California: What to do after you purchased your Type R out-of-state?

seijitsu

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Hey All,

For those in California venturing out of the state to purchase a Type R, below are some helpful tips for after you have made the purchase. (@Seandingo, @MrTuckers, @TilleR or anyone else...please feel free to add additional tips or corrections).


Shipping:
The safest is enclosed shipping but it is more expensive. The location in which the vehicle is being shipped from may determine if you want to ship it enclosed or not. If the dealership/shipping company is willing, you can purchase a car cover and have it put on if you choose open shipping.

Paperwork:

-Purchase receipt: This should include the amount of taxes you paid on the vehicle. Some states will allow you to pay California tax versus their in-state tax on the purchase.

-Car Title or Certificate of Origin: If the dealership registers the vehicle in-state upon purchase, then you will receive a title or it will be sent to the lienholder (this varies by state so be sure to check). Make sure the amount of taxes paid on the title matches the amount on the purchase receipt.

If the vehicle is not registered, then there will be a Certificate of Origin. Some dealerships will refuse to give it to you directly; it’s a brown sheet of paper (@fk8wah). They might mail it directly to your DMV of choosing. Make sure to put “delivery date” on form as the day you go to DMV. If you don’t do this they will charge you late fee (@fk8wah).

-DMV Registration Form 343: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/uploads/2020/06/reg343.pdf

-VIN Verification: This can be done at the DMV when you are ready to register or some smog places also do VIN verification (this may save you an extra step at the DMV. This may only work if the vehicle has an out-of-state title). Here is the VIN verification form: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/uploads/2020/06/reg31.pdf

Smog:
You will have to smog the Type R prior to registration (it is 50 states/California emission certified). It will likely not pass initially upon delivery. The OBD check will come back as insufficient data/low miles. You will have to drive it around for at least 40-50 miles.

There is a way you can check to see if your car will pass the smog test. When you press the start engine button twice, you will see the engine icon to the left. If after 5-10 seconds it blinks 5 times then disappears, it will not pass the smog test yet. If after 5-10 seconds it disappears without no blinks, then it will pass the smog test.

Most smog places will recommend driving about 100 miles prior to smog. However, it was a smog shop that showed me the engine icon trick.

DMV:
Once you have all your paper work (purchase receipt, car title, Form 343, VIN verification if you had this done at a smog shop) and have passed your smog test, you can now go and register your Type R.
Sponsored

 
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romuhhhr

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Hey All,

For those in California venturing out of the state to purchase a Type R, below are some helpful tips for after you have made the purchase. (@Seandingo, @MrTuckers, @TilleR or anyone else...please feel free to add additional tips or corrections).


Shipping:
The safest is enclosed shipping but it is more expensive. The location in which the vehicle is being shipped from may determine if you want to ship it enclosed or not. If the dealership/shipping company is willing, you can purchase a car cover and have it put on if you choose open shipping.

Paperwork:

-Purchase receipt: This should include the amount of taxes you paid on the vehicle. Some states will allow you to pay California tax versus their in-state tax on the purchase.

-Car Title: Most if not all (correct me if I am wrong) new car titles will contain the purchase amount and taxes paid. Make sure the amount of taxes paid on the title matches the amount on the purchase receipt.

-DMV Registration Form 343: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/uploads/2020/06/reg343.pdf

-VIN Verification: This can be done at the DMV when you are ready to register or some smog places also do VIN verification (this may save you an extra step at the DMV).

Smog:
You will have to smog the Type R prior to registration (it is 50 states/California emission certified). It will likely not pass initially upon delivery. The OBD check will come back as insufficient data/low miles. You will have to drive it around for at least 40-50 miles.

There is a way you can check to see if your car will pass the smog test. When you press the start engine button twice, you will see the engine icon to the left. If after 5-10 seconds it blinks 5 times then disappears, it will not pass the smog test yet. If after 5-10 seconds it disappears without no blinks, then it will pass the smog test.

Most smog places will recommend driving about 100 miles prior to smog. However, it was a smog shop that showed me the engine icon trick.

DMV:
Once you have all your paper work (purchase receipt, car title, Form 343, VIN verification if you had this done at a smog shop) and have passed your smog test, you can now go and register your Type R.
Good info! Thank you!
 

fk8wah

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You don’t get a title, you get a honda Certificate of Origin and some dealerships will refuse to give it to you directly. This might confuse lot of people; it’s a brown sheet of paper.

