hey guys I'm thinking for buying a used car from Pennsylvania and registering it in cali.

I have never done this before so whats all involved?

what should I watch out for?

what should I ask the owner?

 

CA is strict when it comes to smog/modifications, so if the car has been tuned or has visually obvious aftermarket parts you may have to return it to stockish to pass smog.

 

Great way to avoid paying taxes on car but only if you don't register the car in Cali for a whole year.

example: you live in Cali you buy a car in an Arizona dealer fro 40,000. you don't pay taxes since your tax exempt since your from out of state. wait a year from date of purchase(id do a bit more to not make it to obvious) go to dmv and register and you should pay around 250 to 350 depending where you live. a savings of around 3,000 in taxes.

I

 

I've bought and sold several cars out of state over the years. See if the seller is trust worthy and ask questions, and a lot of questions. Like most would say, get proof of documentation of any and all service records. Do a Vin search and check mileage too. Sellers and buyers all have different expectations and I find more often than not that people want to get a fair deal but when the price is too good to be true it probably is...
I don't understand why you wouldn't get a Cali Evo or AZ, NV etc? They are a lot closer and chances are you won't deal with issues that might occur. In the last year I've seen a few good Evos for sale and clean ones in Socal. Unless you are getting a "Collector" or a fixer upper, you and the seller are happy with the terms I don't see a problem.