I'm going to be relocating to the Bay Area soon and I wanted to see if any one has experienced any problems with bringing their car in from out of state. I searched and found one thread about going through the smog test and wanted to know if any one could recommend good locations for the smog check.

One other concern that has been expressed was also about the lower octane fuels there. Here we have 93 octane and the highest I've seen out there is 91. The manual and sticker on the car recommend 93 octane min. I'm not sure if CA cars are any different and I can't imagine 2 points making a difference, but wanted to know if any one has had any bad experiences with a car they brought from out of state.

Any other experiences would be appreciated.

I'm looking forward to coming back to the area and hope to meet a few of you at a future meet, autocross, or trackday. I certainly can't wait to take her out for a trackday at Laguna Seca.

Here's what you need to know directly from the State California itself: What You Need to Know Before Buying a Vehicle from Out-of-State

Heckler,

There are many knowledgeable folks in zone 7 who can offer assistance. Here's my experience when I purchased a new MINI out of state and registered it in CA.

1. If your vehicle is a "50 state" car, meaning it conforms to CA emissions requirements, you'll need to complete a CA smog test and bring the car along with the smog certificate to a DMV office for a brief inspection and then complete required registration paperwork. With that said, the CA DMV website has all the information you need including links to forms, etc.

2. Don't worry about 93 v. 91 octane. The car's computer will likely adjust for the difference. For day to day driving you'll notice no difference in performance.

Thanks for the link, but I think this pertains more a CA resident buying a car out of state. I'm not a CA resident yet.

this is a very simple thing these days - all Porsches are 50-state cars, there's no difference state-to-state anymore. when you move into the state you have a certain amount of time (I believe it's 20 days) to get your car smogged and re-registered. any place that's an official smog test station can do your car - the test in the Bay Area is quite involved, and includes the car running on a drum to simulate actual road-running... the test is about $80-90 if I remember correctly. You should pass without a problem unless you're showing a CEL. the smog stations are tightly regulated, and will send your info directly to the DMV after the check. Some stations charge more, some less... you'll need to shop around if you want a deal - most are at gas stations.

Check out this link - it will tell you everything.

Information For Persons New To California

Good luck - I miss the Bay Area sometimes - moved to LV from Palo Alto about 2.5 years ago...

brad

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21-year PCA Member
PCA DE Instructor

When you get here, you need to connect with GRRLSIX, Elise, our zone 7 coordinator... we do some fun stuff...Some of us met for dinner last night in SF...great Greek restaurant...There's a meet and greet in Mammoth Lakes (just East of Yosemite Park) in August,... Fort Felker held a July 4th party at his place (I missed it)...lots of Autocrosses...at least 1/ month...sometimes two... I'm writing a gimmick rallye...can't commit to a date until I finish it...too much travel in my life...but soon...

You love it and we'll make you feel tight at home...

Cheers
Bob

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Cold Croc
38 years of continuous Porsche ownership

Ride History
1966-1969 ---- 1961 Rambler Classic (Sorry)
1969-1970 ---- 1969 Mustang Mach I (Engine lasted 49K mi... swore I'd never buy another American car)
1970-1972 ---- 1964 356C - Rust Bucket
1972-1976 ---- 1972 914 - Ball Buster
1976-1977 ---- 1973 911T - Was I crazy?
1977-2007 ---- 1963 356SC
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306K mi
2001-2003 ---- 1984 911 SC Targa - For my son
2000-2005 ---- 1997 Ferrari 355-F
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Brain Fart
2007- ???? ---- 2007 Cayman S
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2008 ---------- 2008 Audi R8 - Delivery late spring '08

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Welcome to Zone 7 heckler,

I purchased my Cayman in Las Vegas and had it registered here in Calif.
So far you'v been given some good advice, heres two points I learned in my experience:

1. When I smoged my Cayman the tech wanted to see the engine (to make sure no one monkeyed with it) be prepared in case.

2. At The Calif DMV they will look for the "Calif Emissions Sticker" it is on the engine cover, just remove the carpet over the cover.

As Cold Croc mentioned, we are having a meet/greet and drive here in Mammoth Lakes, CA some are even caravaning from SF talk to grrlsix. It's a great chance to meet other Z 7 members, show our babies, scenic drive and dinner. Check out the itinerary in the Zone 7 post "Zone 7, 8 and 9 Meet and Greet in Mammoth Lakes on August 22-24" or PM me with any questions.

Hope to see you here.

Mark C.