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Author: Subject: SD plates, CA driver license
Mango
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[*] posted on 9-9-2008 at 08:42 PM


Hey Oxxo, you know all the epoxy used in making those carbon fiber bikes is really bad for the ozone. Plus, every time you take it outside.. the sunlight is degrading it. Steel is real and feels soo good to ride. ;)

Seriously though.. I'm all about not polluting, and keeping the car running well so it doesn't. But driving a car (that only gets driven 2000 miles a year) 2000 miles to get it smoged puts an extra year of pollution from that car into the air every two years.

If the car only lasted 10 years, you would put 15 years of pollution into the air keeping it "smoggeg"

I've smogged cars for years(new and old)... and never had to do anything to them except pay the tax man for the pleasure.

If you really want to solve the problem, go to the root and mandate manufactures produce cleaner cars and trucks to start with (Is is and has been happening.. and is one of the major reasons LA has better air now)

Even in Mexico City the air is getting better than it was.. it has less to do with restrictions on current cars than it does with better and cleaner technology replacing older dirty technology. Sure smog rules help bring this change faster.. and that is fine overall... however.. in this case...

Sorry.. I just don't follow your logic on this one.

BTW - My car has yet to be smogged.. and at 2 years old it has 45,000 miles on it.... 45,000/2,000 is about 22.5 jeep years.
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[*] posted on 9-9-2008 at 09:17 PM


Stupid laws, so much for Democracy and Freedom. If i fill out statement of facts form from the dmv stating that the vehicle is out of country, will the dmv make me pay insurance and bring my car back every two years? I don't mind paying the registration as long as I get the tags. I hate to do the illegal way by having another car do the smog test for my car in baja or go through the hassle of SD plates.
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[*] posted on 9-9-2008 at 10:01 PM


Smog exemptions exist with the DMV statement of facts, specifically for Baja. State vehicle is in Baja California. According to the DMV book Baja Calfornia is not classified as in Mexico and is sufficient for exemption. If you have the mexican insurance forms you can present those if requested. Its complicated since now CA DMV wants to automatically cancel your reg if your ins is not valid in CA but this can be overcome with the acceptance of your mx ins policy.

This is my personal experience. I have three cars in Baja that I reg in CA DMV. It helps to speak spanish and visit with a mexican agent at the CA DMV. They also reduce your DMV taxes if it goes properly...
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[*] posted on 9-9-2008 at 10:13 PM


All the rentals cars in Baja have had Mexican plates so I don't think it is an issue driving with a CA License.

All cars have some level of emissions regardless of how well tuned they are. To drive a car 2,000 miles unnecessarily is beyond me. I keep all of my cars well tuned regardless of smog test requirements because I don't want my wife breaking down, especially if I'm not with her.

CA will exempt your car from a smog check if it is stored in BCS. The problem is you must maintain insurance on it and I don't believe they will accept Mexico insurance. I can't see paying for a US insurance policy if the car will never see the States again. I think SD registration is the only reasonable way to go.




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[*] posted on 9-10-2008 at 12:49 AM


I've been trying to find the answer to this driver's license and car registration matching issue in my ongoing retirement research and have found no answers, although my esposo insists they must.

What convinced me that we will probably get SD diver's licenses to match when we convert to SD plates was this info from the "expatriate tax specialist" we used a couple of years ago which is summarized on his website:

"Avoiding U.S. State Taxes

Do not assume just because you moved out of the U.S. that your previous state of residence has no claim on taxing your income. Many states such as California, Virginia, New Mexico and South Carolina make it very difficult to give up your "tax domicile" in the state and require that you file state income tax returns (and pay the tax) even if you do not move back until years later. Some of the criteria that a state looks at to determine if you are a resident for state income tax purposes includes your driver license, if you register to vote there, if you maintain an address there, the location of your bank accounts, if you own or rent real property there, the license plates on your cars, and if you still receive utility bills in that state. There are many other factors used by state taxing agencies to determine if you are a resident, but they are too numerous to mention here. You must be careful to reduce or eliminate all indices of residency or your previous state of residency in the U.S. will come after you for state income taxes. You must carefully plan your departure from your previous home state both reviewing the laws and taking the actual steps necessary to prove to that state you no longer have a "tax domicile" there after you move abroad. If you do not, the taxes, penalties and interest later assessed by that state can be huge."

