Lets say hypothetically i moved into Cali yesterday and today i decide i want to buy a new car from a cali dealership, i of course haven't registered my old car to cali yet because i just got here.

I want to try to trade in the old car so i can get a little money back, will the dealership allow that or will they make me register and get the car inspected first?

Ed

 

It is the best way to get rid of a car in this state without having to smog it.

This is what I did with my wrx. They will accept the car with an out of state registration. It was easier for me to buy a new car here than register my out of state one so I just did that. The dealership then makes the decision wether or not to have it pass smog and register it here or just sell it at a dealer auction and let someone else do it. Dealerships have different rules when it comes to registration of cars and whatnot when compared to private party sales.

 

Good information, thanks a lot. I'm thinking about upgrading to a Legacy Spec B

Ed

 

I don't know much about this, but couldn't you just trade it in back at it's registered state, get the trade-in value and use the money somewhere else?