Another Coupe on Bat

[HB Chris]

1971 BMW 3.0CS 4-Speed

Bid for the chance to own a 1971 BMW 3.0CS 4-Speed at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #36,212.

bringatrailer.com

One Alpina wheel, three fps wheels, seats from another model in 74 style, looks pretty though. Big collector in Florida.

 

[antoine]

Just saw that today--looks nice! But after the other discussion about difficulty registering "gray" cars in the great people's republic of California, I guess I would be weary about pulling the trigger on this one!

 

[HB Chris]

Just saw that today--looks nice! But after the other discussion about difficulty registering "gray" cars in the great people's republic of California, I guess I would be weary about pulling the trigger on this one!

I love California, born and raised here.

 

[Markos]

CSL driver's side door?

 

[posix]

Not factory color right?

 

[tferrer]

I've never had a problem with getting cars registered in CA from other states as long as they don't require emissions. That's another ball of wax...

 

[antoine]

I love California weather, great camping, wine country, etc. I don't dig the more expensive cost of living, higher cost of gasoline, different CARB requirements, oh and smog every 2 years for cars after 76! Hah!

 

[GolfBavaria]

Just saw that today--looks nice! But after the other discussion about difficulty registering "gray" cars in the great people's republic of California, I guess I would be weary about pulling the trigger on this one!

Other than the color being gray, not sure what you are referring to as a "Gray" car. Pre-76' no problem registering, no smog needed, it's not even a CSI, and those aren't a problem either unless things have changed. What exactly is the concern? That is a nice looking coupe BTW IMHO.

 

[posix]

Other than the color being gray, not sure what you are referring to as a "Gray" car. Pre-76' no problem registering, no smog needed, it's not even a CSI, and those aren't a problem either unless things have changed. What exactly is the concern? That is a nice looking coupe BTW IMHO.

Imported Vehicle Registration - California DMV

If you have imported your car from a foreign county, you must follow state laws for registering your vehicle and complying with state emission standards.

www.dmv.ca.gov

specifically:

• Evidence that your foreign import vehicle meets United States (U.S.) Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
  • This is mandatory for vehicles manufactured after 1995.
  • This includes the federal certification label attached to the vehicle confirming FMVSS certification.
• Additional evidence: A copy of a letter from the manufacturer confirming that the vehicle meets FMVSS and U.S. emissions standards.

Usually you can only get this evidence for vehicles manufactured in Canada.

• A copy of the Department of Transportation bond release letter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
• A certificate stating that the vehicle has been inspected by a California Air Resources Board-licensed laboratory.
• Evidence that the vehicle meets Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California emissions standards.
  • This includes an EPA and California emissions label attached to the vehicle.
  • A smog certificate.
  • This applies to gasoline vehicles manufactured after 1968.
  • This also applies to diesel-powered vehicles manufactured after 1980.

a factory euro vehicle will not meet US EPA and California emission standards.

HBChris says they look for the US emissions sticker in the engine bay and the driver door jam. (the documentation also says this). even then they can reject for any reason.

I believe this was a recent change, but not sure how recent.

 

[Ohmess]

Imported Vehicle Registration - California DMV

If you have imported your car from a foreign county, you must follow state laws for registering your vehicle and complying with state emission standards.

www.dmv.ca.gov

specifically:

• Evidence that your foreign import vehicle meets United States (U.S.) Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
  • This is mandatory for vehicles manufactured after 1995.
  • This includes the federal certification label attached to the vehicle confirming FMVSS certification.
• Additional evidence: A copy of a letter from the manufacturer confirming that the vehicle meets FMVSS and U.S. emissions standards.

Usually you can only get this evidence for vehicles manufactured in Canada.

• A copy of the Department of Transportation bond release letter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
• A certificate stating that the vehicle has been inspected by a California Air Resources Board-licensed laboratory.
• Evidence that the vehicle meets Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California emissions standards.
  • This includes an EPA and California emissions label attached to the vehicle.
  • A smog certificate.
  • This applies to gasoline vehicles manufactured after 1968.
  • This also applies to diesel-powered vehicles manufactured after 1980.

a factory euro vehicle will not meet US EPA and California emission standards.

HBChris says they look for the US emissions sticker in the engine bay and the driver door jam. (the documentation also says this). even then they can reject for any reason.

I believe this was a recent change, but not sure how recent.

For purposes of these rules, an imported vehicle is one brought directly into CA from outside the US. A car purchased from a Florida seller with a Florida title would not be imported within the meaning of these rules.

 

[posix]

i was under the impression that even bringing a car from another state would have issues when being inspected because it's out of state so they have to do VIN verification and such. They would not find the car in their database and it doesn't have the emissions sticker so they would give you grief on that and not allow it to be registered in CA.

chris said a member on the forum is having trouble getting a TX CSI into CA at the moment. maybe he was able to register? idk

 

[jmackro]

For purposes of these rules, an imported vehicle is one brought directly into CA from outside the US. A car purchased from a Florida seller with a Florida title would not be imported within the meaning of these rules.

No, I don't think that would fly. The California DMV wants to see the tag indicating the car was built (or modified?) to conform to US safety and emissions regulations. These tags did exist in 1974. Just passing through Florida wouldn't satisfy this for a car first sold in Europe.

