California registration saga

P

Patka

New Member
Hi, this is an update and hopefully the last on this subject concerning the difficulties of registering a 25yr old imported diesel Delica in this state. After eight months of ‘miscommunications’ and virus related shutdowns I have plates for the 94 L300 I brought in from BC in November of last year. Still waiting for title but should be on the way. I just wanted to share that while my local DMV seemed clueless about any and all parts of the process except getting me temp tags albeit grudgingly, what it all came down to with Technical Compliance Section was an emissions label and having it inspected by official channels. Daly City Mitsubishi dealership affixed a sticker with some writing on it to the engine which appeased TCS, that bill about $170. Then got it inspected at DMV but apparently he did not check a box stating it complied with US/CA emissions standards. My bad for not catching that glaring error and correcting it before sending it to TCS. Who did catch it and surprisingly called me right away to let me know then sent me to CHP with a prefilled out reg 124 stating the emissions label issue to have it inspected again. FYI CHP equally clueless on such matters but at least signed the form. So, the label:1923FCDF-2667-4FB7-B9CB-71957EB1A489.jpeg
And if I had know about any of this I would have stopped in Daly City (or presumably any Mits dealership) on the way to Santa Cruz from BC back in November. Hope this helps someone struggling through the California process.
 
Yeah, what an irritating bureaucratic ordeal. At various points we thought “screw it lets register it in another state”. One used Delica dealer out east solicited a Vermont title and reg for $1500. I don’t really understand why these people are so unhelpful.
 
Patka said:
Hi, this is an update and hopefully the last on this subject concerning the difficulties of registering a 25yr old imported diesel Delica in this state. After eight months of ‘miscommunications’ and virus related shutdowns I have plates for the 94 L300 I brought in from BC in November of last year. Still waiting for title but should be on the way. I just wanted to share that while my local DMV seemed clueless about any and all parts of the process except getting me temp tags albeit grudgingly, what it all came down to with Technical Compliance Section was an emissions label and having it inspected by official channels. Daly City Mitsubishi dealership affixed a sticker with some writing on it to the engine which appeased TCS, that bill about $170. Then got it inspected at DMV but apparently he did not check a box stating it complied with US/CA emissions standards. My bad for not catching that glaring error and correcting it before sending it to TCS. Who did catch it and surprisingly called me right away to let me know then sent me to CHP with a prefilled out reg 124 stating the emissions label issue to have it inspected again. FYI CHP equally clueless on such matters but at least signed the form. So, the label:View attachment 7568
And if I had know about any of this I would have stopped in Daly City (or presumably any Mits dealership) on the way to Santa Cruz from BC back in November. Hope this helps someone struggling through the California process.
Click to expand...
Patka said:
Hi, this is an update and hopefully the last on this subject concerning the difficulties of registering a 25yr old imported diesel Delica in this state. After eight months of ‘miscommunications’ and virus related shutdowns I have plates for the 94 L300 I brought in from BC in November of last year. Still waiting for title but should be on the way. I just wanted to share that while my local DMV seemed clueless about any and all parts of the process except getting me temp tags albeit grudgingly, what it all came down to with Technical Compliance Section was an emissions label and having it inspected by official channels. Daly City Mitsubishi dealership affixed a sticker with some writing on it to the engine which appeased TCS, that bill about $170. Then got it inspected at DMV but apparently he did not check a box stating it complied with US/CA emissions standards. My bad for not catching that glaring error and correcting it before sending it to TCS. Who did catch it and surprisingly called me right away to let me know then sent me to CHP with a prefilled out reg 124 stating the emissions label issue to have it inspected again. FYI CHP equally clueless on such matters but at least signed the form. So, the label:View attachment 7568
And if I had know about any of this I would have stopped in Daly City (or presumably any Mits dealership) on the way to Santa Cruz from BC back in November. Hope this helps someone struggling through the California process.
Click to expand...

Do you know what part they attached? Local Mitsubishi dealers can’t find in their computer...and don’t seem familiar with sticker.
 
Apparently, the only alteration van required to comply with standards was an emissions label. The prejudice was mainly due to the alleged “grey market” import, shorter vin number. There should be no reticence for a dealership to affix such a label to their product based on an inspection. Stacy Alberto, Fixed Operations, Daly City Mitsubishi # 650-667-0000 is the person I dealt with who was the most knowledgeable so far besides one Canadian exec.
 
Can you clarify for me quickly the steps one has to take to import a Delica to California and what the cost is? I keep reading conflicting info and you seem to have done it for fairly cheap.
 
cbreece said:
Can you clarify for me quickly the steps one has to take to import a Delica to California and what the cost is? I keep reading conflicting info and you seem to have done it for fairly cheap.
Click to expand...
Hi, we bought ours at Silk Road Motors in Surrey, BC. Karim preferred USD at the time and since we were taking it out of province/country no gst/tax. We drove it to CA customs was about $250. Registration and CA title about $1350. The only other expense was the Mitsubishi inspection about $170. And of course traveling expenses and 10 months of our time in bureaucratic red tape.
 
Hey @Patka, just to confirm the steps to registering a Delica L300 in California (First owner since Import, bill of sale, and export/import paperwork, but no Title).

