Registering in CA

[CAsuKiHy]

Gotta love California; left there and never looked back

Gotta suck to breathe fresh air?

 

[qwikhit]

Gotta suck to breathe fresh air?

That too

 

[Amati5]

Just to recap my experience, many thanks to @rkj001 for the pointers!

Before heading to DMV, have
1. Registration form REG343 filled up.
2. Smog test done
3. Have registration card from Colorado (since vehicle was sold there)

Went to DMV
4. Got sent to do vehicle verification
5. Completed verification, went back to office
6. Paid registration, got temporary operating permit for 30 days along with documents to bring back when title documents are sent from I-25 Kia.

I did 6 since my purchase was financed through Kia Finance. The CA state tax was collected as part of the purchase, and no tax was paid to CO. I spoke to my I-25 salesperson and told him to make sure the title documents would be sent to the DMV office I visited.

It is important to make sure that your title documents are sent to the DMV office you visit, so make sure you provide your local DMV office (or preferred office) to I-25 Kia salesperson.

After visiting DMV
7. Called I-25 Kia, and spoke to Mike @ Title. He mentioned that he will be sending the title documents over and would send the tracking # through my salesperson.

So really,

1. Get REG343 filled up
2. Get Smog test done
3. Make sure your dealer mails title documents to the DMV office of your choosing. This is valid if you pay CA tax as part of the sales contract.

So we can get the smog done prior to going to the DMV the first time? Does smog station know what to do since we don’t have the typical every 2 yrs smog paper work? how do they send the result to dmv since dmv doesn’t even have the record of the car yet? I am a little confused, sorry...

thx

 

[SLPV]

Yes, you can get a smog check for a new out of state vehicle. Smog station will send results with your name and vehicle VIN to California DMV database, so your local DMV office can access the information by VIN number.

I also purchased from i25 and they sent purchase and title paper work to my local DMV office. You need to apply for registration within 20 days of arriving into California to avoid paying penalty. In my case, the paper work showed purchase date (date of signing) earlier than when I picked up the Telluride and when I returned to California, which was beyond the 20 day limit. So, you should let DMV office know actual entry date when applying for registration. You should go to DMV within the 20 days and hopefully the paper work will also be available to them too.

______________________________

 

[chopsueyboi]

Just to recap my experience, many thanks to @rkj001 for the pointers!

Before heading to DMV, have
1. Registration form REG343 filled up.
2. Smog test done
3. Have registration card from Colorado (since vehicle was sold there)

Went to DMV
4. Got sent to do vehicle verification
5. Completed verification, went back to office
6. Paid registration, got temporary operating permit for 30 days along with documents to bring back when title documents are sent from I-25 Kia.

I did 6 since my purchase was financed through Kia Finance. The CA state tax was collected as part of the purchase, and no tax was paid to CO. I spoke to my I-25 salesperson and told him to make sure the title documents would be sent to the DMV office I visited.

It is important to make sure that your title documents are sent to the DMV office you visit, so make sure you provide your local DMV office (or preferred office) to I-25 Kia salesperson.

After visiting DMV
7. Called I-25 Kia, and spoke to Mike @ Title. He mentioned that he will be sending the title documents over and would send the tracking # through my salesperson.

So really,

1. Get REG343 filled up
2. Get Smog test done
3. Make sure your dealer mails title documents to the DMV office of your choosing. This is valid if you pay CA tax as part of the sales contract.

Great info, thanks for the write up!

 

[Amati5]

Sorry for more dumb question but I am still not getting this clearly. so if you don’t finance with Kia, you wait until the dealer send the docs/title to your dmv before heading to DMV within 20 days? Basically, can you do everything in one trip? And how do you know when your local DMV got the papers from your dealer?

If you finance with KIA, do you only get a 30 days temp permit on your first trip and come back after KIA send YOU the title (because it takes longer if you finance with KIA).

Thx

 

[SLPV]

Sorry for more dumb question but I am still not getting this clearly. so if you don’t finance with Kia, you wait until the dealer send the docs/title to your dmv before heading to DMV within 20 days? Basically, can you do everything in one trip? And how do you know when your local DMV got the papers from your dealer?

If you finance with KIA, do you only get a 30 days temp permit on your first trip and come back after KIA send YOU the title (because it takes longer if you finance with KIA).

