Wrangler licensing problem

[ultrasnd]

Hello:
I'm new to this thread and hope I have the correct category to post this. I bought a 1998 jeep wrangler in 2004 in the state of Washington from a private owner. The seller had a Washington title when I bought it. I licensed and registered it in Washington in my name for about 5 years then I moved to Montana where I registered and licensed it for about 7 years in my name, then back to Washington for about 2 years where it was licensed again in my name. In August of 2016 I retired and moved to San Diego, CA where I attempted to get it registered and licensed but was turned down for a smog test because a label in the drivers door well said it was manufactured in Canada, although the VIN indicates it was manufactured in the USA at the Toledo #2 plant. So now I am stuck here with a car in California that I can't license, drive or sell. The VIN appears in all respects to be valid, has not been tampered with nor does it come up stolen. Has anyone ever heard of this problem? And what would you recommend? The smog test referee in CA only looked at the made in canada notation and did not bother to check the VIN, which I did.

 

[Ron505]

Welcome, and sorry to hear about your troubles. I don't have anything to offer for help, but could you just remove that label?

 

[Chris]

Pretty sure I've heard of this happening before, and all you need is the California emissions label that goes in the door (the dealer has them). I could be wrong though.

Also, this is worth reading:
http://www.caconsumeradvocate.com/b...ate-what-california-car-buyers-need-know.html

 

[glwood]

Wouldn't you at least be able to drive it until your current registration expires? (unless it already has)

 

[Head Lice]

Move to Canada .....
It's nice here.

 

[JFjeld]

Take it to another SMOG tester to see if they give you the same runaround.

 

[Jeep9748]

Leave California and move to Colorado, Better trails...Just my opinion. LOL

 

[badlieutenant]

Gotta love that liberalism.

If someone was in your shoes, in order to circumvent Kalifornia's licensing requirements, that someone would spend a couple hundred bucks registering an LLC in Montana. Attach the automobile to the LLC and they'd avoid any Kalifornia inspection requirements as Montana, as far as I'm aware, has no smog or inspections testing.

 

[StG58]

Run outlaw...

 

[badlieutenant]

Run outlaw...

But the one song...

I fought the law and the law won!

 

[Chris]

Gotta love that liberalism.

If someone was in your shoes, in order to circumvent Kalifornia's licensing requirements, that someone would spend a couple hundred bucks registering an LLC in Montana. Attach the automobile to the LLC and they'd avoid any Kalifornia inspection requirements as Montana, as far as I'm aware, has no smog or inspections testing.

They don't have any smog testing where I'm at in Oregon

 

[StG58]

But the one song...

I fought the law and the law won!

Good judgement sometimes results from a lot of bad judgment.

 

[badlieutenant]

They don't have any smog testing where I'm at in Oregon

I absolutely do not see the appeal of living in Kalifornia. The weather is nice and all but the cost of living is ridiculous and I'd be surrounded by libs.

 

[Chris]

I absolutely do not see the appeal of living in Kalifornia. The weather is nice and all but the cost of living is ridiculous and I'd be surrounded by libs.

As long as you avoid Portland and Eugene you're pretty much fine. The rest of Oregon (just like rural California) are not libtards.

 

[RangerRick]

Are you saying you had this vehicle inspected at a state referee inspection site or was this a smog station like going to a gas station or transmission shop that does "emissions" testing? Or was this a DMV field office that had someone come outside and look at your VIN tag to "verify" your vehicle? This is very important because what you are saying sounds suspiciously like it was not an official state referee that told you this. Referee stations are regional and by appointment only. Most are located at college campuses with automotive shop classes. If you get an answer like this frome one, I'd make an appointment with another region referee to inspect your Jeep. Different offices are known to decide differently. The referees are supposed to be trained for this but test station or DMV office officials are not and have no bearing on if you can actually register the Jeep in CA. BTW, I owned an actual 1990's Canadian YJ wrangler built in & for the Canadian market and it was no sweat having it registered in California. It had about 100K Km on the metric odometer and no US emissions sticker. Whoever you are dealing with down there in San Diego may not have a complete understanding of the law.
Rereading your post it sounds like a test station. Take it to another reputable shop that does smogs and try again. Country of manufacture sticker means NOTHING. If all shops refuse, you can make an appointment with a referee to certify your vehicle by going on the CA BAR, (Bureau of Automotive Repair) DMV website.

 

[JFjeld]

Leave California and move to Colorado, Better trails...Just my opinion. LOL

Then stay away from Denver-area, because we have stupid emissions testing here, too. Such a pain in the a$$...

 

[mrblaine]

Hello:
I'm new to this thread and hope I have the correct category to post this. I bought a 1998 jeep wrangler in 2004 in the state of Washington from a private owner. The seller had a Washington title when I bought it. I licensed and registered it in Washington in my name for about 5 years then I moved to Montana where I registered and licensed it for about 7 years in my name, then back to Washington for about 2 years where it was licensed again in my name. In August of 2016 I retired and moved to San Diego, CA where I attempted to get it registered and licensed but was turned down for a smog test because a label in the drivers door well said it was manufactured in Canada, although the VIN indicates it was manufactured in the USA at the Toledo #2 plant. So now I am stuck here with a car in California that I can't license, drive or sell. The VIN appears in all respects to be valid, has not been tampered with nor does it come up stolen. Has anyone ever heard of this problem? And what would you recommend? The smog test referee in CA only looked at the made in canada notation and did not bother to check the VIN, which I did.

What is the first number of the VIN?