Ill start out by saying im super scared. Im going at this alone, and dont really know how any of this works. Sucky, i know. and thank you all for helping me...



Looking at buying a car in the next few days since my AE86 blew up on me. found an Evo VIII (i know right) thats in my price range. went to go see her, and other than a few things here and there, she seems solid. Then went to the bank and got approved on a loan to make it all happen, pumped.



but the biggest issue is that its from out of state in texas. hes military, still has a lien on the car, but now lives in california. Has anyone done the out of state car purchase thing and able to explain it all in greater detail? will there be a period off time when i will not be able to drive the car? Im just freaked out since this is my first huge purchase alone, and im going at it alone. dont want to make a mistake that will affect me financially, but i guess its part of growing up

 

you have to get it smogged in CA and the DMV will have to inspect the vehicle's vin numbers. they only check the dash and the license plates. atleast thats what they did when i bought a 240sx from luisiana. then they give you CA plates and send you a CA title.
smog is a big thing though. make sure itll pass CA smog.

 

Easy. You have to smog it, go through brake and lamp inspection, VIN verification. I got car from New Jersey not so long ago, had no problems registering it in CA.
Just make sure that EVO will pass CA smog.

 

so my first question, do i have to go through the registration process with the texas state dmv and once i get that figured out go straight to californias? or just do it all the day that i get it. since he has a lien on the car i know he doesnt have the title in hand

well just say that itll pass california smog

 

If you already have the loan money/check, you and the seller can go directly to the bank and pay off the car and get the title from the lien holder, then you can take the car directly to the DMV after you smog it.
I have helped my buddy buy a used wrx from Nevada this exact same way, we flew to meet the seller and went to the Lien holder/used car place he bought the car from and paid off the loan then drove it back for smog, and got it registered after the DMV inspection the next day.
Good luck

 

I've actually been doing a lot of research similar to this being a nonresident wanting to buy a car in CA. Seems the laws and regs are pretty much the same everywhere for buying outside your home state.

First the lien must be settled to release the title. There is no way around this as it is a car loan. Once the lien is settled the lien holder will release the title to either to you or your lien holder. If you have the title you simply take it to your DMV to get it retitled and registered. If you have a lien holder you will have to request them send the title to your DMV for retitling. You can expect this to take awhile unless you yourself are getting the title that day.

In the mean time you go through your state of residence to get a temp registration so you can drive the car until you get the normal title and registration. If you are planning to drive it back from where you buy it you would want to get the temp registration prior to leaving if able. In most cases the state your purchasing from won't do business with you for a temp registration since you're not a resident.

The best advice I can give you if you are worried is contact your DMV. I found a lot of bad info and advice online until I finally called my DMV.

 

make sure it's 50 state legal.

 

Why not just buy an evo 8 in CA?