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Old 09-16-2017, 01:48 PM
ehq ehq started this thread
 
1 posts, read 481 times
Reputation: 10

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Hi!

I'm hoping someone has gone through this situation before and give me some forewarning.

I came to CA in 2015 and have been using my parent's car. It was registered in their name in a different state. I was just on the insurance - they owned the car.

I obtained CA residency in 2015.

I have not owned the car in question until this month. My father signed the title over as a gift at the beginning of September. I have an appointment to do a title transfer in at the end of the month. I have the forms for registration and statement of facts.

What I don't know is if I'll be fined for the car's operation in California before I owned it. There's a section on the title/registration application that asks about dates, including the date the vehicle was first operated in the state.

Has anyone dealt with this before? How were your fines structured? Did it matter that the car was used in CA even though it wasn't owned by a CA resident?

ANY insight is appreciated. Thank you in advance!
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Old 09-16-2017, 02:02 PM
 
Location: Northern California
130,047 posts, read 12,067,125 times
Reputation: 39011
You could fudge the dates. You could have driven it back to your parents during that time. But in reality I have no idea, check the dmv website.
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Old 09-16-2017, 02:12 PM
 
Location: Sierra Nevada Land, CA
9,455 posts, read 12,538,654 times
Reputation: 16453
Just be honest and let the chips fall as they may. The car was free? Right? It's not like a jailing offense to have driven the car in CA before it was given to you.
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Old 09-16-2017, 03:51 PM
 
Location: Sylmar, a part of Los Angeles
8,326 posts, read 6,419,063 times
Reputation: 17439
If you never got any parking or traffic tickets they don't know anything about when the car was in CA.
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Old 09-16-2017, 05:31 PM
 
Location: Riverside Ca
22,146 posts, read 33,503,954 times
Reputation: 35437
Interfamily transfers have no tax charges. It's a title name change and registration fees. You'll have to smog the car to register it,
I wouldn't worry too much as to the date.
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Old 09-16-2017, 08:08 PM
 
Location: Planet Earth
1,963 posts, read 3,041,725 times
Reputation: 2430
"My parents just gave me the car as a gift" - use the date on the title transaction. BUT you only have 10 days to register it in CA, theoretically. Of course, that is if (as already stated) "If you never got any parking or traffic tickets they don't know anything about when the car was in CA." If you got ONE such ticket, why that must have been the week your parents visited you in CA!!
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Old 09-17-2017, 12:54 AM
 
Location: Carmichael, CA
2,410 posts, read 4,452,603 times
Reputation: 4379
If the car was legally registered in another state under your parents name, then the date it must be registered in California would be based on the date they transferred ownership to you.

You cannot be expected or required to register a car in California that doesn't belong to you.

Is the out of state registration current? If so, then you'll be paying a transfer fee ($19?) and the next year's registration, plus the SMOG certificate if it applies.
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