Other than the color being gray, not sure what you are referring to as a "Gray" car.

The BaT description reads: the car was sold new in Munich, Germany, and was imported to the US in 1985. So it's a "grey market" car (and yes, this one is a grey, grey market car!).

If this car was "federalized" back in the 80's would it have gotten a tag or documentation then that would satisfy the DMV today? Or does this new regulation require a factory tag / original US delivery?

 

[Ohmess]

No, I don't think that would fly. The California DMV wants to see the tag indicating the car was built or modified to conform to US safety and emissions regulations. These tags did exist in 1974. Just passing through Florida wouldn't satisfy this for a car first sold in Europe.

The BaT description reads: the car was sold new in Munich, Germany, and was imported to the US in 1985. So it's a "grey market" car (and yes, this one is a grey, grey market car!).

If this car was "federalized" back in the 80's would it have gotten a tag that would satisfy the DMV?

Jmakro is right on this. The rules polix quoted appear under the heading "imported directly from another country." In the FAQs, however, it is clear that a "direct import" is defined to include a vehicle not originally manufactured for sale in the USA. Henceforth, I will leave the discussion of CA rules to you Californians.

 

[Markos]

Jmakro is right on this. The rules polix quoted appear under the heading "imported directly from another country." In the FAQs, however, it is clear that a "direct import" is defined to include a vehicle not originally manufactured for sale in the USA. Henceforth, I will leave the discussion of CA rules to you Californians.

Folks in CA have been having issues with grey market cars imported to other states. So regardless of how we interpret the rules, the “struggle is real”.

I’ve lived in four states, bitter cold, humid, winter destinations, and “dry heat”. Nothing really compares to the beautiful state of California. IMO it is paradise, and large enough to find a city (or county) that’s just right for everyone (culture, politics, hobbies). I don’t believe that I’ll be moving there, but I think it is a fantastically diverse and amazing state.

 

[Ohmess]

No, I don't think that would fly. The California DMV wants to see the tag indicating the car was built (or modified?) to conform to US safety and emissions regulations. These tags did exist in 1974. Just passing through Florida wouldn't satisfy this for a car first sold in Europe.



The BaT description reads: the car was sold new in Munich, Germany, and was imported to the US in 1985. So it's a "grey market" car (and yes, this one is a grey, grey market car!).

If this car was "federalized" back in the 80's would it have gotten a tag or documentation then that would satisfy the DMV today? Or does this new regulation require a factory tag / original US delivery?

Further to my mea culpa, the grey market rules were enacted in 1987, so it is possible that this car was never federalized. (It does not have the US required side marker lights, for example.) I believe that the 1975 exception for smog is a CARB rule, meaning that it is limited to air quality standards. If I am right on this, the concern would be that CA does not seem to provide an exception similar to the federal 25 year rule on motor vehicle safety standards (I think in 1974, US cars had different requirements as to side marker lights, headlight height above the road, bumpers, reinforcement inside the doors and perhaps rear view mirror locations). I think posix was right to highlight the possibility that CA registration for this car may be difficult.

 

[DWMBMW]

Paint code 00?

 

[HB Chris]

The issue impacts any grey market car 1968 and newer, it has nothing to do with 76 and newer cars needing to pass smog either. This began around three or fours ago in CA. Direct import from Europe is impossible, from another state is possible but places like AAA and your neighborhood police can no longer sign off on vin verifications. It must be the CHP or licensed vin verifiers and they are hesitant to approve something they don’t understand. Having the FMVSS on the door jamb is good, the BaT coupe has that. If it had a DOT/EPA sticker you‘re good but euro coupes don’t have those. Plead your case with the DMV, ask to speak to a supervisor or someone else who knows what they are doing which is unlikely. Most register a direct import under a Montana LLC for two years then register in CA. A member here couldn’t register his Canadian market coupe last fall as the DOT/EPA sticker was missing (Canada got same coupes as the US). We got him the missing sticker and all is good, it should have been there in the first place. Never remove these stickers when you repaint or get a replacement, you never know when it might be needed.

 

[73Polaris]

i was under the impression that even bringing a car from another state would have issues when being inspected because it's out of state so they have to do VIN verification and such. They would not find the car in their database and it doesn't have the emissions sticker so they would give you grief on that and not allow it to be registered in CA.

chris said a member on the forum is having trouble getting a TX CSI into CA at the moment. maybe he was able to register? idk

See Chris' post, having lived through it, the issue is real. The correct stickers are required on the door and under the hood, and they need to match the model year of the VIN.

 

[antoine]

Damn, some good learning for me today. Thank you all for the clarification and discussion. Happy Friday everyone! Let's see where this BaT E9 ends up...

 

[sfdon]

Maybe this will help.....
IF this car already belongs to you AND it is registered to you for at least a year or two in another state where you reside THEN the State of California will allow you to bring it into California where you now reside and you can register it here in California.
NOT if you buy it from out of state and bring it in.
NOT if it wasn't already registered to you.

Exceptions are the rule....
IF the car was registered already in California at one time you may be able to register in California again.