Unfortunately, (according to the "Escapees" bulletin board at least) you can't renew a SD D.L. by mail, you have to appear in person which sounds like it will be quite a hike from BCS.
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[*] posted on 9-10-2008 at 02:52 AM


All the posts above seek to justify why someone has some "special" reason why they shouldn't have to do the right thing.

We can always make excuses for ourselves - too expensive, too much work, not important, etc. It all goes back to personal responsibility, "I'm not going to do it until someone makes me do it." There is no argument that a well tuned vehicle, one that can pass a smog test, will pollute less. If you don't want to have the Jeep smogged, then purchase one of the new vehicles that are supposedly smog exempt, or buy another diesel truck, or get by with one vehicle. Stop making excuses. Every ruse suggested here - SD registration, Mexico registration, CA exemption for being south of the border, I'll tune it myself - is nothing more than an excuse for driving a polluting vehicle in Baja California.

It is unimportant what the Mexicans do. If they want to trash their country with litter, does that mean we should join them? If they want to take fish out of season, does that mean we should join them ? If they want to pollute their country, does that mean we should join them? You are either part of the problem, or part of the solution.

Do the right thing. Have your vehicles smogged.
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[*] posted on 9-10-2008 at 04:24 AM


On having two state licenses--when I got a new license in Texas they required that I give them my CA license... :( ...so at least in Texas you can't have more than one state license.
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[*] posted on 9-10-2008 at 04:30 AM
The Right Thing


