Weird vehicle registration question - transfer from NV to CA with expired NV registration

I am interested in buying a vehicle that was bought in Alaska, later driven to Nevada and registered there, then the owner died a few years ago and it went through probate, and now it is being sold by the person in charge of the estate, and the Nevada registration is two years expired.

I would like to buy it and register it in CA.  Any ideas of what to expect? 

I know finding a different vehicle would be the best choice, but I have been trying since October and this one is the best out of a dozen I have looked at (and ~$3k cheaper than I could sell it for registered here).  I do want to be sure what I'm getting into before buying it though, because if it's too much of a mess I am ok with passing on it but I want to be sure it's not easily dealt with first.

Not sure if Ca or NV still have this but there is a thing called Non-OP (operated) or Non-Insured certificate. Basically you affirm the car was not used during the time it was not registered.  Probably other ways to get similar result too.

CA is the only state I know of with the planned non op and requiring people to get up to date on all the reg fees for the car to register under a new owner.  
 

since this was a nv registered car it should just be as easy as getting the title and doing whatever ca requires you to do to register a new to you car there should not be any additional fees.  

Given my experience with buying selling various vehicles to/from various states around the west coast, I would think the title status would be the important thing, and lapsed registration shouldn't be a major concern.

Instead of asking us faceless strangers on an Interwebz forum, ask the CA DMV. The rules do change over the years, so even if someone knows that answer, it may be different now. The answer may even be in their online FAQ.

I'm going to do that too, I just looked it today and hadn't had a chance to call yet since it's Sunday so I figured asking wouldn't hurt.  The price is probably 40% off what someone could flip it for so I will have to do it quickly if it's going to happen at all.

To register an out of state car it will need a VIN check at DMV or a private VIN checker.

 I always ask for title only , planned non-op.

If you have AAA , call them

Good luck

I think your main issue is going to be getting the thing through smog in CA. 

The CA DMV walked me through some downright shady title transfers without batting an eye, as long as smog and title were clean. 

Will this non-CA car be required to pass CA smog testing?

Can it pass CA smog testing? 

Edit: written while Rev was writing too. 

Buying an out-of-state car and dealing with expired registration can be a headache, especially in California with its strict smog laws. I had a similar situation when I wanted to register a used RV that had been sitting unregistered for a while. The hardest part was making sure the title was clean and the vehicle could pass smog, but once that was sorted, the registration process itself wasn’t too bad. Checking with the DMV and getting a VIN verification were the key steps.  
 

Definitely go with AAA for this and avoid long delays at DMV. All they want is smog and title and, after a VIN check, you'll pay for registration and be on your way. Getting to a CA smog station with an expired registration might be tricky though. 

Also with AAA I heard they won't come out for VIN if it's raining, not sure if that's true or not. When I registered the car I bought with a PA title a couple years ago it was sunny and whole process took under 10 mins. 

In terms of actually getting the car to CA - I know that CO allows you to drive a car for 36 hours without registration if you have a bill of sale. I think you can also legally drive from the point of sale home and then to the DMV without it. Might be worth checking.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

CA has temp driving permits for that.  Good for a day I think.

Nevada has doesn't have a Non-Op requirement. 

Should be as simple as bringing the title, smog & insurance paperwork.

Can you get a copy of the Death Certificate?  That and a letter from the estate executor would go a long way.

There are plenty of smog places in California who will test the car without a registration, you might have to try a few, but I doubt it will be hard. At least in the Bay Area most of them didn't care about anything other than the test.

Everything else should be straightforward. I just registered a vehicle with expired registration (from CA incidentally) in NC and they didn't care at all. I suppose CA could be different but I doubt it.

The executor of the estate should be able to get it re-registered in Nevada before you buy it.  Assuming the car isn't some expensive exotic it can't be all that much (according to their website, base fee is $33 plus there will be some late fees) and it just requires a little bit of the executor's time (they may even be able to pay the registration online).  See if you can negotiate that.

aircooled said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

CA has temp driving permits for that.  Good for a day I think.

You have 20 days (from when the vehicle enters the state) to register a vehicle purchased out of state in CA.

There is one instance that I know if in which CA cares about the previous state's registration, and that's if it went to that state from CA.  If it used to be a CA car, went out of state, and then came back then they want some documentation of it having actually been in that other state (vs you just making this up because you didn't want to pay last year's registration).  It sounds like the car in question had never been to CA before, so I don't think this is an issue.