1. Visit Mitsubishi Dealership in Daly City (Or other), complete inspection and obtain emission sticker.
2. Drive to local DMV and get the Vehicle Inspected and approved, make sure they check a box stating it complied with US/CA emission standards.
3. Send paperwork to TCS
4. Receive Registration, Plates, and Title


If I made any errors can you correct me? Thanks so much for this very valuable information!
 
DelicaGuy said:
Hey @Patka, just to confirm the steps to registering a Delica L300 in California (First owner since Import, bill of sale, and export/import paperwork, but no Title).

1. Visit Mitsubishi Dealership in Daly City (Or other), complete inspection and obtain emission sticker.
2. Drive to local DMV and get the Vehicle Inspected and approved, make sure they check a box stating it complied with US/CA emission standards.
3. Send paperwork to TCS
4. Receive Registration, Plates, and Title


If I made any errors can you correct me? Thanks so much for this very valuable information!
Click to expand...
Hi, yeah if it doesn’t have an emissions label on the engine referring to this country somehow there is no point going to DMV yet. I notice mine doesn’t say CA only EPA CARB and environment Canada. The CHP guy saw CARB and checked the box which should also be the case at DMV but mine didn’t so you need to make sure they do. CHP doesn’t charge for the reg 124 inspection. And the label has MD136892-A as part number. TCS was emphatic that the dealership invoice for the inspection be submitted with all the paperwork so make sure DMV does that when they send it to Sacramento. You shouldn’t have to send anything to TCS unless they contact you with a problem. And make sure you have copies of everything. Things went missing.
 
I successfuly got my vehicle registered in California during the pandemic,
but it cost $1200 and 6 weeks.
I live in Santa Cruz but I used a vehicle registration service in San Jose.
The vehicle was bought on ebay, and was being imported from Montana.
They registration service wanted me to mail them the original title,
but I hesitated to do that. Maybe it would have been fine. Instead I just
drove over to their office and slipped the documents under their door.
I was in frequent email communication with their staff who were helpful.
The reg service itself only charged $200 but california DMV charged $1000,
even though Montana has no sales tax.
After it finally chugged through the system, they wanted to inspect the odd japanese VIN
which is hidden under the little plastic panel by the driver's seat.
But although they usually offer to do this easily and for cheap at the reg service,
either since it was Japanese Domestic Market vehicle, or because it was during the pandemic,
I had to take the vehicle to the California Highway Patrol. I got the appointment scheduled
for two weeks later, and finally got the police officer to inspect the vehicle and VIN.
It was slightly tricky since the vehicle is out of state, and you are applying for a new california plate
at the same time. After the officer looked at some of my repair records and a copy of the title,
he signed off. The whole thing really only took about 10 minutes. Of course, we had to wear masks.
Then, this time I did trust the regular mail service to send the signed paper to the reg service in San Jose.
I waited a couple more weeks, pinged the service, they said that the DMV made a mistake
and required Diesel / Smog inspection. I reminded the person that in California, diesel vehicles
older than 1998 have smog requirements waived, he sent it back to the DMV for correction,
and then finally he said that it had gone through. In a week the CA plates arrived in my mailbox,
and registration stickers too, and a California title for the Delica. Then I could finally complete
my auto insurance registration, so everything was happy and all requirements were met.
I ended up going with Progressive.
 
Nice! Congrats!

Did you have any kind of EPA sticker or inspection done prior to getting the registration done?
 
Thanks so much for this post! This has cleared up so much for me. However, how would this situation work if either of you had imported a car from Japan to California? I've heard on this forum that cars imported direct to California will be flagged because of their different length VINs, and that very often they are forced to go through CARB certification / independent verification.

Has anyone who successfully direct-imported a car to California from Japan, and obtained a California registration without having to go through CARB chime in?
 
54E670CA-B118-4103-A489-1037E0D86BEA.jpegDuuuuuudes…….this thread really is the encouraging thread, MuchThanks

…..just got back to San Francisco yesterday from BC, just went and got the sticker in Daly City this morning.

Ok, on to the next step!
 
hey everyone just to let you know—
West Mitsubishi in Orland, CA does the same process as Daly City Mitsubishi in bay area.
For those further north it’s closer option than the bay area. Orland is above Sacramento.
My delica is registered and titled in NY but someone may be buying it who resides in California. I will be going to West Mitsubishi next week to get the CARB certification for the potential buyer.
Just a heads up !!
 
Kasey Mosher said:
hey everyone just to let you know—
West Mitsubishi in Orland, CA does the same process as Daly City Mitsubishi in bay area.
For those further north it’s closer option than the bay area. Orland is above Sacramento.
My delica is registered and titled in NY but someone may be buying it who resides in California. I will be going to West Mitsubishi next week to get the CARB certification for the potential buyer.
Just a heads up !!
Click to expand...
Curious if your EGR valve is still in place?
 
Kasey Mosher said:
hey everyone just to let you know—
West Mitsubishi in Orland, CA does the same process as Daly City Mitsubishi in bay area.
For those further north it’s closer option than the bay area. Orland is above Sacramento.
My delica is registered and titled in NY but someone may be buying it who resides in California. I will be going to West Mitsubishi next week to get the CARB certification for the potential buyer.
Just a heads up !!
Click to expand...
Did you have to bring the Delica to the dealership or walk in and ask for the sticker? If you drive it there, do you have any type of temp registration, or just take your chances :)
 
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