SupraCoup3

Well, I find myself in a unique situation. (hopefully!) living in LA with MA plates on my newly aquired 95 SC300 5 Speed :-)

now I could be wrong, but having a car registered on the opposite coast could exempt me from smog checks... Right?

My new SC isn't turbo'd yet, but being outside the emissions regulations could be a rather large perk...

...I mean, if I don't have to pass CA emissions, why wouldn't I?

So... who's got SC's in SoCal?



John

MrJohnTan

Right, but you will need proof of residence that you are living out of state. Otherwise, you have 10 days to legally register the vehicle in CA without paying additional fees. Im not 100% sure about the laws in MA, but if im not mistaken, you have to get the car inspected within the state every time the registration is due. I am pretty sure your insurance company will give you a hard time about driving around a car w/ an out of state registration as well and driving in CA w/o insurance is a big no-no.

There is a socal meet coming up in a few weeks. Check out the Pacific forum.....

SupraCoup3

I spoke with my girlfriend's father. He's the GM of a land rover dealership in denver, and he's done the same thing while he was in college. The trick is apperently you can get an out of state inspection or something like that.

We'll see!


John

mmarshall

It's not just a matter of emission checks....although I think MA has more or less the same standards CA does. I know new cars in MA have the same emission package as cars in CA....many East Coast states do.
Anyway, it's not just the smog check. Because some states and counties (like here in VA where I live) collect property tax every year on registed cars there, it is illegal and considered a form of tax evasion to register a car out of state. Some people do it and don't get caught, but there is a "snitch" type program that encourages people to turn in those who do try this.

SupraCoup3

I see your point, but it's a rather large perk being a full-time college student. Primary residence isn't where you're going to school -- it's where your house is. In this case, MA.


As far as emsissions go, I know that my 93 SC wasn't a california emssisions car -- I replaced the mid pipe because it had a leak. The CA emsission spec midpipe with 4 times the money (even with my employee discount at my lexus dealership)


about the tax, it's an excise tax which is short money for MA, and sales tax is rather low too.


BTW, Reading back through my posts I guess I didn't mention that I'm going to college out there.


John

mikeloc24

John (and John), I'm in SoCal as well. Los Angeles actually. I wouldn't goof around with the smog laws here, the cops are dicks and once you get screwed with over the reg it'll be hell dealing with the courts to straighten everything out. My motto is that if I have to put more effort into defeating the system instead of just conforming to it then it's not really worth it. Know what I mean? I know you want to hype the car up and the smog laws kinda stifle that, all I'm saying is be careful. I once had to talk an officer into dropping my car from a tow truck all over some reg foolishness. Not cool.

2jzsc3

*****.. wrong post.. had to edit...

SupraCoup3

One more time: If you're in college in another state you can either have your primary residence in that state OR in your home state (in my case MA).

Check out a private college and see all the out of state plates. At Pepperdine (where I'll hopefull be going) I saw New Mexico, Texas, and New Hampshire plates, just to name the few I remember from visiting back in November.

When I went to Northeastern U. in Boston (NU sucks) you'd see NY (yankees suck) plates all over the place.

I fail to see the confusion here...


Word to your mother.


EDIT: Look at college like one big extended visit... or vacation

mikeloc24

That being said isn't it MORE expensive to list yourself as an out of state residence? Back in the day when I went to college a state resident paid less in tuition than an out-of-towner, and the price difference wasn't peanuts either. So if this is the case then it's just a matter of choosing whom you'd prefer to pay. The state of CA directly for an in-state reg or the university for out of state residency. This, like most things, comes down to a personal choice...

SupraCoup3

pepperdine is a private school, so I don't think there's much differance for in-state vs out of state. Still waiting on the letter as a matter of fact -- I'm supposed to hear in 4 or 5 days at the most :-/


Edit: my other choices for schools are private as well.