us_matrix

Hi,

I live in Bay Area, CA and planning to buy a used car from New Jersey. Here is my question..... The car has 4500 miles on it. I called DMV last week and they told me that if i buy any car from out of state has less than 7500 miles on it, I have to get some kind of certifcaite which is very difficult to get. Does anyone knows what is that? I thought i only need to get smoke check done here and pay for DMV fee etc if i buy out of state. Also, the car is 2003 and i was wondering if will Mercedes will honor warranty services in Bay area if i buy from out of state.


Thanks for any comments

Lynn

The warranty is good in all 50 states. No problem there.

The piece of paper you need concerns whether the car meets CA emissions regz. Some cars are legal in all 50 states, but some are only legal in the other 49. Make sure the car you are buying is a 50 state car. If it isn't, the chances of getting that piece of paper are 0.

Brunelleschi

You didn't mention how the car is getting from NJ to you. If you are having the car shipped, be very careful which transport company you use. A very popular transport company that runs shipments frequently out of NJ is called A-1 Auto Transport. I will very very strongly warn against using them. If you were to not take this advice, and were to go ahead and use this company....I will even more strongly advise that you do not allow shipment by a driver name Thomas. I do not know his last name, but he is a young mexican fella who will be very polite on the phone and will call you sir 10-15 times in a 5 minute conversation. This guy is a crook.

E55AMG99

If the car is still legally registered out of state, do the transfer and take title there. After shipping hte car to California, drive it for 3,000 miles and then register here.

us_matrix

I don't know who is the trucking company and will find out. You mean A-1 is not good at all ???

Brunelleschi

Well, I shipped a truck to NJ a few months ago using them. The truck had just come out of the body shop. It had freshly shaved door handles, tailgate, a brand new smooth fiberglass bed cover. I had brand new 20" rims and tires, and a custom air-suspension system fed through a nitrogen bottle which was filled and sealed before shipment. The shipment was to take 2.5 days from Oklahoma to NJ. I had the drivers cell phone number and he had contact information for me in case he had any problems or questions. The truck actually got to NJ 6 days after it was picked up. It arrived with no bed cover. One of the doors had been pried open with a pry bar. The tailgate and one bed side had been scraped to hell. One of the tires was gouged to hell. The nitrogen bottle was completely empty as if someone had sat in it and played with the switches like crazy. The company is denying all claims and giving me the run around. I called the driver to ask about the bed cover and he hung up on me. I have a lawyer working on it right now.

I am sure that every shipment made by this company doesn't turn out this way, but my experiences have not been a good sign. I would definilty not trust a vehicle as valuble as a mercedes with them.

us_matrix

Hi,

What about Mercedes warranty? If i buy it from another state. Will Mercedes dealer in Bay are will honor warranty service?

Thanks.

Matt230K

As Lynn already posted above, yes, the warranty will be honored at any MB dealer in the US.

E55AMG99

They will but you sure won't get the same treatment. I know Smythe in San Jose doesn't give out free loaners unless you buy your car from them.

woodie

Same around here.

us_matrix

What about if the car is over 7500 miles and i want to register in CA. What do i need to do in DMV? Do i have to pay any other fee (other than Sales tax 8.25% in alameda county and registration fee and smog check)
I heard someone saying that i may need to pay some other tax if i buy some out of state?

Thanks.

tifosiv122

I have an idea....im in NJ...i'll drive the car for a few thousand miles and you can get it when it has 8,000 miles...no special paper needed, right?

Erik

crackerm

I purchased my car in Florida and shipped to the SFO East
bay. My car had 15K miles when I purchased it. The cost
was aprox $750 for shipping but I dropped the car off at
designated site.

I paid the taxes and registration immediately in CA. This is
documented on the DMV web site along with a link to the state
site on rules for use taxes. I would read these pages before
listening to anything posted here. I can't recal the significance
of 7500 miles.

Note: I called Merecedes before purchase and was told all
cars here are 50 state smog legal hence no problems transfering
to California.

It's weird, I used A-1 and had no major problems other then the
following. I missed the truck heading west by a day and
had to wait 2.5 weeks before the next truck came by.
I had already left the car and state so I had no (cheap)
choice other then wait and pray. When I dropped the car
off, the person taking the car spent at least 15 minutes
recording every single chip and scratch. He found a few chips I
didn't see the first time I looked it over. I also took about 15
digital pictures. I also taped a piece of paper with current
mileage and date on to the door.

The car arrived with no new scratches, chips, or dents but
it was dirty as heck with at least 1000 bugs stuck to it.
If you have the money get a closed container truck !

There was one thing I was pissed off about. They left the
key in the ignition at some point and this drained the
battery. They had to jump start the car later.
During this time, they screwed up the hood locks. I would
expect people shipping cars to know not to leave the
keys in a new mercedes for a long period of time. I didn't know
this until after the fact, but most people don't leave keys
in the ignition for a periods of time right.

Best wishes,

mctwin2kman

You should just need the Certificate of Origin to do this. The vehicle should already have CA emissions as it is required in NY and NJ borders NY. If it is required in NY the bordering states also must get the same thing. Not to mention the fact that CA emmissions should be standard on almost every vehicle in the US by now since it is not much more to do it.