Thx

Get a smog test and schedule an appointment with the DMV a couple of days before the 20 days whether or not you receive or DMV receive the purchase/title paperwork. A couple of days before your appointment, check with your dealer to see if they sent the paperwork to you or your local DMV. If not, maybe they can expedite shipping so if DMV gets the paperwork, you can complete registration in one day. Otherwise, you need a second appointment when paperwork gets to DMV. Timing depends on when you bring the Telluride into California and how soon the dealer is able to send the paperwork to the DMV.

It took my dealer three weeks (was told up front they were busy) to send paperwork, however, I stayed in Colorado a week before entering California. I was able to complete registration in one office visit.

 

[Amati5]

Now I get it, thx. DMV appointments in my area always booked up to 3 months ahead. With the 20 days window and the uncertain eta of the car and when dealer send the title, it will be tough. My initial eta of my car is 7/22 (I am sure it will change) so technically I have to try to book the appointment now but I just know it won’t work out. How do you guys coordinate all this? Nothing is on a specific date and taking care of this in one visit seems too ambitiou, lol…

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[SLPV]

Verify that DMV appointments are really booked up in advance. I'm in the LA area and was expected to have problems with visiting DMV. I decided to do a walk-in to see what it takes to get an appointment. There were a sizable number of people outside the DMV and there was an outside reception area to check in people for the service they want. Turns out most people are there for license services and not for auto registrations. Even on DMV website, they recommend other facilities to handle regular auto registrations, like using AAA or other places.

So, for my out of state auto registration, I was able to get same day appointment and was assigned a wait number which differs from most people, I was number 19 and there were definitely more than 50 people waiting. They also have you use your cell phone to register into their system to get real-time status update. I assume DMV have different staffs to handle different services. Don't know if all DMV offices have the same procedures. While waiting for number to be called I was told to go to an area to have a vehicle inspection. Took about 2-1/2 hour for the whole visit.

Recommendation is to try to schedule an appointment. If I remember correctly, DMV website might not even let you schedule appointment for auto registration. Then try to do walk-in appointment. The check in station should be able to let you know what to do, whether that day or another. Good luck.

 

[Amati5]

Verify that DMV appointments are really booked up in advance. I'm in the LA area and was expected to have problems with visiting DMV. I decided to do a walk-in to see what it takes to get an appointment. There were a sizable number of people outside the DMV and there was an outside reception area to check in people for the service they want. Turns out most people are there for license services and not for auto registrations. Even on DMV website, they recommend other facilities to handle regular auto registrations, like using AAA or other places.

So, for my out of state auto registration, I was able to get same day appointment and was assigned a wait number which differs from most people, I was number 19 and there were definitely more than 50 people waiting. They also have you use your cell phone to register into their system to get real-time status update. I assume DMV have different staffs to handle different services. Don't know if all DMV offices have the same procedures. While waiting for number to be called I was told to go to an area to have a vehicle inspection. Took about 2-1/2 hour for the whole visit.

Recommendation is to try to schedule an appointment. If I remember correctly, DMV website might not even let you schedule appointment for auto registration. Then try to do walk-in appointment. The check in station should be able to let you know what to do, whether that day or another. Good luck.

Thx for the informative post. I will try to do the same and spend the whole day there to take care of everything in one visit if need to.

 

[Amati5]

Just got a vin from dealer, also asked him about the 20 days requirement. He said all new cars have 2 months temp tag so not to worry. Was he talking about the same thing?

 

[SLPV]

Not the same thing, he’s talking about the temporary paper license plate for the vehicle from Colorado (I assume your dealer is in Colorado). When you go to CA DMV and if they have your paperwork, you'll complete the registration and walk out with CA license plates and registration paper. If DMV does not have your paperwork, you'll get a CA 30 day temporary registration and probably temporary CA paper license plate for the vehicle, unless they let you keep the CO one. You then return to DMV after they get the paperwork from dealer to complete the registration.

______________________________

 

[Amati5]

Not the same thing, he’s talking about the temporary paper license plate for the vehicle from Colorado (I assume your dealer is in Colorado). When you go to CA DMV and if they have your paperwork, you'll complete the registration and walk out with CA license plates and registration paper. If DMV does not have your paperwork, you'll get a CA 30 day temporary registration and probably temporary CA paper license plate for the vehicle, unless they let you keep the CO one. You then return to DMV after they get the paperwork from dealer to complete the registration.

thx

 

[Kiatelluride]

Just to recap my experience, many thanks to @rkj001 for the pointers!

