California Defender owners please chime in

[Kiriesh]

Hi guys, let me preface by saying I've done a fair amount of research so far and I know the struggles of registering a defender in California. CAFE seems to have shut down every idea I've come up with on being able to bring a defender in. In an ideal world I'll wait until I find an older 110 that needs restoring that has already been registered in California, but unfortunately that is either unlikely or going to be very, very overpriced. There is one minor loophole I think I can use but I keep hitting dead ends on research. I read in a couple different forums that there is a way to bring in registered out-of-state vehicles despite CAFE issues as long as they have been registered for 2 years and you cannot change ownership. I can't find any cases of anyone actually doing this and I cant find any more info on the DMV website. Does anyone have experience with this? I have a unique situation where I am an out-of-state student that can potentially register it at my apt in Massachusetts for the required time period prior to changing registration to California where I plan to move back to once I finish my degree.

 

[vasily]

Step one: move out of California

Step two: get whatever defender you want and register it in your home state

Step three: visit California

 

[pugslyyy]

When I lived in California I ended up registering my Defender through a mail forwarding service in Texas.

 

[Kiriesh]

Step one: move out of California

Step two: get whatever defender you want and register it in your home state

Step three: visit California

Considering my entire immediate family, my SO's entire immediate family AND extended family, and my major job prospects are all in California... No, I am not uprooting my life for an SUV.


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[zelatore]

Funny, I moved TO California because my and my wife's entire immediate families WEREN'T here....


In all seriousness though I don't have a real answer for you. It's a PITA and don't expect to get any straight answer from the DMV or CARB on how to circumvent them.

 

[Kiriesh]

Funny, I moved TO California because my and my wife's entire immediate families WEREN'T here....


In all seriousness though I don't have a real answer for you. It's a PITA and don't expect to get any straight answer from the DMV or CARB on how to circumvent them.

Yeah, if I knew the process was definitely doable I'd jump through all the DMV hoops but the unknown is what really prevents me. I'm selling my jeep to fund a defender project so more likely than not I'm just going to sit on the funds until I find an already California registered one as rare as they may be.


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[pugslyyy]

When I bought my NAS 110 I wasn't able to legally register it in CA because ECR had replaced the 3.9 with a 4.6. Since the 4.6 was never a factory engine for the NAS 110, it was a no-go from the start. It ran great at highway speeds, would pass the rolling smog test.

Anyways, rather than tilt at windmills I just kept Texas plates on it.

 

[D90Rovin]

What is your budget? I know of (2) 110s avail.
One is Cali registered and the other is out of state.

 

[sheep_dog]

I purchased my Defender that was already registered in CA. The previous owner purchased it as a out of state vehicle. He said he had no issues with registering it in CA.

 

[proper4wd]

http://www.americas-mailbox.com/home/tips/vehicle-registration

 

[Kiriesh]

I purchased my Defender that was already registered in CA. The previous owner purchased it as a out of state vehicle. He said he had no issues with registering it in CA.

This would be the most ideal situation. The issue with out-of-state vehicles is that to get California registration you need it inspected by the DMV to put it into their system. The big money issues arise when the inspector can't find the non-existent CARB compliant sticker, so its really a crap shoot of if the inspector that day cares. Supposedly bringing in a vehicle you own when you "move" to california bypasses some of that inspection but I can't find any info on it.

What is your budget? I know of (2) 110s avail.
One is Cali registered and the other is out of state.

Currently a whopping $0, I'm in the process of selling my jeep to fund a defender project. Ideally anywhere south of $20,000 would be perfect for the starting point but that's next to impossible or so it seems in California despite me finding multiple options out of state in my range. Closer to stock the better.

http://www.americas-mailbox.com/home/tips/vehicle-registration

California knows people do this:
https://www.chp.ca.gov/notify-chp/cheaters-out-of-state-(out-of-state-registration-violators)

and they get REALLY angry if they catch you.

