has anyone gone through registering a car purchased in Mexico in California?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

It has reached the point my mothers Chrysler Sebring really shouldn't be on the road. She says if I feel so strongly about it I can buy her a new car.

Okay then... new car it is.

I spent much of last year overseas and drove the Opel Corsa extensively and became quite taken with it, GM refuses to sell this car in the United States but they do sell it in Mexico as the "Chevrolet Chevy" where it is very affordable. It isn't as well equipped as the European spec Opel's but it is still a really nice car.

Since this thing is sold all over western Europe I have to believe it would meet California emission requirements - however even with the information from the DMV the process is unclear, they gave me a 1-800 number for the Air Resources Board who didn't seem to understand why I had called them and gave me the URL for a website about green cars which said nothing about registering an imported car.

Has anyone purchased a car, any car in Mexico and then successfully registered it in California?

Editorial comments are not necessary, if GM were to manufacture and sell this car in the US I would be happy to buy one. Why they sell the Aveo instead of this is a mystery to me.

[NYC_SKP]

1. I can't help much, except to say that California has tougher standards than Europe...

...in certain respects, so I wouldn't assume that because a car is sold in Europe it ought to meet California emissions.

There are several, maybe dozens, or vehicles that get greater than 50 MPG but cannot be sold here due to emissions.

Good luck in this, I would think a San Diego Chevrolet dealer or service manager could answer your question easily.

:hi:

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

7. I will give that a try,

[JVS]

2. I would ask the people who import Mexican built VW Beatles (the old ones made up through 2003

My understanding is that to get one of the new mexibeetles imported to the US, they would use the floorpans of an old US spec Beetle so that they could claim that the new car was actually the old car (with everything but the floorpan replace with brand new parts). They would probably know what the grey market rules are, since they sought the easiest way to circumvent them.

[tammywammy]

3. Seems like a hassle

http://www.bordercenter.org/chem/vehicles.htm

Why not find a suitable vehicle here, maybe look at dealer service loaners and demos or vehicles that are only a year or two old?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

6. A few reasons

One is I really like the car, the other is my mother has always gotten a kick out of owning things that are unusual, not necessarily valuable - just uncommon.

If push comes to shove, I will probably buy her a Hyundai Elantra or Ford Fiesta - but I wanted to see if this were not completely impractical first.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. I have no idea

but if anything try to get a car made for Mexico City... SMOG standards are actually tougher and do have catalytic converters.

[Jack_DeLeon]

5. Just dont register it in California...

either keep it registered in Mexico or another state.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

8. Insurance?

How would they insure a car registered in another state, or country?

[Jack_DeLeon]

13. I've got a car registered in another state....

but it is insured in my state.

Parents bought me a new car got a good deal out of state where they live. Its registered in their state, but my insurance company had no problem insuring it under my name where I live. In the off chance I get pulled over I just tell the police its my mothers car and imply that she is visiting from out of state and I just borrowed the car.

[pipoman]

9. I would definitely

talk to the service department of a local chevy dealer. The smog issue in CA is obviously a big deal, but also parts availability. You will probably never be able to find your car in any of the auto parts store's filter books, or mainenence parts, not to mention if you really need something. The whole titling process may be a bitch, insurance companies may not have immediate rates. I, personally wouldn't want the hassle...just me.

[Stevenmarc]

10. Before Smart had a USA presence

you could get a converted euro spec car for about $10,000 over the price of what the US version was when it was finally available. Years ago I had a converted Citroen SM and at the time it was thousands of dollars to convert and then a huge pain in the ass to service, personally I would never do that again.

[BoWanZi]

11. If its 25 years or older, its easier, otherwise, its nearly impossible...

I wouldn't even think of importing a car especially into a state as strict as CA with their Draconian emissions laws. You would have to have the car's safety features upgraded to CA standards (bumpers, etc). You would have to make it meet CA emissions which is tough enough for CA cars bought in CA.

If you have LOTS and LOTS of money (two to three times the price of the car itself), you might be able to do it if someone else has done it with the same model car but if you are trying to save a buck, this is NOT the way to do it at all. Importing cars is best left to professionals who import highly desired cars that aren't sold in the US such as european spec versions of some supercars like Ferraris and Lambos, some Japanese cars such as some Nissan Skylines, etc.

Just the wrong tree to bark up unless you are willing to sink a lot of money and time into something that might not ever be able to be legally registered in CA or even a state like Montana.

[rug]

12. Check the panels.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

14. which panels?

[Edweird]

15. I think the problem is Federal safety standard compliance.

That's what keeps a lot of cars out as I understand it. One of my personal favorites, the Land Rover Defender, used to be sold here. The Feds told them they had to install airbags in certain places. Range Rover decided to stop selling them here instead of altering the form of the vehicle to comply. I'm no authority on the matter, just an auto enthusiast.