Registering an out of state, modified pre 1976 car in CA. Options

[CCSmith58]

Hello 914 World. More specifically 1975 & older California 914-6 conversion Owners.
I have been having a 1975 914 restored / rebuilt/ modified by a Company just outside SLC UT. (hi eric / james...) The build may be done sometime this year (right ??). I'm trying to gather info on Titling & registering in CA. Here's an overview of my situation: I have a Colorado Title. The Title does say *DUPLICATE* on it. The name on the Title is not the person I purchased the car (tub) from. That Gentelman lives in UT.
I have a hand written Bill of Sale from the 1st Owner in CO. dated 07/26/16 to the 2nd Owner in UT. And I have a printed signed "form" Bill of Sale dated 5/22/22 from the UT. Owner to me. The car will (should) have all the correct VIN tags. However, it will have a rebuilt 1995 gen993 3.8 & rebuilt 915 transaxle. Does anyone have any experience with a situation like this ? Registering an out of state, modified pre 1976 car in CA.
What kind of "hoops" will I have to jump thru ?? Has anyone been so lucky as to go to the CA DMV and just register & Title as a regular ol' 1975 auto ?? HeLp !!!!

[TRP]

For a 75 and earlier car, the modifications are irrelevant, the only thing the DMV will care about is the title, the VIN, and the bill of sale. It reads as though you have a clean paper trail of the purchase from the first owner, to the second, and on to you. I'm not saying it's going to be easy/smooth, but it should be possible. Because it's not registered now, and potentially out of the system for so long the CHP may want to do a safety inspection (lights, signals, horn).

Why didn't you take care of getting the car legally in your name prior to having a bunch of work done on it?

[fiacra]

Sometimes it is the luck of the draw who you get at the DMV, and what kind of mood they are in, but as long as they like your paperwork it is likely all you will need is a VIN inspection at the DMV. If you don't have the sticker on the driver's side B pillar you will need a CHP inspection. Reproductions are available if you need one. Just make a DMV appointment and bring in all of your paperwork. If you're missing something, you can be sure they will tell you. I've never used one, but there are private firms that partner with the DMV that will handle this for you for a fee. That might be your least stressful route, and probably the one where the least amount of questions will be asked. I'm not talking about AAA, in my experience they are kind of useless in anything other than a straight forward transfer of title. Since you don't have to pass a smog test I doubt anybody is going to be taking a look at the engine and your registration and title will simply reflect that it is a MY 1975 914. Good luck!

NB: Not an expert on the California DMV, but I've lost count of how many cars I've titled here, including out of state cars, so I've had my fair share of DMV experiences (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Patrick_139]

Hoping this is helpful as I live in Southern California. I bought my 1974 914 on Bring a Trailer from a dealer in Pennsylvania. He provided me with a buyers agreement (Bill of sale?) documenting the sale of the car from him to me. He also provided the original certifcate of title from Massachusetts signed by the owner two years before I bought the car during which time the dealer did some work on it to get it ready for sale. The dealer's name is not listed on the assignment of title portion of the certificate of title.

I made an appointment at the local DMV and brought both documents with me. It took several different forms to be completed to register the car and they had an inspector come out and verify the VIN and oddly enough ask to see the engine. Not sure what he was looking for, but he was surprised about the engine location. He did not ask for or record any numbers from the engine. I guess he just wanted to maker sure it had one? Once he signed off I was handed my registration, plates and sticker. Since I had an appointment I was in and out in about an hour. Good luck.

[bkrantz]

Good luck to CCSmith58.

This will not help, but I am curious. During the 3 years my 914 was off the road I got the title in Colorado, after purchasing a non-running car in Texas. But when I went to register it (which actually was easy) they required me to pay for the 3 years of registration (and taxes) while it was in my garage. Does California have anything like that?

