For example, here's what I had to do to get my 1989 Ford
Probe registered in
0. Get a California Driver’s License
1. Get a letter from Ford stating that my car met US Safety and Emissions Standards for the year it was made.
o You may be able to do this directly, but I did it through my dealer in
2. Take it to the Customs office at the
o Normally this would have been done on crossing the border
o I didn’t have to pay any duty, presumably because the car was North American made
o Note: these clearance documents weren’t asked for by any other agency
3. Get a “first time”
smog check at a Consumer Assistance and
o The Centers are located at various community colleges, with the closest one being Skyline College in San Bruno (off I-280) and the second closest being Evergreen College in south San Jose
o Be prepared for some frustration, as their computer system doesn’t seem to work well
o My car passed with flying colours, and though it has been reasonably well maintained, it hadn’t had a tune up recently.
4. Arrange for insurance
o I originally insured with State Farm and then 6 months later went with
Progressive, who gave me a much lower quote than when I had first moved from
5. Go to the DMV (make an appointment!) to have the car verified and registered
o Your proof of insurance and the smog check should be in their system already, but take the documents anyway
All in all, it wasn’t as much hassle as I anticipated, but that was partly due to having a North American-made car.