said I couldn't have an original title because it didn't look stock to them, and so they wanted to blue tag it. it gets worse they wanted me to bring it to the CHP garage so they could pull it down and check for theft numbers just in case anything at all was stolen on it. I explained to them that they didn't have theft numbers in '49, and snagged my paperwork and split. One of my club brothers explained to me that it would have had theft numbers before it left the CHP garage, and he procured me a temp tag until I could get a plate sent to me from MO. Don't know what to tell ya bro.
I hate going to the DMV. We go there and practically beg them to take our money, and you get the run-around, hard time, bubble-bursting attitude from some jerk that acts like YOU made them work there. The DMV needs competition. They would have to take a crash course in customer service or they would be out of business in a week.
I have two general rules at the DMV: 1) Lie your ass off, and 2) Make the clerk laugh before attempting #1. I moved to CA and just now registered my daily ('03 Subaru). I was supposed to pay back fines from when I moved (October), extra charges because there was a transfer of registration (from Maryland), and I forget what else, but my calculations had me owing over $500. I drove up early to be there at 8 when they opened (no lines). I had my forms from the website, typed-in and printed out so everything was nice and legible. They guy gets the forms and starts typing in all my info. So I say, dude, they make me type that all out just so you can type it in? That's beat. He looks around, then says to me, No shit. After that he was on my side. Was the car currently registered? No sir (MD tags still on it). Did I have it with me? No sir, it's not registered (it was parked around the corner). Where is it now? At my apartment (yeah, if I lived on the streets of Daly City). When did I move here? February 1st (it's been over 4 months). How did I get the car in the state? A friend trailered it for me (right, I drove from Maryland). So I got out of there in a half hour, only paid regular fees (still $158), and have my CA temp reg sticker. Need a smog check and the numbers-matching inspection, and I'm good to get plates. I don't know how much shit-talking you can do on a bike with no signals or lights, but it's always helped me if I could get a smile on their faces before they tried to bend me over. Maybe wait 'til a motorcycle cop is handling inspections...
Here's the scoup so far since I tried to register my Plymouth yesterday (Feb 17 2006). Note that I have bought this car (from someone in Colorado) with a clear tilte in Colorado that lists my car as a 1934 Plymouth (I have the pink from Colorado!) * AAA can not help (I am a member and tried it). * There are new laws in CA effective 1/01/06 that require the VIN to be identified on the frame and the body for the DMV to approve it; or you get sent to the CHP. If you do not have this see "Another Option" below. * At the CHP the Body, Chassis, and Engine numbers have to check out before the car can be registered in CA as the year of the car listed. (This is what the CHP officer who does the VIN ID in South Orange County told me yesterday feb 17 2006). The officer also said that I would have to make a Tuesday appointment, and that unless I worked or lived next to the local CHP office I could not get the VIN verified by the CHP. Another Option The dreaded blue tag (Special Construction), which will list your vehicle as a model year "0000". The disadvatages are: 1) It makes it next to impossible to insure because they think you have a top fuel car. My agent is calling Haggarty Classic Car Insurance on Tuesday to confirm. 2) You will also have to convince the DMV that it is not a vehicle requiring smog controls (I hope you can prove without a shadow of a doubt that your engine is from the year you say without mods to the intake, exhaust, cam etc.). Otherwise prepare for whatever the CHP or the DMV or the Referee says your model year is. It will be like a game of hot potato, only you are the potato and you have to throw yourself. It's going to be hard to meet the 2006 emissions with my '68 318 mopar. 3) The DMV will track any numbers they have (body, engine, frame). If it turns out to still be registered in another state then you can not register it in CA until it is clear. If it turns out to be stolen, then call your laywer before the DA knocks on the door. Prepare for the worst. 4) Lowers the value of your car because it is not the proper year any more. 5) Denies you running the license plate associated with you model year (i.e. 1934 with orange background and black numbers in my case). 6) They drill holes in your car to mount the Blue Tag. (Not a big deal for me, but it is for some). PS Joe, Boyd got wacked on this one. He had to settle and sell all of his rods without verified VIN on the body and Frame out of state. I found this article. http://www.streetrodderweb.com/hotnews/0410sr_boyds/ NOTE TO ALL CA OWNED HOT RODS!!! The California Department of Motor Vehicles is in the process of canceling registrations that involve documents obtained from Titles Unlimited. (Titles Unlimited is believed to have provided false documents to Californians that cost the state more than $1 million in tax revenues and license fees over the past two years, and as much as $14 million since 1975, when the company began operating.) The Attorney General's Office also has notified law enforcement officials in more than 20 counties regarding residents who titled their cars through the company for possible prosecution."
