Mike,
Do you tell everyone who has mechanical problems to just "go read a
Bentley"?  Sure, information is out there, but I though the reason we're on
here on this list is to help one another and share insight, experiences and
information.  There is a WORLD of difference in what is "documented"
procedure from CA DMV and what is real-world experience.  Am I mistaken?
Don't get me wrong, I agree that too often some (not all) people are lazy
and expect people to look things up for them.  I can assure you that isn't
the case here. I've been through the DMV website MANY times; I particularly
dig the online create a custom plate database that checks your request
against all the existing personalized plates.

The big question wasn't really "how to register an out-of-state vehicle in
CA", but more specifically what (and who's) hoops do I have to jump through
in order to legally drive the thing home from PA.  Additionally, I'm not
physically in PA to handle the transaction and they require everything to be
notarized.  I've registered plenty of vehicles in CA, including one
out-of-stater (my Z3), and one salvaged-title that I restored and put back
on the road (a wrecked S-10 blazer that I converted to a live-axle 4wd).

For those still following the story, I finally found out this afternoon that
under no circumstances would PA issue a temporary registration to transport
the vehicle without me being there in person.  I was initially to have a
relative take delivery of the vehicle and store in in VA until I go back
there this November, but it turns out that he can't legally drive the thing
from PA to VA because PA won't issue the temp permit.  It looks like the
best solution at this point is to compensate Chris for towing it down to VA.
Then, once I have the title I can handle the paperwork with CA DMV and get a
temp permit through them.

Cheers,
JD

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike D." <md03@XOCHI.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2003 2:56 PM
Subject: Re: Calif: Buying out of state

> >Date:    Mon, 11 Aug 2003 11:19:30 -0700
> >From:    JD Foster <jidd@JIDDWARE.COM>
> >Subject: Calif: Buying out of state
>
> Stay home and read!  The CA DMV has a great website (IMHO).
>
> This page is for you:
> <http://www.dmv.ca.gov/faq/faqnewvehicles.htm>
>