Randy V

I'm not aware there are any counties in CA that are non-smog. Which ones are they Brian? In order to take advantage of that 'loophole' does the car have to be registered there?

How about getting a smog cert in an area that does not do visual inspection? Although I think the visual is part of any smog check.


What about visual inspection? That's the part that SC'd cars can't get past.

bd0nalds0n

http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/ftp/pdfdocs/program_map.pdf

Grey would be where you want your car to live. Smog requirement only when you change ownership.

Charley B

That's the beauty of it. If you are registered in a grey county, you have the car inspected while stock, at purchase, then slap on the twin screw or whatever and forget it until it is time to sell. You can drive it for 15 years and never have to have it smogged for registration.

IcemanG17

Its hard to believe there are clean air counties out there, but they do exsist...I just wonder how hard it is to get DMV to believe you moved?

Charley B

I should think at a minimum you would need all vehicles registered to that address. Insurance companys must now report to DMV every 10 days or so, so there's another cross referance. If you use an incorrect address for where the vehicles are kept, that is grounds for your insurance company to cancel and not honor a claim.
Friggen computers; it's getting harder and harder to cheat.
I'm thinking of buying a run down old cabin up in gold country where of course I would need to keep an extra car. And of course it would be one that was coincidentally, "smog Challanged". That would justify having two addresses. With a grant deed in my name I don't see how they could argue with me.

Joe '87 S4

I would love a SC but the smog time removal would be annoying. I just had my 928 smogged a month ago and it passed with flying colors and I don't doubt it would easily pass the emissions with a SC easily as well. I don't understand the problem CA has with mods if the emissions remain within the limits.

joejoe

I really need to pay more attention. My cars are stock. Visual is needed here also

bd0nalds0n

You would probably want to check to see how much insurance costs in the grey areas--chances are it's less than if you live in a suburban or urban area. So if you have the car registered at your "cabin" but have your insurance billed to your "house," then you're paying more for insurance than you would have to.

I'm not a lawyer, but I think you'd only be in trouble if you were changing addresses in order to get a higher level of coverage for lower premiums than you would legitimately be eligible for.

Someone should test all this, I'm just speaking hypothetically.

dr bob

I kept my Toyota truck and the Subarus ski car registered to my home in Mammoth Lakes. I had a service there that emptied my PO box and forwarded mail for me monthly. Mono county has no inspection at all, except on ownership transfer. No worries for me anyway. The insurance was a lot cheaper for the cars there, stored in a hanger, but I suspect that I would have had a problem if there was an accident down here in the LA basin, with a driver's license address down the hill and the cars insured up the hill.

If your carrier determines that you are fraudulently mis-stating the home locations of the car they can leave you exposed to claims. There's also the issue of driving a car here with out-of-state plates. First and foremost, you are a better enforcement target since the plates are different. Get a couple parking tickets, not even moving violations, and the state will force you to pay local registration and use taxes on the car after you get it from impound, if the officers decides to be tough about it.

You can buy very basic $10k minimum-coverage liability-only from fly-by-night companies, if all you want to do is save on premiums. But remember why you buy that coverage-- It's to protect your other assets and future income from attachment if you do some more serious damage. The state minimum insurace won't cover lawyer fees much less any serious awards. You insure to cover what someone might come after you for. A jury of your peers may not know that owning a 928 makes you poor, not rich.

maroonedlandshark

Randy V.,
Santa Ysabel is smog exempt. I know someone who lives up there and he hasn't had to smog his vehicles in years.

OrionKhan

I would think that Brian has the right of it. Insurance probably isn't an issue if you use your home address. I don't recall them ever asking me where the car is registered. Just where you live or the car is garaged. Now if you're telling them that the car is garaged in a place that its not and that location carries a lower rate, then I could see that as a problem. But I don't think they're really concerned about the registration address.