moving 1998 Civic from NY to CA - Smog Questions
07-27-2018
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moving 1998 Civic from NY to CA - Smog Questions
My grandmother lived in NY and signed over her 1998 Civic to me in January. It had 85,000 miles on it. I live in CA. It is a 49-state vehicle. (At the time, neither of us realized that smog laws were different from NY to CA.)
I told her I would come back in summer and get the car. Unfortunately, she died in April. I finally have my vacation from work and am heading back to NY to get her car.
Things I have learned since then...had I inherited the car, I could have gotten a smog waiver when bringing it to CA. But she had signed it over to me (even though it was still in her will to me) before she passed and she mailed me the title. I held on to it for 6 months (the car sat in her garage with no plates on it), and I just registered it with the CA DMV last week as I was getting ready to go to NY to pick up the car. Now the DMV is saying the car needs to pass a CA smog test.
So now I am not sure what I am doing,....
(1) Will a 1998 Civic that recently passed NY smog test also pass a CA smog test?
(2) If not, should I even bother getting the car?
(3) Had I inherited the car (I was in her will) I could have gotten a smog waiver. But since she signed the title over to me before she died, but I didn't register it in CA until I was ready to pick it up, can I somehow go back to the DMV and say I inherited it? I assume not, since she signed it over to me before she died, even though I haven't picked it up yet....
(4) Any other advice, as I am afraid I am flying back to New York next week to drive a car across county that I will have to wind up donating to charity because I will not be able to get it smogged in CA.
Help!
I told her I would come back in summer and get the car. Unfortunately, she died in April. I finally have my vacation from work and am heading back to NY to get her car.
Things I have learned since then...had I inherited the car, I could have gotten a smog waiver when bringing it to CA. But she had signed it over to me (even though it was still in her will to me) before she passed and she mailed me the title. I held on to it for 6 months (the car sat in her garage with no plates on it), and I just registered it with the CA DMV last week as I was getting ready to go to NY to pick up the car. Now the DMV is saying the car needs to pass a CA smog test.
So now I am not sure what I am doing,....
(1) Will a 1998 Civic that recently passed NY smog test also pass a CA smog test?
(2) If not, should I even bother getting the car?
(3) Had I inherited the car (I was in her will) I could have gotten a smog waiver. But since she signed the title over to me before she died, but I didn't register it in CA until I was ready to pick it up, can I somehow go back to the DMV and say I inherited it? I assume not, since she signed it over to me before she died, even though I haven't picked it up yet....
(4) Any other advice, as I am afraid I am flying back to New York next week to drive a car across county that I will have to wind up donating to charity because I will not be able to get it smogged in CA.
Help!
07-27-2018
#2
Prelude Owner
iTrader: (7)
Re: moving 1998 Civic from NY to CA - Smog Questions
Welcome and sorry to hear about your grandmother.
CA has tougher standards then any other state so just because it passed NY doesn't mean it will pass CA. That being said it would be worth a try. The catalytic converter is probably different so you might have to replace that and that's it. There might be other EVAP or EGR requirements that are different also but it might just be a simple catalytic converter swap. Question 3 I would call the DMV and ask them. Was it dated when she signed it over to you? Maybe if the title is not dated then its ok. The DMV can tell you your options and if its like mine they are pretty nice about it.
I would still bring it back even if it fails you can sell it easily to someone who is going to do a swap or car build with it. That year and generation is one of the most popular.
CA has tougher standards then any other state so just because it passed NY doesn't mean it will pass CA. That being said it would be worth a try. The catalytic converter is probably different so you might have to replace that and that's it. There might be other EVAP or EGR requirements that are different also but it might just be a simple catalytic converter swap. Question 3 I would call the DMV and ask them. Was it dated when she signed it over to you? Maybe if the title is not dated then its ok. The DMV can tell you your options and if its like mine they are pretty nice about it.
I would still bring it back even if it fails you can sell it easily to someone who is going to do a swap or car build with it. That year and generation is one of the most popular.
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