State Reffed in NorCal
07-11-2016, 11:24 PM
#1
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 6
Car Info: 08 Forester XT 5mt
State Reffed in NorCal
I got a state referee ticket for modified exhaust. I was driving like a gentleman, but my car is a little on the loud side, and the LEO had a huge chip on his shoulder ... pretty much expected to get state reffed by him the moment he popped my hood. Issues are marked as non-correctable. I've been driving the car like this for well over two years with no issues, so i was quite surprised by this (although, it only gets driven once a week) but ... you play with fire, you get burned.
If this was a simple stage 2 setup I could probably just restore the stock exhaust and be cool but: this build is way past stage 2 with lots of mods deep in the engine bay and throughout. Restoring the car to any condition that would pass state ref would take tons of time, work and money. I have a pretty intense job, not a lot of free time, and don't have a garage where I can wrench at the moment.
So I'm in a bit of a pickle BUT: I don't necessarily want to keep the car. I've actually been planning on getting rid of it - I'm hoping I can sell it to a buyer in a state where it will not be a problem. Otherwise: I am up for renewal of my registrtation so I can possibly register it as non-op in the meantime?
As I understand it, it should be around a $1500 fine. If that is the case, I can pay the fine (onerous as it is).
But at that point: I still can't drive or sell the car in CA without passing the ref. What i'm wondering is whether or not I can do any of the following:
Sell the car to an out-of-state buyer? This would be best financially, and of course: the car would live on —which would be nice since it is a meticulously well-kept and quite-rare Aspen-White 2008 Manual Transmission Forester XT.
Sell the car to a buyer who does not plan to drive it on the street? (motorsports - this seems like it would be tough to come by for an FXT).
I know a guy who wants to buy the engine for his race car, so if it is an option: I could just sell the bits that I can and have it scrapped? I would prefer not to do this, as it is a pretty sweet (and rare) ride, but my time is limited and i don't feel like having this albatross hanging over my head ... so as painful as this would be: it works as a last resort for me.
Knowledgeable advice is most appreciated!
If this was a simple stage 2 setup I could probably just restore the stock exhaust and be cool but: this build is way past stage 2 with lots of mods deep in the engine bay and throughout. Restoring the car to any condition that would pass state ref would take tons of time, work and money. I have a pretty intense job, not a lot of free time, and don't have a garage where I can wrench at the moment.
So I'm in a bit of a pickle BUT: I don't necessarily want to keep the car. I've actually been planning on getting rid of it - I'm hoping I can sell it to a buyer in a state where it will not be a problem. Otherwise: I am up for renewal of my registrtation so I can possibly register it as non-op in the meantime?
As I understand it, it should be around a $1500 fine. If that is the case, I can pay the fine (onerous as it is).
But at that point: I still can't drive or sell the car in CA without passing the ref. What i'm wondering is whether or not I can do any of the following:
Sell the car to an out-of-state buyer? This would be best financially, and of course: the car would live on —which would be nice since it is a meticulously well-kept and quite-rare Aspen-White 2008 Manual Transmission Forester XT.
Sell the car to a buyer who does not plan to drive it on the street? (motorsports - this seems like it would be tough to come by for an FXT).
I know a guy who wants to buy the engine for his race car, so if it is an option: I could just sell the bits that I can and have it scrapped? I would prefer not to do this, as it is a pretty sweet (and rare) ride, but my time is limited and i don't feel like having this albatross hanging over my head ... so as painful as this would be: it works as a last resort for me.
Knowledgeable advice is most appreciated!
07-12-2016, 12:19 AM
#2
What can't you fix to get by ref?
You could trade all your goodies for stock stuff. Get it ref'd sell it. I'd be willing to bet that a shop would do most of it for you or the person taking the goodies could.
You'd be out some money for the parts but then you could sell the car and still get value out of it for whatever looks/handling/brakes you have on it and the fact it's a white manual 08.
Nobody in CA is gonna buy it with the ref hanging over it. Least no one with a brain.
I'd be willing to bet that if you sold a few key pieces and pick up stock stuff off the forums you could have enough money left over to have a tune thrown on it for smog.
You could trade all your goodies for stock stuff. Get it ref'd sell it. I'd be willing to bet that a shop would do most of it for you or the person taking the goodies could.
You'd be out some money for the parts but then you could sell the car and still get value out of it for whatever looks/handling/brakes you have on it and the fact it's a white manual 08.
Nobody in CA is gonna buy it with the ref hanging over it. Least no one with a brain.
I'd be willing to bet that if you sold a few key pieces and pick up stock stuff off the forums you could have enough money left over to have a tune thrown on it for smog.
07-12-2016, 08:45 AM
#3
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 6
Car Info: 08 Forester XT 5mt
And yeah, if I did put it back to stock I could probably get pretty good money for it : but I'm not as interested in that as I am in just dealing with this quickly and moving on with life.
I will put it back to stock if I absolutely have to but: in the meantime I am interested in exploring alternative options.
I am not planning on selling it in California. I figure it shouldn't be hard to sell out of state if it is priced to sell (which is my intent). What I am trying to figure out is whether or not I can just do this preemptively. I'm going to try and get in touch with the court this week to examine this option, but in the meantime I figured I'd post online to see if anyone has any relevant experience or knowledge.
07-12-2016, 11:00 AM
#5
Sell it as non-op and a highly reduced price because you'll have to cover fees, do the work and source the stock parts. He covers whatever fees are related to his ticket.
You fix. Ref/smog it. Register it. Then put all the goodies back on and have Mike tune it. Drive it for a year or so. Then sell it to me on a homie hook up.
Win/Win/Win.
LOL!
