Importing Car Doesn't Conform to California Emission Standards

[gad33 47]

Son, currently living in Canada, is a US Citizen, is moving to California. He has a 2011 Dodge Ram Truck. He's checked the compliance sticker and it says "not for sale in states with California Emission Standards".

I've looked on the California DMV website which says "It may be very costly or impossible to modify these vehicles to meet California emission requirements and/or federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS)."

Has anyone had experience of this, what needs to be done, how costly is costly, or should he just sell the truck?

Any help much appreciated.

[aaron2020 11,651]

If the car does not meet US standards at the time of manufacture, it can not be imported into the US.

Sell the truck. Get a new one when he gets to California.

http://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/importing-car

Edited April 25, 2016 by aaron2020

[Unlockable 7,315]

Sell it.

Get an appraised value for it and start negotiating.

[gad33 47]

It's the California standards that are the problem not Federal.

And there are a number of things to take into account.

How much he will get for selling.

Exchange rate Canadian dollar to US dollar

Cost of moving personal belongings that he was going to bring in truck

Cost of buying new truck in California.

How does the extra cost of this compare with "It may be very costly or impossible to modify these vehicles to meet California emission requirements and/or federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS)."

So that's why I was wondering if anyone had had any experience of this.

[HollywoodNorth 22]

It's a used truck, the law talks about new vehicle purchases.

California DMV makes an exception if you already owned the vehicle prior to moving to California. You would be able to register a vehicle if it meets EPA/US emission rules otherwise [49 state vehicle]. If the compliance letter from Dodge state's the truck is compliant with 49 state emissions you should be ok.

I did this before with a 49 state emission Ford Expedition and I'm about to do it again with a GMC Sierra in a few weeks.

It is a US made truck, technically speaking all Canadian/US/Mexican made vehicles in the last 2 decades should meet california emissions standards even if they are labelled 49 state, the reason is largely economic.

If it wasn't for California emissions, a lot of new vehicle purchases would occur in surrounding states where there is often no sales tax or very few fee's. It would also hurt dealership owners in California, so you have the CA restriction for new vehicles which is in the states and OEM automakers best interest.

Now the real issue is gray market vehicles that were never sold in the US. People try to bring in newer model year vehicles that were never sold in the US and were never tested by the EPA or meet FMVSS.. ie. Land Rover Defenders or bringing over odd ball japanese/german cars/trucks. Those you'll have issues with all over the US if there was never a US model released, but we're talking about a truck from the big 3 US automakers, get a compliance letter during import and you shouldn't have an issue.

Edited April 26, 2016 by HollywoodNorth

[gad33 47]

Thanks for the info Hollywoodnorth very helpful. Navigating Government websites can be a nightmare and CA DMV had info for out of state but only gray vehicles from Canada and Mexico.

I had an online chat with Chrysler and they provided the info that has to be supplied to obtain a compliance letter - mail or fax no email. So hopefully we can that without problems.

[HollywoodNorth 22]

You can call the California DMV registration line, the direct line is 916-657-8035 in Sacramento and talk to people there about it. As long as you get the compliance letter stating the vehicle meets US emissions you should be ok provided the truck is in stock form and will pass the CA smog test.

That is there is no modifications done to the system. Ie. no performance chip mods, no aftermarket exhaust, no straight pipes or stacks, etc. If it has any of that, 50 or 49 state it'll fail.

[gad33 47]

They actually have people who answer calls? Didn't have that luck when I tried talking to them a few years ago.

[HollywoodNorth 22]

That line does [i usually get someone within 2-5 minutes], of course that's the line that handles vehicle registration questions and PAYMENTS. So.. there's no surprise that they are quick to answer if they are taking money

[Ms Hogan 295]

I would call the local office where he is moving and ask them specifically first. If they don't know then move on to a larger office if needed.