Before heading to DMV, have
1. Registration form REG343 filled up.
2. Smog test done
3. Have registration card from Colorado (since vehicle was sold there)

Went to DMV
4. Got sent to do vehicle verification
5. Completed verification, went back to office
6. Paid registration, got temporary operating permit for 30 days along with documents to bring back when title documents are sent from I-25 Kia.

I did 6 since my purchase was financed through Kia Finance. The CA state tax was collected as part of the purchase, and no tax was paid to CO. I spoke to my I-25 salesperson and told him to make sure the title documents would be sent to the DMV office I visited.

It is important to make sure that your title documents are sent to the DMV office you visit, so make sure you provide your local DMV office (or preferred office) to I-25 Kia salesperson.

After visiting DMV
7. Called I-25 Kia, and spoke to Mike @ Title. He mentioned that he will be sending the title documents over and would send the tracking # through my salesperson.

So really,

1. Get REG343 filled up
2. Get Smog test done
3. Make sure your dealer mails title documents to the DMV office of your choosing. This is valid if you pay CA tax as part of the sales contract.

Hi - I am thinking of getting one from there too - could you please let me know how much you paid for transportation, does it come with any servicing and warranty and which stare lemon law will be applicable? Thanks

 

[Mdsmooth]

I'm also planning on purchasing from Colorado. After returning to California can anyone tell me what you had to pay out of pocket to DMV or smog shop?

 

[Amati5]

Sounds like you got the paper work figured out and, yes, a smog check is required for vehicles purchased out of state even though it makes no sense for a new vehicle that meets CA smog requirements. California requires you to pay all of the additional various other registration fees, etc. within 20 days of the vehicle arriving in the state. If it is going to take longer than that for I-25 Kia to send the title, make sure you request a non-title (goldenrod) registration:

12.120 Nontitle (Goldenrod) Registration - California DMV

Also, expect a DMV employee to inspect the vehicle during your visit and they will fill out a Reg31 form. In my case, I did not know about the non-title registration option and they instead just issued a one-time 30 day temporary operating permit even though I told them that it would take at least 6 weeks before I would get the title. So now I will likely have to make a total of three trips to the DMV before all is said and done (initial visit, go back to get a non-title registration if title not received before temp permit expires, go back once I receive the title).

Getting ready to pick up my car in CO and reading this thread over again. I printed out the form REG 343 as mentioned.

Can someone explain the above post? I thought if your out-of-state titling doc is not available at the time of registratio, DMV automatically issue you a 30 days extension. Do you really need to request the Nontitle Reg mentioned in the post?

thx

______________________________

 

[DarkMossNFE]

I reg'd my car a few months ago in CA. I purchased from Fort Collins Kia. Make sure you register it within the 20 days or you will get fined and it's a lot!

 

[SLPV]

I'm also planning on purchasing from Colorado. After returning to California can anyone tell me what you had to pay out of pocket to DMV or smog shop?

Smog test could be as low as $40. South Bay Smog Check Center in Torrance near Costco (their old location) does test only smog check. Their website has coupon. If not near Torrance, search your local area.

CA DMV fees are about $600 +/-. If CO collects and forwards CA sales tax rate, you probably do not need to pay any difference.

 

[SLPV]

Getting ready to pick up my car in CO and reading this thread over again. I printed out the form REG 343 as mentioned.

Can someone explain the above post? I thought if your out-of-state titling doc is not available at the time of registratio, DMV automatically issue you a 30 days extension. Do you really need to request the Nontitle Reg mentioned in the post?

thx

As long as you go to DMV within the 20 days, there's a not problem. 20 days starts when you enter CA with Telluride. In my case, I stayed in CO for a week more, so even though CO dealer took more than three weeks to get title documentation to my local DMV, I was able to complete the registration process in one session. Only when title/purchase paper work is not received by DMV, they will give temp registration to allow time for paper work to arrive to complete the registration.

 

[Mdsmooth]

Smog test could be as low as $40. South Bay Smog Check Center in Torrance near Costco (their old location) does test only smog check. Their website has coupon. If not near Torrance, search your local area.

CA DMV fees are about $600 +/-. If CO collects and forwards CA sales tax rate, you probably do not need to pay any difference.

Ok so standard smog check fee, makes sense. If CO collects and forwards CA sales tax rate, do you still need to pay the $600 or anything at DMV? Just want to be sure.