[CCSmith58]

For a 75 and earlier car, the modifications are irrelevant, the only thing the DMV will care about is the title, the VIN, and the bill of sale. It reads as though you have a clean paper trail of the purchase from the first owner, to the second, and on to you. I'm not saying it's going to be easy/smooth, but it should be possible. Because it's not registered now, and potentially out of the system for so long the CHP may want to do a safety inspection (lights, signals, horn).

Why didn't you take care of getting the car legally in your name prior to having a bunch of work done on it?

The car was not road worthy. CA DMV required I bring the car to them. It was in UT. & I had it delivered straight to PMB

[sixaddict]

Sounds sticky….. Don’t know what I don’t know about this regarding CA……except they are fairly strict. I have heard people with issues often register in Montana……May be something worth researching…..
Good luck.

[fiacra]

Registering an LLC in Montana and then putting the car in the name of the LLC is simply a tax and smog avoidance tactic for top of the market cars. When you buy a $100K+ car nobody is happy to pay the ~10% CA sales tax. Not really germane to your situation. I honestly don't think you're going to have any significant trouble getting it registered here. It would have been nice to have had the inspection done before the registration as you're going to have to declare a value and that will determine what your yearly vehicle license fee will be. Going to be hard to value a shiny new PMB restoration as being worth $1,500. The reason they check to see if there is an engine is they want to see that the car is "complete." If you don't have an engine in the car you have to register it as a car undergoing restoration or as a parts car. A second inspection of the engine is generally required once it has been installed, and you don't want to trigger that. I haven't had them check any further than looking to see if there is an engine in the car, but again it might depend upon who is doing the inspection. Technically you are responsible for CA registration fees from the date of purchase, but I believe this is only if the car has been kept in the state. Generally you are asked to complete a "statement of facts" attesting that the car has not been operated on CA roads and you will not be charged back registration. You could just tell them it has been stored out of state since purchase and it is only now that you've been able to retrieve it (I'm assuming all your paperwork is dated). A DMV encounter is always an exercise in information control. Answer with the minimum amount of information, but don't appear evasive. I don't lie to them, but I don't go out of my way to offer a back story, etc. In most cases they just want to get you finished and out of there so they can go on to the next person. Being concise, polite and professional, without being chatty or confrontational, generally gets you out of there with your task accomplished without any complications. Again, if you are unsure or nervous about this simply have one of the third party DMV partner companies handle it for you.

[infraredcalvin]

Registering an LLC in Montana and then putting the car in the name of the LLC is simply a tax and smog avoidance tactic for top of the market cars. When you buy a $100K+ car nobody is happy to pay the ~10% CA sales tax. Not really germane to your situation. I honestly don't think you're going to have any significant trouble getting it registered here. It would have been nice to have had the inspection done before the registration as you're going to have to declare a value and that will determine what your yearly vehicle license fee will be. Going to be hard to value a shiny new PMB restoration as being worth $1,500. The reason they check to see if there is an engine is they want to see that the car is "complete." If you don't have an engine in the car you have to register it as a car undergoing restoration or as a parts car. A second inspection of the engine is generally required once it has been installed, and you don't want to trigger that. I haven't had them check any further than looking to see if there is an engine in the car, but again it might depend upon who is doing the inspection. Technically you are responsible for CA registration fees from the date of purchase, but I believe this is only if the car has been kept in the state. Generally you are asked to complete a "statement of facts" attesting that the car has not been operated on CA roads and you will not be charged back registration. You could just tell them it has been stored out of state since purchase and it is only now that you've been able to retrieve it (I'm assuming all your paperwork is dated). A DMV encounter is always an exercise in information control. Answer with the minimum amount of information, but don't appear evasive. I don't lie to them, but I don't go out of my way to offer a back story, etc. In most cases they just want to get you finished and out of there so they can go on to the next person. Being concise, polite and professional, without being chatty or confrontational, generally gets you out of there with your task accomplished without any complications. Again, if you are unsure or nervous about this simply have one of the third party DMV partner companies handle it for you.

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