Transferring prior SB100 cobra back to CA, need help

[compuatic]

Hi all,
I would like to ask your help with this issue I am facing. I just purchased a California build FFR. The original builder took the car through the SB100 process and had it registered in CA. It was later sold and transferred to another state. I just bought it and brought it back to CA hoping that the prior SB100 would make the title transfer and registration process easy.

I went to the Santa Clara DMV yesterday to do a transfer and they didn't know what to do. The manager called the field office today and called me back saying that I have to take the car through the SB100 process again as it is non-transferable. I would appreciate if anyone here with knowledge in this can confirm / deny this and advise me on what to do next to get this car transferred and registered.

Thank you for your time

[eschaider]

As long as he said it was non-transferable it will still be associated with the car it was issued to, i.e. the car you just bought. The DMV person has identified the obstacle to registration as transferability, so you should take him at his word and point out that you are not transferring 'it'. 'It' already exists and is associated with your vehicle.

The SB100 process will result in a state of CA SB100 tag being affixed to your car that looks like this:



Give the sequence number off the tag on your car to the DMV rep and they should be able to finish the job.

If your car does not have the BAR SB100 tag affixed to it then it is not SB100 registered and you get to do the SB100 registration work yourself.

[compuatic]

I went to a the Los Gatos DMV yesterday. The car does have the SB100 sticker and I took an image of it to the DMV. The lady helping me started with a standard out of state transfer and sure enough got a prompt to do the smog. I told her that this is incorrect and that she needs to do it another way since this is an SB100 kit car. she spoke with the manager who actually came to help and did some magic in the computer. Apparently using SPCN as the make did the trick. I paid the fees and she asked me to come back with the car to do the VIN verification.

I went back today and did the VIN then went back inside to the same lady to finish the paperwork. When she tried to do it the system asked her for SMOG again! she and the manager genuinely tried to help and couldn't figure out why yesterday the computer seemed OK and now it isn't. The manager took all my paperwork to investigate and said she will investigate and call me back tomorrow.... Patience and Prayers...

[PDUB]

that they get you squared away soon!

[Steve1979]

I hope everything went well for you at DMV. Having gone through this with a new FFR build about 12 years ago, you kind of leave DMV shaking your head. I first went to Los Gatos and then ended up at Santa Clara after the clerk in Los Gatos refused to help us register under SB100, the manager had to come over and help us after our conversation began to get louder.
Anyways, if all goes well for the time being, on your next registration date (next year) you may receive from DMV a notice that you will need a smog check before getting registered (which happened to us). You should call this number for BAR, because DMV may not help or won’t know how to clear this up at this later date. We got the number from DMV in Santa Clara, State Referee Center (BAR referee phone #) 1-800-622-7733. It took about 4 phone calls to this number and a case worker to get everything squared away. We have not had any smog requests since then.
Best of luck,

[panteralee]

As a resident of CA for over 35 years, you have to shake your head and wonder how this place continues to operate. You have to hand it to the DMV as they are very consistent in how they operate - consistently INCOMPETENT!

And to think we pay these people's salaries. Shameful.

I have two collector cars both under 1974 which means they are smog exempt. I thank god every year when my registration renewal comes. I am thinking about purchasing a built kit car. This thread continues to give me chills at the crap one has to go through.

[compuatic]

Updates:

I proactively called the BAR referee Thursday morning and left them a message. The manager called me back and said "this issue happens all the time". He said that since the car left CA and came back, the smog exemption records in the DMV system got wiped out. They can go in and fix this. He said that he will submit a request to add it back in the system and send me an email when done.

Meanwhile... the Manager at the Los Gatos DMV called me back. She said that they placed the case under "suspense" after discussing it with Sacramento. The paperwork will be shipped to Sacramento and they can fix it there. She asked me to come in and pickup the plates, tags, and temp registration in the meantime.


I went, picked up the plates and tags. At least now the car is temporarily street legal.

After picking up the plates I got an email from the BAR Referee manager confirming that it's done and I can go back to the DMV to get the registration complete.

Saturday I went to the local AAA DMV desk and asked the clerk there to check if the registration in the system has been cleared. He said that since it was placed on suspense, we have to wait until Sacramento does it and responds in the mail.

The saga continues with some progress. To their credit, the DMV employee, manager, and BAR manager have been very helpful. Too bad the system itself is broken and operates in open loop.

[Randy Rosenberg]

Originally Posted by compuatic

...The saga continues with some progress. To their credit, the DMV employee, manager, and BAR manager have been very helpful. Too bad the system itself is broken and operates in open loop.

Considering some of the h*ell some of us have been through with regards to titling in CA, I have to say that I'm impressed that everyone you are dealing with are not only helpful, and also appear to knowledgeable and willing to fix the problem. Clearly the light at the end of the tunnel is not a freight train!!! Good for you for working the system and persevering.

[panteralee]

Congratulations. We all learn from these "events" and hopefully you will be done soon.

[decooney]

Consider yourself lucky that folks worked with you on this and helped out. Normally it does not go smooth all of the time. Good for you, glad it worked out.

[Jamo]

Yup...they do try.

[Chicagowil]

When you hire people at a minimum salary, considering the expectation of "are they allowed to think?" it's unlikely they respond with anything less than minimum quality or passion. I (as an original native of Cali gone since 1989) am never surprised at lack of quality, but pleasantly surprised at someone doing more that the minimum.

[Jamo]

Originally Posted by Chicagowil

When you hire people at a minimum salary, considering the expectation of "are they allowed to think?" it's unlikely they respond with anything less than minimum quality or passion. I (as an original native of Cali gone since 1989) am never surprised at lack of quality, but pleasantly surprised at someone doing more that the minimum.

Oops...you ventured into the very edge of political speech, which is not allowed here. Thanksbetogod because it prevents me from pointing out that even politically bent California does not take a backseat to Boston (in a "state" that really is no bigger than a county out here) or Wisconsin (my county makes more cheese than your entire state) when it comes to minimum wage (twice the federal rate) or the even higher minimum pay guaranteed the fully unionized DMV ($19/hr) plus the Cadillac level medical and retirement benefits our "sloths" get for doing what they do in whatever fashion they do it...especially from someone that left in 89. Yup...I can't say all that.


So...don't respond to this Chicagowil (keep thinking about that alien-looking creature gun toting Chicago had as a mayor with her/its multi gendered giant in a dress mate) because I've got the button and you don't, this ain't a democracy and the Constitution doesn't apply...and well, life ain't fair.


...but have a nice day.

[defilade]

I just went through this as well. My car started out with an SB100 exemption and then left CA for two years before I brought it back. When I submitted my registration paperwork to the DMV, they accepted my paperwork and fee payment, gave me an incomplete registration, and sent me to the BAR referee to sort out the SB100 issue. I did a phone call with the referee, who requested pics of the SB100 sticker and VIN. He then submitted that info and they put the smog exemption back on my VIN within the DMV system. Went back to the DMV and got my plates and stickers.

That makes it sound a big more straightforward than it actually was. Apparently this is a rare enough case that the procedures aren't documented. All along the way, no one had any idea what the next step was. They'd just say, "let's submit it and see what happens." But it worked out in the end.