hccyong

Yes, on the 981 it involves removing various trunk trim, seat belt trim, the aluminum bar, etc., some of which requires special tools from what I've heard. Interesting.

Maybe I will give AAA a try as they could be more lenient from what it sounds like. I will probably get a smog done too then; I've also heard conflicting experiences on whether that's really necessary.

I believe taxes are to be paid within 20 days of arrival. I will get close to that given the recent delay; I also waited 10 or so days to get my title/certificate of origin in the mail. My question though is how they know when the car entered the state (mine was brought in on an enclosed carrier).

Archimedes

One thing I learned the hard way when I bought a leftover car was, if the battery has been low or disconnected, there is a valve in the emissions control system that the smog ODB won't be able to find unless the car has been driven for some miles (10-20 to be sure) at freeway speed to reset it. And if you go to smog and they don't get a reading when they hook up the ODB, you're liable to get put in the system as a failure, which starts the clock ticking. Some smog guys will just stop and tell you to go fix it, but others will follow the rules to a T and put you in the State system. Don't know if this was an issue on the Cayman, but you might want to drive the car around a bit to be sure before you head to smog.

Archimedes

You attest to it as part of the VIN verification, so you can fudge that a little. I don't think you'd want a trail of paperwork that had a big gap between the sale date and registration date though.

hccyong

Thanks, all, for sharing your experiences. It sounds like various DMV and AAA operate slightly differently. I'll attempt pulling off the various pieces to get to the emissions sticker. While it's off I think I'll just go get a smog test prior to returning to the DMV.

cetro

Delete

lithium1330

Unless they changed the rule recently, new car sold in the state of CA is not required to SMOG for first 5 yrs. Out of state cars coming into CA will need to be SMOG'ed before registration. That said, when I moved to CA and registered my 987S at a DMV in South Bay, the DMV worker knew the engine is in middle and OK'ed it - no pulling carpet, etc. YMMV.

hccyong

Yes, my new car from out of state was "smogged." In quotes because they dont' run the dyno or exhaust gas analyzer. It was just a visual, a code read, and a throttle stab test (for visual smoke inspection).

LJ502

When I wanted to register my 2010 987.2 in CA that I bought from South Dakota, I chose to go to one of the small companies that handle the issuance of plates and collect the sales tax. They knew to check the sticker under the engine cover - which comes out without too much drama on a 987 - and so did the guy at the independent smog center. I find it easier dealing with these registration companies - in this case Finest City Registration in San Diego - than going directly to the DMV.

Crazy Eddie

So I called DMV and they told me to either have the DMV check the Vin ( it's called a VIN certification Form of I could have the CHP verify the Vin #
What is it with pulling the engine cover ??
And Harris did the smog guy know that it's just a sniffer test or did you tell him ?
I am going to try to get all of it done this week and I have a DMV appt on the 2nd of Oct to get the reg etc
Regards
Ed

Petevb

I went to the DMV for visual verification for CA emissions on Friday- no smog required but they need to see stickers to insure the car is compliant. I was hoping to get away without pulling the engine cover. No such luck- the tech looked in vain for the federal emissions sticker, but without the engine cover off didn't find it. Short version I've got another appointment next week. YMMV.

hccyong

It wasn''t even a sniffer. Apparently since earlier this year, 2000 or 2001 and later cars all don't need to run on the dyno or get exhaust gas analyzed anymore. They do need to blip the throttle in neutral to do a visual check for black smoke though.