[Joe Hybrid]

Has any forum member from California bought a new Prius outside of California and then immediately brought it into California to register it? I'm considering doing just this, because I'm interested in a '06 pacakage that's not offered in California.

My chief concerns are:

1) A non-CA Prius being acceptable for CA emission standards. I called the CA DMV today and they said the most important thing for registering a car brought from out of state is that that the car be a "50 state" emissions vehicle. I then called Toyota today to ask about this for the '06. They said the Prius is a 50 state vehicle. Can anyone with experience confirm no problemo for registering an out-of-CA Prius in CA?

2) Buying an out-of-CA Prius might jeopardize my chances of getting an HOV sticker. I doubt that it would, as long as the vehicle gets registered in CA. But I'd hate to get hosed by losing HOV access becasue of some technicality.

Thanks!

 

[mrv]

All Prius sold in the US come with option package FE, the 50-state emissions package. No problems with bringing it into CA

The bigger question is whether or not the vehicle will have the CA emissions warranty...

 

[Astrowoman]

How could a PZEV vehicle NOT meet the CA standards? However, I thought there were strong financial penalties for buying out of state... not sure of the details, but you might want to look into it.