Smog Test in CA for Out of State Cars???
 

My first post. Fell in love with the lines of the 986 when it first came out, and joined this forum many years ago to keep up on Boxsters. I retired last year, was a good boy at saving my nickels, and I'm finally going to buy one for myself. I have been looking on the web all over the US for several months to see what's out there, and I'm hoping to find a nice '03/'04 Boxster S with a Tip (looking at cars with 60K to 80K miles).

Living in CA I have to worry about smogging and registering the car here. I have looked at the CA DMV website and they indicate that there are 49 State cars, and 50 State cars. Of course CA is the 50th state. There is supposed to be a sticker on the car that indicates whether or not it is a 50 State car, and can be smogged/registered in CA. Does anyone know where to find this sticker on the car, so that can ask potential sellers? For all I know, Porsche made all their US Boxsters 50 State cars, but who knows.

It is probably also on the original window sticker and paperwork, but that is not always available. Thank you for your help, it's great to finally be looking for a Boxster I can call my own.

Emissions info is on a sticker on the trunk lid.

I just moved from CA to FL where there are no emission checks. I just ordered a Fabspeed exhaust system so I will have my oe catalytic converters for sale soon.

If you take the VIN to a Porsche dealer they can tell you whether the car is a 49 state or a CA car. I'm not sure it makes a difference on a 15 year old car tho. When in doubt, ask at the DMV what the rules are. I'd be looking for cars in AZ, NV, or even Oregon. Lots of them move away from California.

BTW, welcome!

Correct. All Boxster's (all years) are 50 state cars. There are no differences within the US.

The only difference is between US and ROW (rest of world) Boxster's.

The emissions sticker is on the underside of the rear trunk. See below. My car was originally from outside of CA.

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Even if the car was 49 state it would not matter. CA just taxes you more, and you have to go to a referee once. After that it can be smogged at a regular test station. CA does not require that you make a 49 state car 50 state legal.

NOW if the car was a RoW car, grey market car, etc...... CA puts the hurt to you. I bought a 1990 Nissan Skyline GTR. I had to pay a licensed facility (which there is only one, and they are in SoCal) to make my GTR smog legal. This cost $16,000 to do. After that I could take my Nissan Skyline GTR to any smog station and smog it.

Thank you for the info on where to find the emissions sticker on a Boxster, and a big Thank You to thstone for the pic and the info about all Boxster years being 50 State cars. That should make things much easier if I find an out of state car.

Qckslvr, CA DMV disagrees with you that I can be a CA resident, bring in a 49 State car from outside CA, and have it smogged/registered... or I missed it somewhere. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffvr29

Thank you again for the great info and quick responses. Love this forum!

16 grand! Hope you've gotten help since then. :troll:

thstone - thanks for the info. Never looked at the under trunk lid before I read this. They changed the sticker color to black at some point, but same info on my 2000S. What's that rubber plug for above the oil/coolant cubby?

Yes, how did you manage to hide this from the wifey..? :p

RHD JDM only car.... Wife loved that car, was always a crowd pleaser at the car shows. All the thieves wanted it too. After 4 attempted thefts, just taking it out of storage gave me anxiety. So I sold it. :(

Submitted a "Thank You" post on Monday morning, got a popup that it had to be approved before being posted, and it seems to have melted into the ether, LOL. Trying again.

Thank you for the quick replies to my question. A special TY to thstone for the pic, and the info that all Boxster MY's are 50 State cars. That should make it a lot easier to deal with CA DMV on an out of state car.

Qkslvr, I can't find the exemption that allows a CA resident to bring in a 49 State certified car, and smog/register it in CA (which is no longer an issue), what am I missing?
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffvr29

You must have REALLY loved that Nissan Skyline GTR to go to that much effort to bring it in to CA.

Thank you again for the help!