mhconley

I did something kinda strange and it has bitten me in the @$$. Last fall I had been looking at new Mustang convertibles in the San Francisco bay area for a couple of months but could find no dealer willing to sell at anywhere near what I was willingto pay. In late November Iwas on a business trip in Denver and thought I'd check local dealers there to see what kind of deal I could get. After all, how many Mustang convertiblesdo they sell in the snow? Within minutes of my internet request for quotes I get a reply from one dealer with a price $300 under factory invoice. I stopped by the dealer after work and told them my story - I was in town on business from California and would take the car home if they could meetmy magic number - lease payments under $300.00 - they beat that by $1.01 - $298.99 a month- so I signed the papers and drove her home.

I made it perfectly clear I was from Californiaand asked several times if I would have any problem registering the car there when I got home. They repeatedlysaid, "No problem whatsoever." They wrote the lease with taxes based upon my home county andlater sent me a check to pay California sales tax to theDMV once I registered the car. I got home on November 30th.

After the holidays in mid-January I took the car to my local DMV with all the paperwork. During the inspection they find this sticker under the hood:



Needless to say I was speechless.

The California DMV gave me a NOTICE OF REFUSAL basically stating the carcan never be registered in California. The notice goes on to say:


[blockquote]
“Manufacturers, their distributors, and new vehicle dealerships nationwide are aware of California’s special emission system requirements. The disposition of the vehicle is a civil matter between you and the seller of the vehicle…”[/blockquote]
I contacted the dealer and they have been wonderful...

The dealer cancelled my lease and are coming to pick up the car today to take it back to Colorado. They are returning ALL my money, including the one lease payment I made. So basically I borrowed a new Mustang from them for 2 months and 2300 miles.

NowI am back in the market for a new Mustang. The owner of the dealer is working with me personally to help me get the same kind of deal on another new car, including the incentives that I received in November. There are several possibilites still being worked so I'll let everyone know how it works out.

For now though - no Mustang. [sm=boohoo.gif]

(to be continued...)

Martin

Black_06GTStang

That really sucks that you are losing her, but sounds like you are dealing with a great dealership. I'm sure it will all work out. Good luck to you!

GidyupGo

You need to move to Arizona for a spell. Buy a car there then you can take into Cali. Just not original purchase. Cali sucks the big one by BTW IMOP.

kngdaka

Hey, good on the dealer for making it right, but sorry about your loss. Time to find a nice Legend Limer[8D]

ThumperMX113

Now that's a good dealership, otherwise for their slip up. I'm happy to hear they arn't trying to give you a stiff one.

tlpvt

[sm=WTFsgign.gif][sm=dontgetit.gif]
so, if a person living in CO buys/registers a new car locally,and then moves to CA, the car can't be registered there?

onederful100

why is it not allowed in CA, i see the emissions thing, but cant that be fixed?

roush427rrr

it can be bought elsewhere but to get it registered it needs to have the california emissions package. this isn't just in ca other states require the ca emissions package as well.

mhconley

There are several exceptions that allow you to bring a car into California that does not meet California emissions standards... That scenario is one. There are others including buying a used car with more than 7500 miles.

One bad point for this car - it now has a black mark on the VIN number in California - it can never beregistered in California under any circumstances. Pretty screwy. And in many ways "Cali does suck the big one..." Still, I wouldn't live anywhere else.

Martin

Leos06gtLL

should of covered the sticker j/k that sucks