Moving to Southern California

[JQ911]

Finalizing plans with my employer to relocate before Christmas (my 3rd by the way). I got quotations from Intercity, Reliable and Alpine Transport to ship the 911 and others to ship the company car. I have a few questions though;

1. Anybody knows a pre-testing facility (emission) in the West Covina area where I can have the 3.2 checked? I just passed NJ emissions but ain't confident it would pass CA levels. I have a 49-state car, do I need anything to make it CA compliant? Car is stock as far as engine and exhaust equipment is concerned.

2. How long can I use my NJ plates in CA. I just registered the car and renewed my license and was thinking of maximizing it. Who knows, my employer might decide to relocate me again for the 4th time.

3. Pelicans in SoCal - Where do you regularly meet? I wouldn't miss winter in the Northeast so I guess, I can drive it all year round.

[Targa Me]

If your 911 is an '86 it has all the right emissions equipment.
I'm not familiar with west covina but i'm sure some one will chime in.

If your car is running properly and is tuned, it should pass CA smog.

[Craig T]

Call Jeff at Aase Motors. 714.992.2283. Aase is a Porsche institution in SoCal and only 15 miles down the 57 FWY from West Covina. Jeff will handle everything. Walking into Aase is like going to a Porsche museum.

When you get into town let me know. I'll head down and introduce you. Once legal, I'll take you around Mulholland-Encinal Cyn, etc...or up Angeles Crest Hwy.

[Hugh R]

Any smog test place can do a pre-check. Its off the books. A lot of techs here know how to dial in these cars for SMOG, notably NOx which is the big thing here with these cars.

You'll like the climate. Depending on where you are driving to work West Covina can be nice or not so nice a drive. You can drive it 365 days/year. About an hour to the beach and about an hour to the mountains for pretty good (not Colorado) skiing in the Winter. No snow in West Covina!

I'm sure you have a CAT, if you need one I have a good used one that I'll let you test for free and if its what you need I'll sell it to your for a nice lunch.

[JQ911]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the heads up. Yes, I still have the CAT and will put back the original muffler next week. So I guess my Fabspeed Supercups will be stored until I pass. I will keep you guys posted once I am settled in WestCov. I will temporarily stay 2 miles within my work place until I find an apartment elsewhere near the area as well. So I guess I will have to find a longer route going to work.

[Cooper911SC]

You will also have 911Design just across the 10fwy (East of W. Covina) if you need Pcar smog help.
They are located in Montclair between Central and Benson.
Shop is visible from the Fwy.

Owner Loren Beggs has been in the Porsche repair and racing business for decades now.

Hope your move goes smoothly.

Cooper

[Noah930]

If your motor is stock, most likely you'll pass the smog test. There are two parts to it: visual and sniffer. Your engine compartment must appear stock (i.e. with proper intake, exhaust, catalytic converter, smog pump, etc. all intact as it left the factory). If so, then the car is put on rollers and run through the sniffer test (as you probably have to do in your home state).

When you change registration to here in CA, it's supposed to be 50-state compliant. So technically the DMV will look for the appropriate 50-state compliant sticker. I had the guy from the DMV actually look for that sticker. If you lack it, you get sent to the CHP to get it sorted out. (And then you have to return to the DMV to finalize the paperwork after that.) On the other hand, when I got vehicles registered through AAA, I don't recall the woman/clerk really looking at much other than matching the VIN on the car to the VIN on the paperwork.

I think you have something short like 20 days to register your vehicle in CA. They actually ask you how long you've been in the state when you try to register your car. If more than the alloted time, you get fined.

Welcome. It's great car culture here.

[Tilikum Turbo]

It's the best place on the planet to own a targa...driving on the PCH with that top off heading North on a cool Summer night.

The beaches, the Desert, the mountains...so many cool places to drive.

After leaving Ohio to head West, I never looked back.

[look 171]

Yeah, but you cant carry a gun and the tax, housing, and, and, and...

Ahh, welcome to this wonderful mess. You will like it here. Pcar911 host a Porsche meet up the fwy from you in La Canada once a month. When you oil just starts to get worm and go two more exit that's where they are. Great bunch of guys. They will know where to get it smog. Design 911 is up the street from you.

