dska3u9

Hello,

I live in California and I just purchased a 1985 carrera from out-of-state. The car is grey-market vehicle that was brought upto US spec. in 1985. When I got the car, I smogged it right away and it passed without any problem. I went to DMV afterward thinking it's all down hill from here. However, CA DMV didn't quite know what to do with my situation and sent the paperwork upto Sacramento for a decision. Could anyone tell me what can I expect from DMV on the final decision? Is it going to be a simple matter of going to a referee station to get a bar code sticker or am I going to be raped by CARB/BAR?

stiffride

Hello!
I had a similar problem. I live in L.A. and bought a gray market '81 SC a few years back. It survived in So Cal for about 16 years before the DMV noticed its gray market status. When I took it to a local shop to be smogged they refused to work on it because there was no BAR sticker in the door jamb. I made an appt with the BAR referee in my area who examined the car, did a smog check, and put the sticker in the door jamb. Simple, except that it took me three appts and 12 hours of time off from work to get it accomplished. The referee was an inefficient idiot (are there efficient idiots?....) Their one gripe was that the seal on the gas cap leaked (I flipped it over).
Anyways, from talking to others I think your experience will vary depending on who examines your car. You might ask around to find out where the better referees are located.
Remain calm and good luck!
Doug

jaeger86

I bought a 1986 carrera cab in 2001 from texas and brought it to my home in santa cruz ca. I also did not realize at the time that calif. has the most stringent requirements in the U.S. on the bringing into the state grey market cars. After paying for the tags and receiving a temporary plate I thought all was done. I was wrong! About a month later I received a letter from dmv stating that I must get a certificate of conformance from an authorized diagnostic lab. This is required for all grey market cars not previosly registered in calif. before May 31,1988. At that time I believe there were only four of these in the state of calif. one of which was in no. calif located in Napa. I ended up taking the car there and had the work done. After the frustration was over I was okay about it as I only had 45,000 documented original owner miles with the car being all original. The euro's are faster , lighter, and I like the wider look smaller rear bumper guards as well as the side markers that came on the euro's. If you have any more questions about the process let me know. Curt

dska3u9

Thank you very much for replys. Could you tell me how much did it cost you to get a 'certificate of conformance' from an authorized diagnostic lab? When you say 'authorized diagnostic lab' is this mean a referee smog station that give you barcode sticker?

jaeger86

No, the diagnostic lab will be your first visit and they will perform a compliance test for the CARB (calif. air resources board) if your car passes they will give you a certificate of compliance. If it fails for any of a number of reasons you will have to fix these problems to come into compliance. The diagnostic lab must do whatever modifications to meet compliance. My car initially failed because the fuel tank could not hold a vacuum. The compliance test was a set rate of $1500.00. The gas tank was extra as I had to get a new one. Once you pass the test you take the certificate of compliance to the referee and he will check it again and if it passes you will get the barcode sticker. Curt

HullarP

dska3u9,
I brought a 1985 930S into CA from Missouri. Because it was a grey market car, I just contacted Washington and had them access their microfiche and send me the letters from the DOT and the EPA that approved the car's entry. I then didn't need to do any of the DMV and CARB things that you are describing. Only cost me $15. Let me know if I can help.

Paul