I wanted to find out how complicated is it to register a car that is leased outside of CA in CA. I live in CA but couple of cars (retired loaners) that I am interested in are not in CA.
Are dealers typically willing to deal with that of transaction?
Depends on the dealer. Some are very happy to do it and others wont look at it.
Really depends on what you are looking for. I work in CA but used to work in AZ. Registering trucks was a nightmare. Just be prepared to potentially make several trips to DMV.
You will need to get it smogged and have the Leasing company send the original title to your local DMV. They won’t accept a copy.
That is assuming the car is already registered. I thought he was talking about leasing an unregistered car.
They still have to process it in that state. Every car entering CA will need the smog check. The out of state dealer will process the titling paperwork in their state and then it will need to have the title transferred to CA.
I’ve done a ton of them and its a pain. Best to schedule an appointment but call your leasing company first to get the title sent or power of attorney.
Really, when I dealt with a Dodge dealer which was 30 miles from the CA boarder they said they would apply the correct taxes and deal directly with the CA DMV and not Arizona. (I am very ready to believe they are totally wrong as most things car dealers tell me are wrong)
I dont think a CA resident can buy a “New Car” out of state and register it in CA. CA DMV considers every car with less than 7,500 miles a new car. Double check with CA DMV before you spend your time and effort.
@Pavlon That’s not true. I purchased a brand new Prius Plug-In in 2012 from MD and had it shipped and registered in CA without any trouble. I didn’t even need to do a smog test because EV/hybrids were exempt at the time.
The big thing is making sure the car is 50-State emissions certified or else you can run into a lot of issues.
you are correct:
If you are a California resident and acquire a new car, truck, or motorcycle from another state, it must be certified to meet California smog laws to be registered in California.
The car I am interested in is a plug-in hybrid. Should I assume all PHEVs CA certified?
In 2002 I purchased a vehicle in Seattle. The vehicle did not have the magic emissions sticker but I was with an alert friend who noticed it as we were picking up the vehicle. The dealer told us not to worry and before we left a sticker appeared under the hood in the right place.
The vehicle was actually compliant (50 state vehicle) so the dealer wasn’t actually faking anything.
At least back then I went into the DMV paid taxes and registration and got CA plates in the mail some days later. No problems.
It really depends on the dealer but I haven’t had any luck with out of state dealers wanting to deal with CA DMV.
This is my experience in registering three cars acquired from out of state. Two were used car purchases (from PA and UT) and, the current one in progress, is a new Acura lease acquired in AZ.
The lease is the most complicated one by far mainly due to how slowly paperwork trickles in after signing the contract requiring patience and persistence. Due to the timing of paperwork arriving and the 20-day rule, multiple trips to the DMV may be required. Schedule appointments for the DMV visit is my advice.
For both purchases and leases, the fees for registration needs to be posted within 20 days of the car entering the state of CA otherwise a 10% penalty will be assessed. If you don’t have all of the paperwork needed, that’s fine. Just pay the reg fees along with items 1-3 below as items 4-6 can take time. You’ll be given a 60-day operating permit at that point. At least two trips to the DMV is needed if this is the case.
You’ll need:
- Smog check
- VIN verification
- Form 343
- Permission letter and/or POA from lessor
- Lessor Tax ID
- Title from Lessor
In order to sign for the lessor on form 343, you’ll need to acquire a limited POA. Most banks are accommodating and will send out the permission letter and notarized POA within a day. You’ll also need the tax ID of lessor so that sales tax is deferred and collected with your monthly payment. Acura/Honda Financial includes the Tax ID on the POA documents. The last thing you’ll need is to have the title sent to the local DMV branch. Typically, the DMV branch will send a request letter to the lessor on your first visit. In rare instances, you can call the lessor yourself and request it be sent to the local DMV. I chose to work it from both angles.
Good luck.
Thanks for detailed explanation. Very helpful! I am somewhat second guessing the decision.
Thank you so much. Very well explained.
202020
I’m genuinely curious why you say this.
There’s been several topics regarding registering an out-of-state vehicle lease in CA. Not only does the car have to go through smog (luckily all BMWs are 50-state emissions compliant I think) and VIN inspections, but the biggest hassle is getting the owner (in the case of a lease, the bank) to sign the registration form. I haven’t heard of anyone doing this on here yet.
I think you’re right about the 50-state emissions, and that was my first thought as well.
I’m familiar with some of the challenges of doing the opposite (leasing a car in California and immediately taking it out of state), but I didn’t think the inbound was a big deal.
But I just found this thread, and I’ll keep looking for more info.
Thank you.
In 2018 I’ve purchased an OOS car and registered in CA.
It took multiple trips to the DMV, one for a smog test, and countless calls to the dealer to get that sucker registered. This was over 2 months partly bc the CA DMV isn’t great at record keeping (no surprise).
Was it worth the $$ saved? Looking back, nope.
In case this is helpful, RE out of state leases in CA:
My F-Type was an out of state vehicle and it was painful getting it registered. Definitely worth the savings, though (.57% on an F-Type is a no brainer). I did have to go to the DMV twice, pay for Smog, and had to hound the dealer a number of times. The process took over 3 months so I had to get a second temp registration as well. It’s doable, but the process is a bit stressful and takes a while.
Uhm I did - twice
In my case:
#1 - F* Yes (and shipped across the country) 
#2 - I could NOT find a car with colors/equipment I wanted in CA, but I did in Vegas. The easiest lease I ever negotiated, three emails and a 1-way Southwest flight on points.
Other than a trip to smog and DMV, NBD in either case. There are broker services that can assist, but as much as I like paying to make my problems disappear, it was trivial to handle myself.
@trism why did you reply to this after 2 years?