Nor Cal Speedster for sale - registration problems - a little help...

I'm talking to this seller about buying his speedster and he's telling me that the reason he needs to sell is that it's registered as a 1993 (year built) instead of '65 and it needs to be smogged!

He said that he has petitioned the DMV to reevaluate the year but to no avail - this car was brought in from another state.

Do I want to take on this hassle? I don't want to have to get a 1600 cc crate engine smogged in California.

Any way around this?

Thanks!

Melvin - that very thing is what stopped me from buying a VS that was in Vanc. Wn. I spent alot of time on it trying to figure out if I could get it re-titled back to year of frame. In my particular instance, the car came out of Ca titled as mid 70's VW, and Wash H.P. changed it upon entrance to that state. Calif DMV would not change it back, even though there was still current registration doc's in Ca. I never came up with a solid way to do it. It may be possible, but I did not want to take chance and buy and have to go thru the smog thing. There will be alot of cars available here with pre-date of manufacture titles that you might consider instead. Just my .02 worth.

Thanks Dale - this car is in great shape and for $8500.00. The title issue is the only thing holding it up.

I was thinking about checking out car title companies that can take on the title themseves then sell it back to you. The only problem is that I'll have to pay the out of state car fee which will be too high for a used replica.

Melvin,

if you decide not to buy it please share the details as I am looking for one around that price to import it to Spain.

Thanks

Melvin,

You should check out some of the websites related to the California emissions rules and registration requirements.

SB100 (senate bill 100) was a great victory for Kit car builders. I saw a Cobra website that says the rules for that bill apply only to cars that are built by non-professionals (home built)

You may want to try John at JPS or Kirk at Vintage for their opinion.

Where in Norcal is the car?

I hadt is very same problem when i purchased my 356 . The CA DMV told me it had to be smogged, I went to 2 diff registration places and they told me it had to be smogged finally i went to a specialty smog shop for high end vehicles. The owner of the shop told me it does not have to be smogged based on teh SPCN designation on the title, as long as the donaor pan is below the year of the threshold for smog. Mine was a 64. So back to the DMV....this is what you have to do....go to the information desk at the dmv tell them you have a car you need inspected drive it to the inspection line have the inspoected by the person with the clip board and no idea what they are looking at, they looked for a blue shield on the inside drivers door and a white sticker the state puts on it. I think if it des not have the sticker you have to go to the regional DOT inspection center to cet the seal. So after a day of running around i got he registration accomplished in 15 min. ASk to see a supervisor at the DMV if you have any trouble. rmck7050@yahoo.com

The California Attorney Generals Office has been conducting an investigation into the fraudulent registration of replica vehicles (www.caag.state.ca.us/newsalerts/2004/04-042.htm ). The initial investigation was limited to Cobra replica vehicles due to known VIN sequences. We are aware that the same fraudulent vehicle registration issues apply to other replica vehicles and hot rods.
To correct a common misunderstanding of California law, it is a felony to do the following:

1. Register a vehicle where the year of vehicle is misrepresented;
2. Register a vehicle where the value of the vehicle is understated; or
3. Register a vehicle where the year of the vehicle is misrepresented to avoid compliance with California smog laws.

Any of the above actions are a felony in violation of Vehicle Code Section 4463(a). Additionally, the above actions constitute the crime of perjury, in that all statement of facts contained in California DMV documents are taken under penalty of perjury.

If you are a California resident and have done any of the above in registering your replica vehicle or hot rod you may wish to contact an attorney. I would also encourage you to take proactive steps to correct the problem by legally re-registering your vehicle.
If you have further questions you may contact me at (916) 445-9330.

Robert Morgester
Deputy Attorney General
Special Crimes Unit
State of California Department of Justice
(916) 445-9330
Robert.Morgester@doj.ca.gov

Is it me or is it a bit surprising to see our buddy there posting in this forum?

I'm also not sure, which is quite funny to me, whether the aforementioned situations represent a violation under his definition. If he took the time to post you think he'd clarify for people trying to register their cars properly. Sheesh.

-Jeff

Is it me or is it a bit surprising to see our buddy there posting in this forum?

I'm also not sure, which is quite funny to me, whether the aforementioned situations represent a violation under his definition. If he took the time to post you think he'd clarify for people trying to register their cars properly. Sheesh.

-Jeff

I don't understand exactly why a car built on a pan, say 1964, could get retitled as anything other than a car built on a 1964 pan...call it a specialty car, special manufacturers car, a 'VW/Porsche' as mine has been describe by CA DMV, whatever...

If the builder intially titled it as such, it should remain as such,particularly if it comes home to roost in CA. Mr. Asst' Attorney general,chielf in charge of fraud, can you help us here?

When comparing specialty cars, those represented here more closely represent the donor cars, with the exception of the frame built units up North, and it is so damn obvious, why must it be problematic?

If, as I suspect, these anomolies are fee-driven, why not just say, "OK you guys with cool cars have to pay a higher reg fee" (than that of a 1964 VW) Lets say you add twenty per cent and quick fucking with us.

The state extorts their money, we get our cars and you Mr. asst' whatever can move on to bigger fish to fry!

Group,

Do your homework on the "First 500" rule for SPCN (special construction)registration. There is a program that allows the first 500 SPCNS per year to be registered and recognized by DMV differently.

My saga involved; a trip to DMV, 1 trip to CHP, 1 trip to SMOG referee, and 1 trip back to DMV.

My 73' pan is now SMOG Exempt. I have done everything as directed by the authorities. I sleep well at night.

Just my 2 cents.

B.

There is no fraud involved with titling your volkswagen and then modifying the body to be a speedster or any other vw. The fraud comes when a car is built on a tube chassis and it is still titled as a VW. That's what got the Cobra guys in trouble.

must be great living large in the "smogshine state"!!!

ha ha ha

Another reason I loved living in California and HATED living in California. Crime rates are relatively high and we have a government official worrying about repli-car registrations. Isn't it a crime for a government employee to surf the web at work (can you prove you were doing this on your own time).

the sb 100 law is only for first time spcn privately constructe vehicles. This car does not apply here. I would do a little leg work and start with a vin verification with the chp. Then discuss with the supervisor at the dmv office about getting the paper work corrected, like registering it as what it is. Probably a statement of facts page and a letter, and an application for title. I recently went through this with a 2001 mustang that was in storage and never registered anywhere in the us. Trying to establish correctnes and ownership was the #1 part of the journey.
hope this helps. richard migliori