I am thinking of buying my friend's '04 Honda CRV in Oregon. She hasn't yet looked under the hood to see if the car is California-emissions compliant. If it's not--and I'm not sure how likely it is that it would be CA compliant--how difficult would it be to register in California?

I've looked at the CA DMV website and am a bit confused. Will I have to drive with my friend over the border to get the car smog-checked in California before she can sell it to me, assuming it's California compliant? Wondering if it's worth buying, although it has moderately low mileage and she's taken great care of it, that much I do know.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Do yourself a favor, get AAA, it'll be worth the few $ to make this less stressful dealing with DMV.

Due to the age of the car, I don't believe it needs to be 50 state compliant, just 49, and it needs to have all emission equipment issued. You can tell by looking for the emissions sticker under the hood.

Then, all you will need is:
Bill of sale
Title that is signed
Complete the registration form
SMOG CHECK that must pass
Bring all this to AAA (or the DMV) and they will inspect the car
Pay our reg fees + use tax
Get plates and your title will come in the mail in a few weeks

Its pretty painless if the car passes smog and the paperwork is clean.

 

It was funny when the inspector asked me to open the front hood to look at the engine.

 

2004 Honda definitely California legal.

So yes you can buy it out of state. Once it gets here the CHP needs to do a VIN check at the DMV, then you need to get it smogged, then you can transfer the title and register it in your name.

You still have to pay sales tax on it though.

 

+1 on AAA. That's what I did when I purchased my CS2 in Oregon. After getting the smog done, I brought my car to AAA and they did all the DMV paperwork and issued me my new CA plates that same day. Very simple process, took me less than 30 minutes to get my car registered.

 

+2 on AAA, they were hugely helpful when I was in CA, way better than the DMV to work with and they can do plates and everything. If things haven't changed it's really simple to import a car with >7,500 miles. They are sometimes picky about the emissions stickers--even if CA emissions aren't required the federal sticker still has to be stuck to the car somewhere. Real hassle if it's fallen off along the way.

 

"even if CA emissions aren't required the federal sticker still has to be stuck to the car somewhere. Real hassle if it's fallen off along the way."

I brought a car into California from Canada years ago. You can't get a smog, or DMV registration without the federal sticker on your car. It was a HUGE hassle getting the Federal sticker onto my car.