Hello to all lucky CA Porsche owners who purchased their P-car out of state:

Is there anything in particular to consider if I would purchase a Porsche out of state and would "import" it to CA?

I learned that some cars are 49 state legal and some are 49 + CA legal in terms of SMOG regulation etc. Does this apply also to Porsche? I would assume that they are all 50 state legal and that this does not pose a problem.

What are the sales tax implications? If I'd buy a car not in CA and this state has no or a lower sales tax, do I have to i) pay just the difference to the DMV, ii) pay only CA sales tax, or iii) pay local and full CA sales tax?

Any info would be highly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your kind help.

~ Bernd

 

I am in the process of purchasing a C2S from WA.

It is my understanding that all Porsches are 50-state approved (Fed approved and CA approved), but you can ask the out-of-state dealer to look under the hood for the sticker that demonstrates this.

CA DMV site has a calculator for fees for an out-of-state purchase:

https://mv.dmv.ca.gov/FeeCalculatorW...esidentForm.do

If you pay sales taxes in another state, then you only pay the diference between the CA sales tax and what you paid in that other state. You also pay the registration fees in full in CA only.

This is my understanding. But to complete the registration, you have to bring the car to DMV for inspection, so there is a little bit of hassle.

Good luck on your purchase and I hope this helps.

 

yep....you have to make sure the car will pass a visual if they send you to the referee...if modded that can be a problem...just a heads up...unfortunately not all Calif. DMV's handle this the same way...some may send you to the referee and some may not...

 

I am in the process of doing this also. I am waiting for my car to be shipped. If you are shipping the car you do not pay the tax at point of purchase but do pay it here in CA at the D.M.V. when you register / title it. You will have to take the car to the D.M.V. for VIN verification and CA smog sticker verification. You will also need to take the car to a smog station and get a smog cert before going to the D.M.V. If it is a late model Porsche it will be 50 state legal.

I did go to D.M.V. yesterday with my paperwork not knowing about vehicle verification and smog cert. The DMV website says 4 years old or newer no smog cert required but this is not true for out of state cars. The clerk at the D.M.V. told me to comeback once car has arrived in CA.

 

This is useful information for me also.

I will have to call CA DMV again to verify that even a brand new car purchased out-of-state and certified for CA as well as the rest of the country still needs a smog certificate.

 

Hello All:

Great responses. Thank you very much! Obviously I finally had a really relevant question to ask to this forum.
Given the current incredible incentives, my wife strongly suggests to get a new one and to get it over with (talking about that is) and to get what really I want without major compromises here and there. I was strongly considering a used one (conservative view, not getting over my head in this economic times) but now I'm again in mental limbo what to do. yrralis1 also once suggested to get the car one wants.

Anyway, thanks again.

~ Bernd

 

I bought a Boxster S about 5 years ago from WA and drove it back to CA. WHen I went to DMV to register it, a dmv employee had to visually inspect the car and verify vin and engine block number. DMV employee asks me to "pop the hood", so I popped the front trunk... he looks in and gives me a puzzled look. He walks to back of car and says "pop the trunk"... I did and he looks in the rear trunk and then says "Where's the engine?" In the middle I say. Well I need to see it. I have no idea how to get to it. I've never seen the engine. Lucky for me he signed the papers anyway.

 

All Porsches are 50 state legal. The DMV dude should've known to look for this sticker:

Edit: Unless modified

 

Uh-oh now you have the PDK vs Manual dilemma when buying new. If you get PDK your wife will love you for it.

 

Well, I was just on the phone with a CA DMV employee, and he said that if the out-of-state car is a brand new car that is CA compliant regarding emissions, then a smog certificate is not required.

I will call again before the car arrives in Los Angeles to re-verify, but if you have some first hand experience on this matter, please keep us posted.

Arrgh, ignore please; replying to the wrong thread, sorry.

 

Just did this back in November.

No issue with "importing" a car from out of state into CA. Just make sure you follow the advice of others... namely:

1) Try not to pay sales tax in the state you are purchasing. In TX, where I purchased mine, there was a special form the dealer filled out giving me a "sales tax exemption"

2) You will need to have the car smoged before going to the DMV

3) Make an appointment at the DMV for inspection and registration. It'll make the process move quicker. You'll show up, fill out some forms, take your car to the inspection line so that a DMV official can look at the emissions sticker, come back inside, fill out some more paperwork and, finally, write a check for CA sales tax (ouch!).

Then you're done!

 

Maybe the rules have changed... when I leased a new 01 Boxster S back in 2001, I still had to get it smogged even though it was a new car...

 

Also, it should be noted that California considers any car with 7500 miles or less to be 'new'.

 

On the website, CA dmv states that the newer-than-four year exemption from smog certification does not apply to out-of-state vehicles. But one "telephone technician" at their 800 number today told me that as long as the vehicle is brand new, a smog certificate is not needed. This seems inconsistent with their online information.

I am calling again to see if I can get a firm answer.

 

Yes, a smog certificate is REQUIRED.

I talked to another employee from CA DMV and she said definitely a smog certificate is required, despite the new car being CA compliant. She acknowledged that the this makes little sense but that it was the law from Sacramento.