They might mail it directly to your DMV of choosing. Make sure to put “delivery date” on form as the day you go to DMV. If you don’t do this they will charge you late fee
 
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seijitsu

seijitsu

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You don’t get a title, you get a honda Certificate of Origin and some dealerships will refuse to give it to you directly. This might confuse lot of people; it’s a brown sheet of paper.

They might mail it directly to your DMV of choosing. Make sure to put “delivery date” on form as the day you go to DMV. If you don’t do this they will charge you late fee
That is a good point regarding the Certificate of Origin for vehicles not registered in the state of purchase prior to shipping. I can add this information above. Is there any other documents and/or tips needed for those going via Manufacturer’s Certificate/Statement of Origin (MCO/MSO)?
 

fk8wah

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I think you pretty much got it down.

The cat needs to get hot for it to go smog ready, just do a full drive cycle as recommended if you want it done within same day. Make sure to cruise in gear, not in neutral. Don’t use cruise control.

Look it up on owners manual if you need a guide.

For me I got it delivered, took it to gas station(I asked for it to be shipped empty tank), filled it half way and did a drive cycle before heading home and it was Smog ready.

Smogged it the next early morning, went to DMV and they will give you 343 form to fill out as well as the VIN Verification form.

You do your VIN verification, pay your tax and dues, they will keep the Smog Certificate and Certificate of Origin. They will generate the Title and mail it to your house or do an electronic title if it has a lienholder.

Go get your plates+sticker and go home :)

Also AAA or third party places can’t do it because you have a car with 0 VIN record. You have to use DMV directly. I asked AAA and few other places and got the same answer. Different story for used out of state cars since there is a generated physical title
 


fk8wah

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Important to note that cops can pull you over when you are doing drive cycle or on the way to DMV if your dealership did not do a transport tag or temp tag. If you paid out of state sales tax you can get it deducted when you go to DMV. Most dealerships will only charge you doc and transport fee though. I’ve done this process about 5 times now and I used montway transport for 4 of them.

Make sure to take a video of delivery so you can do a claim if there are any damages. Videos don’t lie
 

fk8wah

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For future Type-R owners, good luck. Don’t pay that stupid ass markup
 
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seijitsu

seijitsu

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Also AAA or third party places can’t do it because you have a car with 0 VIN record. You have to use DMV directly. I asked AAA and few other places and got the same answer. Different story for used out of state cars since there is a generated physical title
This is a caveat I can add above as I had a physical title and was able to VIN check at the smog shop.
 

fk8wah

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This is a caveat I can add above as I had a physical title and was able to VIN check at the smog shop.
Yes, differs from many different situations. If there is no generated physical title, it will depend on the system they can access and the person’s experience with the DMV.

For example, if a DMV employee messed up and your used car has multple VIN profiles in California, you have to go to DMV directly or the DMV service place needs to mail a physical correction request along with documents of proof in order to fix and register the car. They are super complicated about every little thing, even license plates.

I had an issue one time with a car have 4 different VIN records and cops kept trying to impound a car with New Jersey title and valid registration. My local PD let me park my car in their parking lot until DMV sorted it out, couldn’t drive a legal standing car for 6 weeks
 

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There are probably alot of cars available in California lol
 


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There are probably alot of cars available in California lol
Meanwhile, I'm over here on the east coast where I didn't have to break much of a sweat to get one... what is it about California? It took me maybe like 7 calls before I found a dealer would deal with me with no BS. Spent maybe 2 days on it max. Then down the road I could've even upgraded to a 2020 if I desired. East coast just does things better :dunno:
 

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Meanwhile, I'm over here on the east coast where I didn't have to break much of a sweat to get one... what is it about California? It took me maybe like 7 calls before I found a dealer would deal with me with no BS. Spent maybe 2 days on it max. Then down the road I could've even upgraded to a 2020 if I desired. East coast just does things better :dunno:
LOL yeah and with little to no Mark up. Especially in that PA region you guys don't have mark up at all
 

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@seijitsu Great post! I am sure it will help many other Californians in the market for the R. Your insight was definitely very helpful during my purchase process. Thanks again!

