Moving to LA from PA - Registration questions

[///M///]

So I’ll be moving to LA this summer from PA and was looking at he DMV website and it has some registration fees on there that go by the value of the car. Can someone from CA please explain this process to me? The fee calculator on their website asks for the acquired car value and comes up with like $500 in fees. Do people pay that every year? The can is a 2017 bought in Dec 2019 for 55k. How do they calculate what I owe when I move there and register and then what would I owe each year going forward? I can’t be paying based on current car values as they are over the top right now?

Thanks.

[M3_S55low]

I moved from HI to CA. I am paying around $500 for registration.
I had used the amount that I purchased my 2016 m3 2 years ago whish was $48k.

It is pretty easy to register your vehicle as long as you have stock cats and intake to pass smog, you'll be fine.

Smog is usually the pain but once you pass smog you would need to go to the dmv and do a vin check. Once you have the vin check and smog you can register the vehicle.

[///M///]

Originally Posted by daruuuuton

I moved from HI to CA. I am paying around $500 for registration.
I had used the amount that I purchased my 2016 m3 2 years ago whish was $48k.

It is pretty easy to register your vehicle as long as you have stock cats and intake to pass smog, you'll be fine.

Smog is usually the pain but once you pass smog you would need to go to the dmv and do a vin check. Once you have the vin check and smog you can register the vehicle.

Did you pay $500 when you first registered or are you paying $500 every year?

I do have aftermarket down pipes but have cats and no CEL or anything.

[E92Roni]

Depending on year and model you will pay around 500ish a year. It will obviously decrease as years go on and the car gets older. Oh yea and welcome to California, where Uncle Sam knows more about your wallet than you do…

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by ///M///

Did you pay $500 when you first registered or are you paying $500 every year?

I do have aftermarket down pipes but have cats and no CEL or anything.

You'll have to pay 500~600 per year for the little sticker that says 202X. For me it's still almost 670. It's going down slowly though.

[Jeff Knock]

Welcome to CA and get fooooooooooked, TRUST ME!
Had my f80 since 2017 and been paying 698, 650, 575, 540 ish now vs NY I used to pay 387 every 2 yrs

[///M///]

Originally Posted by N1rve

You'll have to pay 500~600 per year for the little sticker that says 202X. For me it's still almost 670. It's going down slowly though.

Lost you there. What sticker? You mean the year? Mine is a 2017. How do they figure what I paid here when I bought it? Do I need to go find the bill of sale?
Thanks.

Originally Posted by JDieselXXX

Welcome to CA and get fooooooooooked, TRUST ME!
Had my f80 since 2017 and been paying 698, 650, 575, 540 ish now vs NY I used to pay 387 every 2 yrs

Sunshine tax I guess. All good as long as I am prepared. I have 3 vehicles. 2 cars and a minivan. the car and minivan are both 2012's so am guessing won't be bad.

I ran a test scenario for the newest car I have on the DMV website to calculate fees. Can you explain how the "First operated in CA" and Purchase Date" affect the fees?

Also what do I put in the "Acquired Market value" field? What I paid for it in Dec 2019 or what it is worth today?

Thanks again.

[CT_M3]

I don't know the exact details but:

The way it works is that over time, the tax tables adjust (lower) over time for the vehicle you purchased. So over time, the license fees decline (albeit slowly). My thinking is that you should enter the purchase price of the vehicle at time of purchase.

[2k1s]

Originally Posted by ///M///

Lost you there. What sticker? You mean the year? Mine is a 2017. How do they figure what I paid here when I bought it? Do I need to go find the bill of sale?

When you pay your registration CA dmv sends you a sticker indicating year of expiration.

[M3_S55low]

IIRC I paid around $500 when I first registered the car and its only been a year since then and registration was still in the $500.

As long as there is no CEL and if you are able to monitor the CAT readiness sensors with them saying ready or working then you will pass.

Also I heard they are cracking down on tuned/flash vehicles here so if you have a tune flashed on, put the stock tune back on 3 weeks before you get a smog. I am not to sure on how hard they are cracking down on this tune law but better to be safe then waste time at a dmv/ state ref