So... IF we're talking only about the car issue, vehicle registration & drivers license in Calif. and insurance. I would really like to do "the right thing". However, would it be reasonable to wish that the DMV would consider expats only visit once or twice a year for maybe a total of 4 weeks of 52 and make allowances for us? I have two cars. A truck for shopping and an Exploder for quick trips. The cost of keeping both legal and doing the "right thing" really hurts and seems unreasonable for the short time I spend on the Calif. roads. Here is a previous discusion on the subject:
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=27035
Neither my local DMV nor the AAA have be able to help me.
Narrow minded responders need not address my posts. It just infuriates me.
~~~infuriate
verb [ trans. ]
make (someone) extremely angry and impatient ~~~

[Edited on 9-10-2008 by Russ]
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[*] posted on 9-10-2008 at 04:36 AM


Agree completely, Russ.

Where's the DMV doing the "right thing" by trying to capture fees from a vehicle that is basically never in their state?

It's a two way street............unless you're the government.




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[*] posted on 9-10-2008 at 05:58 AM


when i was down at the DMV in CA they told me...

the license is attached to your "home" address (the base)

the car or truck MUST be registered in the state it stays in...

you ONLY have a few days to register it if you leave it in california




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[*] posted on 9-10-2008 at 09:00 AM


Russ the law is clear if you live in CA you should register your car there and have a license. You have some time to complete this. I am unsure of the time frame but I think you should begin the process within 10 days of moving to the state.

If you live in Baja (residence) but maintain CA as your US mailing address for representation, taxes, etc... and visit occasionally you can drive a vehicle plated from anywhere you choose as long as you don't plan on living in CA and are doing so for more than x days (presumably 10 days).

So in your case, you can maintain a CA license and SD plates if you live in Baja and this is the right thing to do because of the laws which do not allow you to maintain a CA plated without undue burden of cost and excessive ins requirements which is money wasted for no benefit other than insurance coalitions (which lobby the state for these laws).

Should you proceed on your plan to have a CA license, SD plated vehicle, while living in Baja and encounter a problem, such as you unexpectedly find yourself spending more time in CA than planned and decide that it is incorrect then you can proceed to make changes.

Until then, you have not broken any laws or attempted to skirt the law. You are complying in the best and only practical manner possible.

Do not be consumed with guilt for the highly restrictive laws for plated registered CA vehicles which make it extremely difficult for USA people living in BCS.

I do have CA plated vehicles in Baja and have found the DMV to understand my right of exemption from smog and accept my mx insurance policy on record.

Key to success for me was filing the paper work clearly, the DMV statement of facts, check smog exempt, vehicle is out of state in Baja California Sur, (write it exactly this way) without messy writing or erase marks or anything. It must be written out. Of course it states in italics there something like Arizona, Nevada, Mexico to be excluded.

That Baja California Sur is or is not part of Mexico is irrelevant. Baja California Sur is exempt from CA smog because of the distance and historical quality of gas which makes smoging the vehicle impractical.

As an added note, if you want CA ins for your BAJA vehicle just for this case you may state the value is $100 and you only want liability and costs can be quite low about $100/6 months. However do not tell the ins agent the car will rarely be in CA. Do not state the vehicle remains in Baja. Its okay that it is, but the agent is primarily engaged in selling ins for CA vehicles to remain in CA.

[Edited on 9-10-2008 by gnukid]
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[*] posted on 9-10-2008 at 09:06 AM


Quote:
Originally posted by Russ
The cost of keeping both legal and doing the "right thing" really hurts and seems unreasonable for the short time I spend on the Calif. roads.


Yes, it can get expensive to maintain clean air in both Alta California and Baja California. So, what's the alternative, dirty air, just because we're too cheap to do the right thing?
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[*] posted on 9-10-2008 at 09:09 AM


Quote:
Originally posted by Hook
Where's the DMV doing the "right thing" by trying to capture fees from a vehicle that is basically never in their state?


We're talking about operating a polluting vehicle in Baja California, not capturing fees.
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[*] posted on 9-10-2008 at 09:27 AM


Why do you think getting a 'smog check' has anything to do with making the car operating correctly? The owner or mechanic is the one that does maintenance to keep the car running clean and efficient. The 'smog check' just verifies that the car is tuned up and not polluting.

If the owner is responsible and wants the best performance and mileage from his car, it will be operating properly ... Any Baja Nomad would not have a poorly operating car in Baja, that would be suicide in remote areas.




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[*] posted on 9-10-2008 at 09:56 AM


OXXO. OK, so we've all read your opinion in several ways on our responsibility to save the planet. So how about something helpful to those of us that promise you we'll clean up our act? In other words get off your friggin green horse and participate!
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Hook
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[*] posted on 9-10-2008 at 01:12 PM


Quote:
Originally posted by oxxo
Quote:
Originally posted by Hook
Where's the DMV doing the "right thing" by trying to capture fees from a vehicle that is basically never in their state?


We're talking about operating a polluting vehicle in Baja California, not capturing fees.


You're a hypocrite if you:

use a car
ride the bus
use a washing machine and dryer
cook over anything but rubbish or wood.

Besides, getting the car smogged is about capturing fees as much as ensuring that it is polluting as little as possible. A mechanic in BAJA can make sure you're running in top condition and can read ODB II codes and correct as well.

The fees go to mitigating pollution in the AQMD area you reside and maintaining the fee capturing system...........something a car in Baja shouldn't have to contribute to.

Now, that's what fair and right.

Some people just cant see a solution that doesnt involve government...........:rolleyes:




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[*] posted on 9-11-2008 at 08:17 AM


I wish I could take credit for this, but one of my Nomad pals did it for me.

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[*] posted on 9-11-2008 at 08:28 AM


No stinkin smog checks required if your Jeep (or whatever) is OHV registered in Calif!! Tags good for 2 years! Or don't register - it seems half the cars on Baja all have expired tags anyway!!
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[*] posted on 9-11-2008 at 08:31 AM


Quote:
Originally posted by Hook
You're a hypocrite if you:

use a car
ride the bus
use a washing machine and dryer
cook over anything but rubbish or wood.


:lol::lol::lol: You threw everything in there but the kitchen sink! I'm surprised you didn't call me a hypocrite for breathing air!

Get your car smogged, do the right thing.

[Edited on 9-11-2008 by oxxo]
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[*] posted on 9-11-2008 at 09:02 AM


Quote:
Originally posted by oxxo
Quote:
Originally posted by Hook
You're a hypocrite if you:

use a car
ride the bus
use a washing machine and dryer
cook over anything but rubbish or wood.


:lol::lol::lol: You through everything in there but the kitchen sink! I'm surprised you didn't call me a hypocrite for breathing air!

Get your car smogged, do the right thing.


Not required in the state I am registered. Already DID the right thing..........even according to your deity; Big Brother.

One is an 05, the other is a diesel.




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