One thing I'll just add from my experience is that I was able to find a smog location with DMV services included and told my dealership contact to ship all the paperwork there. They did smog, vin verification, and collected all titling fees for a small additional cost which was worth it for me to avoid the headache of going to the DMV. I was also pleasantly surprised that I got the actual metal license plates and tags right away instead of having to rock the paper plates.
 

romuhhhr

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@seijitsu Great post! I am sure it will help many other Californians in the market for the R. Your insight was definitely very helpful during my purchase process. Thanks again!

One thing I'll just add from my experience is that I was able to find a smog location with DMV services included and told my dealership contact to ship all the paperwork there. They did smog, vin verification, and collected all titling fees for a small additional cost which was worth it for me to avoid the headache of going to the DMV. I was also pleasantly surprised that I got the actual metal license plates and tags right away instead of having to rock the paper plates.

If you're in the South Bay area in Socal, there's a place called ECO Smog in Torrance that does smog, VIN verification and DMV registration. The owner told me I just need to bring the car and the title.
 

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Hey All,

For those in California venturing out of the state to purchase a Type R, below are some helpful tips for after you have made the purchase. (@Seandingo, @MrTuckers, @TilleR or anyone else...please feel free to add additional tips or corrections).


Shipping:
The safest is enclosed shipping but it is more expensive. The location in which the vehicle is being shipped from may determine if you want to ship it enclosed or not. If the dealership/shipping company is willing, you can purchase a car cover and have it put on if you choose open shipping.

Paperwork:

-Purchase receipt: This should include the amount of taxes you paid on the vehicle. Some states will allow you to pay California tax versus their in-state tax on the purchase.

-Car Title or Certificate of Origin: If the dealership registers the vehicle in-state upon purchase, then you will receive a title or it will be sent to the lienholder (this varies by state so be sure to check). Make sure the amount of taxes paid on the title matches the amount on the purchase receipt.

If the vehicle is not registered, then there will be a Certificate of Origin. Some dealerships will refuse to give it to you directly; it’s a brown sheet of paper (@fk8wah). They might mail it directly to your DMV of choosing. Make sure to put “delivery date” on form as the day you go to DMV. If you don’t do this they will charge you late fee (@fk8wah).

-DMV Registration Form 343: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/uploads/2020/06/reg343.pdf

-VIN Verification: This can be done at the DMV when you are ready to register or some smog places also do VIN verification (this may save you an extra step at the DMV. This may only work if the vehicle has an out-of-state title). Here is the VIN verification form: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/uploads/2020/06/reg31.pdf

Smog:
You will have to smog the Type R prior to registration (it is 50 states/California emission certified). It will likely not pass initially upon delivery. The OBD check will come back as insufficient data/low miles. You will have to drive it around for at least 40-50 miles.

There is a way you can check to see if your car will pass the smog test. When you press the start engine button twice, you will see the engine icon to the left. If after 5-10 seconds it blinks 5 times then disappears, it will not pass the smog test yet. If after 5-10 seconds it disappears without no blinks, then it will pass the smog test.

Most smog places will recommend driving about 100 miles prior to smog. However, it was a smog shop that showed me the engine icon trick.

DMV:
Once you have all your paper work (purchase receipt, car title, Form 343, VIN verification if you had this done at a smog shop) and have passed your smog test, you can now go and register your Type R.

Read my Yelp reviews for more info below on where to go. Where exactly in the Bay Area are you located?

https://www.yelp.com/biz/auto-registrar-san-jose-4
https://www.yelp.com/biz/all-american-trucking-and-transport-inc-burlingame
https://www.yelp.com/biz/sunnyvale-discount-smog-star-certified-check-station-sunnyvale

I've had my car for almost 3 weeks now and the stupid-ass DMV folks wanted to see a copy of my sales contract before they could release the registration to my Credit Union rep. My rep has already presented to them the Smog test certificate, MSO, VIN Verification, but they're being stupid and asking for more information than what's really required.

He's trying again tomorrow to provide them with this info so that he can finally get my sticker/plates the same day at that DMV location. In the meantime, they game me one of those temporary papers with the number in large font that you stick on the window. It's good for 30 days of driving without the registration/sticker while it's still being processed.
Sponsored

 
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