 

[DiscoDavis]

This would be the most ideal situation. The issue with out-of-state vehicles is that to get California registration you need it inspected by the DMV to put it into their system. The big money issues arise when the inspector can't find the non-existent CARB compliant sticker, so its really a crap shoot of if the inspector that day cares. Supposedly bringing in a vehicle you own when you "move" to california bypasses some of that inspection but I can't find any info on it.

If it is old enough I don't see an issue. I do not recall the cutoff dates for CARB, but most of what I can find mentions 1991-1993, 1993-1999. Smog is still 97?

California knows people do this:
https://www.chp.ca.gov/notify-chp/cheaters-out-of-state-(out-of-state-registration-violators)

and they get REALLY angry if they catch you.

It isn't quite the boogeyman you think it is. When I brought a Disco across country I immediately reregistered and paid all taxes, fees, smogged it etc. Since my VA Reg was/is still valid, I kept my plates on and have both registration cards, all vehicle documentation, and my CA plates in the glovebox. I was aware of the CHEATERS program. in over a year of driving all over the state and months of commuting long distances, I have never once been stopped by police or questioned about it. If I was ever reported I never heard about it...

Might be different with say FL (Florida, not Lichtenstein) plates, but I have come across more than a few people using plates from other states, as far as I am aware the state authorities have bigger problems, and I have never seen someone caught. Not to say I condone such actions

 

[Kiriesh]

If it is old enough I don't see an issue. I do not recall the cutoff dates for CARB, but most of what I can find mentions 1991-1993, 1993-1999. Smog is still 97?



It isn't quite the boogeyman you think it is. When I brought a Disco across country I immediately reregistered and paid all taxes, fees, smogged it etc. Since my VA Reg was/is still valid, I kept my plates on and have both registration cards, all vehicle documentation, and my CA plates in the glovebox. I was aware of the CHEATERS program. in over a year of driving all over the state and months of commuting long distances, I have never once been stopped by police or questioned about it. If I was ever reported I never heard about it...

Might be different with say FL (Florida, not Lichtenstein) plates, but I have come across more than a few people using plates from other states, as far as I am aware the state authorities have bigger problems, and I have never seen someone caught. Not to say I condone such actions

CARB compliant engines started same year as smog in 1976. Diesels don't need smog testing before 1997 but that doesn't keep them from required CARB compliance. So no defender engine (excluding the NAS model) was ever CARB compliant. As for the cheaters, no I don't *think* it would be a major issue, but it's just not worth the potential issues to me.

 

[Herbie]

It isn't quite the boogeyman you think it is. When I brought a Disco across country I immediately reregistered and paid all taxes, fees, smogged it etc. Since my VA Reg was/is still valid, I kept my plates on and have both registration cards, all vehicle documentation, and my CA plates in the glovebox. I was aware of the CHEATERS program. in over a year of driving all over the state and months of commuting long distances, I have never once been stopped by police or questioned about it. If I was ever reported I never heard about it...

Cops aren't going to pull you over just for having out-of-state plates, this is America, after all. Whether you get dinged entirely comes down to whether you get reported by someone who knows your real status. I've known two people to be cited via the CHEATERS program. One was a coworker who was informed upon by someone else in the company, and the other was someone in my neighborhood who was reported by another neighbor. In the case of the neighbor, I believe there was an ongoing snit. Is there still a bounty for reporting? 'Cause that'll work against you, too.

 

[D90Rovin]

When you get the budget, $20k won't be impossible as I passed on a ROW 110 that was $21k. It was quite nice overall and the seller had done a lot of the work himself, quality work, no hacks.
Had the vehicle been Ca registered, I would already be the owner.

The CHEATERS program really depends on your situation. Most people are not going to report you as the program is basically asking neighbors to snitch on other neighbors and unless there is some sort of feud, people don't want to get involved. CA is always looking for $$$ from every direction so they paint the picture that people are just purposely trying not to pay registration, what a load of...