Someone please help me register my '06 Prius! I purchased the car in Texas in '06 and have met with incredible beauracracy and incompetence in Cali with respect to registration. I have made roughly 6 attempts to register and in each case have been told I required a smog inspection. So I have indulged the DMV and taken the car to multiple inspectors and, of course, they have been unable to perform the test. Yesterday I was ticketed for my Tx tags and I need to have the car registered within 21 days. I live in West Los Angeles. Help! -M
Joining the Automobile Club of Southern CA (aka AAA) is a very good idea. They'll help you to navigate the DMV bureaucracy and will process routine auto license transactions at their offices. You might need to take your car to one of the smog referee locations that will document your car is a hybrid and does not require CA emissions testing. Good luck.
Have you had a CA emissions test performed on your Prius? I think you'll find that to be difficult because the existing equipment is not set up for that. Further the CA DMV specifically excludes hybrid vehicles from testing: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/smogfaq.htm
Thanks everyone. I belong to AAA, but haven't tried them yet. Will do so. Have been to multiple inpsection sites and they all have said they are unable to do a smog check on the prius. I shudder to think what penalties I will have to pay after 4 years! M
Are you saying that the car has been driven in CA for the past four years without CA license registration? If so, and you have to pay the license fees and penalties over that period of time, hope you have $$$$ in your checking account...
If you have some of your misdirection from the DMV documented, they might show you some mercy on the $ubstantial fine$ you owe. I do find it rather remarkable that the inspectors computerized database wouldn't have flagged your car as a hybrid. As AAA member I have found AAA's DMV service to be severely lacking except for the most routine jobs. But it won't hurt to walk into one of their offices and ask.
Try a different DMV office. It's well known by people near me that the local office is a disaster. There's another one about 10 miles away that rarely has a waiting line, and seems to be able to handle things properly.
Smog Certificate Requirment for online registration California DMV HTVR9 How To Register A Out of State Vehicle Nonresident Vehicle
Dogfrend has the best hint right here.... "For faster service, make an Appointment(s) " That system has pretty much worked rather well when I have had occasion to use it!!!.
Yes, when I make an appointment online, I have gone right to the front of the line, whereas the people who don't end up in a long, long line just to check in.