[porwolf]

Welcome to Southern California. Nothing like it: New Year's drive January 1, 2012:

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Noah930

If your motor is stock, most likely you'll pass the smog test. There are two parts to it: visual and sniffer. Your engine compartment must appear stock (i.e. with proper intake, exhaust, catalytic converter, smog pump, etc. all intact as it left the factory). If so, then the car is put on rollers and run through the sniffer test (as you probably have to do in your home state).

When you change registration to here in CA, it's supposed to be 50-state compliant. So technically the DMV will look for the appropriate 50-state compliant sticker. I had the guy from the DMV actually look for that sticker. If you lack it, you get sent to the CHP to get it sorted out. (And then you have to return to the DMV to finalize the paperwork after that.) On the other hand, when I got vehicles registered through AAA, I don't recall the woman/clerk really looking at much other than matching the VIN on the car to the VIN on the paperwork.

I think you have something short like 20 days to register your vehicle in CA. They actually ask you how long you've been in the state when you try to register your car. If more than the alloted time, you get fined.

Welcome. It's great car culture here.

There is some incorrect, (technically outdated), info here. There is no longer any such requirement that registering an out-of-state used vehicle be "California compliant", ie. it was originally certified for sale in CA. There is no *sticker under the hood* deal or anything else. It was (correctly) ruled unconstitutional a decade or more ago, actually a violation of the Taft-Hartley law that regulates interstate commerce and people's right to travel between states looking for work. Any hindrance to that right is illegal, such as the fee CA used to charge to register a non-CA car here. They had to refund millions to people who had already paid it.

As for the smog, any smog place can do it. You do not need to take it to some special Porsche place anymore than I need to take my Toyota to special Toyota place. It will likely pass, (and the aftermarket muffler alone will have zero effect), plus it doesn't matter if it doesn't. You get it fixed and they re-test it for free. There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding failed smog tests. You simply take it again. For free.

If I was you, I'd keep the Jersey plates on it. I've had MN plates on both of last 2 911s for years with no hassles at all. Keep your NJ DL for that matter if you want. No one cares. If a cop pulls you over and asks how long you've been in CA, tell him it's none of their business. Because it isn't, legally speaking. I've been pulled-over with out-of-state plates and/or DL here and they never give a schit, so it's a moot point.

Welcome to the best place on earth to live.

[Hugh R]

Speeder be careful when keeping out-of-state plates AND out-of-state insurance coverage. You have an accident in CA with are car registered AND insured in another state, its easy for the insurance company to find out how long you've been drawing a paycheck/paying state income tax and cancel your policy under fraud and then you're hosed.

[speeder]

Thanks but my insurance agent in LA has no problem with my cars being registered elsewhere and driven here. Or my having a DL from a different state, though I have a CA DL now. No deception involved on my part.

[Nostril Cheese]

There's tons of guys with high end cars registering them in other states to avoid the ridiculous fees in CA.

[rayng]

Insurance agents have no issues because they don't pay the claim. They'll say whatever to sell policies. If I were you, I'd register and insure your car here. L.A. is a litigious town.

[speeder]

You have a point about the insurance agents. ^^^^ They don't seem to give a shake about anything.

[Hugh R]

Yeah, my point was to make sure its insured in CA.

[speeder]

My insurance is with AAA CA. And I only have CA registered vehicles now, but in the past I've had a few not registered here.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Hugh R

Yeah, my point was to make sure its insured in CA.

California Car Registration Guide - Renewals, Online & Mail Options, Forms, & Fees - DMV.org
"New residents to California are required to register their vehicle(s) within 20 days of establishing residency."

Because of CARB's policies devoid of any reality, plus extremely high DMV costs/time, the people I knew tended to spend 50% of their working brainpower trying to game the system and registered their vehicle in Nevada or Oregon, hoping not to get caught and planning their entire lifestyle around that.

A friend who lived in S.F. halved his insurance rates by registering in Marin county....where vehicles have much higher value and people drive farther to work in the city.

Maybe that bureaucratic cesspool has changed in the last 15-20 years.

[john70t]

In terms of taxation:
Any money a 1-day visitor makes inside CA is taxable.
Any money a resident makes outside of CA is taxable.
You are instantly a resident on Day #1 in terms of automotive registration.
You are not a resident until living there for 1 year(w/proof) for education purposes.