07-12-2016, 12:06 PM
#6
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 6
Car Info: 08 Forester XT 5mt
Haha ... well ... I'm still examining my options but the car is up for renewal, so as I understand it: I could register it as a non-op and sell it to a California buyer (with written disclosure of the state ref issue). It is a pretty sweet fxt, with more than a few nice customizations, though certainly not perfect.
07-12-2016, 01:15 PM
#7
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Car Info: 04 impreza wrx R.I.P Daniel Wentz JOEBOBBUCKET
Do it. You have access to the stock parts, a lift, the skills. You're one of the only people he could sell it to in this state.
Sell it as non-op and a highly reduced price because you'll have to cover fees, do the work and source the stock parts. He covers whatever fees are related to his ticket.
You fix. Ref/smog it. Register it. Then put all the goodies back on and have Mike tune it. Drive it for a year or so. Then sell it to me on a homie hook up.
Win/Win/Win.
LOL!
Sell it as non-op and a highly reduced price because you'll have to cover fees, do the work and source the stock parts. He covers whatever fees are related to his ticket.
You fix. Ref/smog it. Register it. Then put all the goodies back on and have Mike tune it. Drive it for a year or so. Then sell it to me on a homie hook up.
Win/Win/Win.
LOL!
07-12-2016, 05:23 PM
#8
I'll give you 1,000$
Seriously though it looks pretty stupid to any half intelligent person. Why wouldn't you put it back to stock yourself take car of the issue and sell it, either there is a problem that makes it difficult to fix or you are cool with throwing away money. Thats how a potential buyer will see it. Just doesn't make any sense.
Seriously though it looks pretty stupid to any half intelligent person. Why wouldn't you put it back to stock yourself take car of the issue and sell it, either there is a problem that makes it difficult to fix or you are cool with throwing away money. Thats how a potential buyer will see it. Just doesn't make any sense.
07-12-2016, 06:16 PM
#10
Pretty sure less than 0.05% of the population would know they have the right to refuse. Even more so, depending on which local LEO precinct, refusal may have earned a further hassle or even an excessive force/misconduct beat down.
07-12-2016, 06:46 PM
#11
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: San Leandro, CA
Posts: 3,856
Car Info: Forester XTi
Always be respectful, never show contempt or backtalk to the officer. However stick to your rights, politely of course. Do not give LEO any reason to say you resisted arrest, or refused a lawful order.
However you must be willing to spend a night in jail. Your car will get impounded but that fee you can sue in small claims court to get back. (unlawful detainer). If you are going to stand up for your rights, expect them to be violated as 99% of the LEO out there don't know the very laws they are charged with enforcement of. Of the 1% that do, they tend to be the ones with a more reasonable attitude about things.
07-18-2016, 05:57 PM
#12
Unless things have changed since 2009 all you have to do is pay the outrageous fine and be done. If you take it to the ref and pass, then you don't have to pay the fine. When I got a ticket to see the ref it was $450 or the ref. Not both.
Also I've heard you can sell the car as long as it's smogged and reg is payed. Then contest the ticket via written declaration and prove you're no longer the owner will cause them to drop it. The ref violation doesn't carry over to the new owner unless they get pulled over and receive a view ref violation. Again, this is my old research from 2009, so you should look into it yourself!
Also I've heard you can sell the car as long as it's smogged and reg is payed. Then contest the ticket via written declaration and prove you're no longer the owner will cause them to drop it. The ref violation doesn't carry over to the new owner unless they get pulled over and receive a view ref violation. Again, this is my old research from 2009, so you should look into it yourself!
07-18-2016, 08:26 PM
#13
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 6
Car Info: 08 Forester XT 5mt
Unless things have changed since 2009 all you have to do is pay the outrageous fine and be done. If you take it to the ref and pass, then you don't have to pay the fine. When I got a ticket to see the ref it was $450 or the ref. Not both.
Also I've heard you can sell the car as long as it's smogged and reg is payed. Then contest the ticket via written declaration and prove you're no longer the owner will cause them to drop it. The ref violation doesn't carry over to the new owner unless they get pulled over and receive a view ref violation. Again, this is my old research from 2009, so you should look into it yourself!
Also I've heard you can sell the car as long as it's smogged and reg is payed. Then contest the ticket via written declaration and prove you're no longer the owner will cause them to drop it. The ref violation doesn't carry over to the new owner unless they get pulled over and receive a view ref violation. Again, this is my old research from 2009, so you should look into it yourself!
07-26-2016, 02:13 PM
#14
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 870
Ask the officer if you can step out. Do so once given permission, Close door, lock and arm alarm/fob, put in pocket. Then state clearly you do not consent to a search of your property or person.
Always be respectful, never show contempt or backtalk to the officer. However stick to your rights, politely of course. Do not give LEO any reason to say you resisted arrest, or refused a lawful order.
However you must be willing to spend a night in jail. Your car will get impounded but that fee you can sue in small claims court to get back. (unlawful detainer). If you are going to stand up for your rights, expect them to be violated as 99% of the LEO out there don't know the very laws they are charged with enforcement of. Of the 1% that do, they tend to be the ones with a more reasonable attitude about things.
Always be respectful, never show contempt or backtalk to the officer. However stick to your rights, politely of course. Do not give LEO any reason to say you resisted arrest, or refused a lawful order.
However you must be willing to spend a night in jail. Your car will get impounded but that fee you can sue in small claims court to get back. (unlawful detainer). If you are going to stand up for your rights, expect them to be violated as 99% of the LEO out there don't know the very laws they are charged with enforcement of. Of the 1% that do, they tend to be the ones with a more reasonable attitude about things.