Don't get to excited until you talk to the CHP. I worried like hell before trying to get my old 98 conv. titled. It had a non-high-way title. KHP looked at the VIN and that was it. Took more time to walk to the car than to inspect it. Just be pleasant to the inspector, maybe go in on a late afternoon.... Good Luck.
Unfortunatly the CHP is where I got the information I have (Yesterday Feb 17, 2006). If you mean don't get excited until they inspect it, please see "Another Option" in my previous post. I have a frame made out of 2x4 rectangular tube, no VIN. You are right though. No use in worrying until it is done. I will post here to let everyone know the outcome.
Ohh, The news is worse after I looked here! http://www.geocities.com/smogrfg/semaeditorial/hotrodtitleissue.html
yes i think trying to push a car through california nowadays is not gonna happen, someone that shorts the process will have to pay the price from the bosses so i am sure they have new procedures in making it correct to every rule they have from now on,
I bought a car from a guy in Colorado that had a clear Colorado title (pink slip which is now rainbow colored) that listed the car as a 1934 Plymouth coupe. I figured reciprocity and relations between the state of CA and CO would have been such that this was a legal transaction. How did I short the process? How was I supposed to know that CA didn't think CO is a credible state?
http://www.geocities.com/smogrfg/sem...itedissue.html "The latest is Boyd Coddington. According to the Orange County Register Friday February 8, 2005 Boyd Coddington pleaded No Contest Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of submitting counterfeit vehicle titles to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Coddington paid $3000 in restitution to the DMV and will be required to do 160 hours of community service. That community service will include speaking to hotrodders at trade shows and in magazines to explain why vehicle registration fraud is a crime. He will also talk about the correct way to register a custom built vehicle."
UPDATE: Now i'm getting really fed up with the DMV. You'd think I was a major criminal the way they treat me. - Got Colorado paperwork that stated the bike had over 7500 miles, and went to register it at AAA. - AAA cannot do out of state vehicles anymore, sent me to DMV. - Waited in line 50 minutes at DMV - Send me to verification for VIN. Waited in that line with my bike, almost getting killed several times by Chinese immigrants who can't drive somehow pasing their driving tests... - Verifyer bitch verified numbers, but then flagged me for not having a speedo or mirrors. Referred to CHP. - CHP happened to be at the DMV (I guess they are a couple times a week.) He just walked to me, wouldnt even look me in the eye and threatened to cite me for no mirrors. Told me to go away. - Figured i'd try to pay the registration anyway and see what happens-- since half the staff have a lack of brain. Paid my $808 fucking dollars, and almost got registration-- until the clerk noticed the failed verify. Referred to CHP, and told they will give me title / registration when I bring a CHP verification. - Now I have to go to CHP now... I'm told they have to verify mileage, and if they dont believe it-- then i'll have to prove smog equipment. I'll show up with a "custom" speedo with the right mileage and "custom" bicycle mirrors. We'll see how it goes. By the way, i'm being friendly and i believe i look like a respectable kinda guy. Couple folks along the way have mentioned newer, stricter 2006 rules. The fucking governor has no problems with his motorcycle, and he isnt even legal to ride..... (uh, at least I have my fifth permit over the years!) The California DMV wants me to drive a Honda or something. The saga continues..... -scott noteboom
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