Hey guys, I was thinking of importing a kei car to California, does anybody know if pre-95 cars would still need to be smogged, and if so, some one get me out of here to somewhere where I don't need to.
indeed they do. The catch is, that any vehicle 1976 or newer needs to be CARB certified. There are conversion shops that can provide the service but it's at least $10k... At least 40 states have no issues, and a few more have some hoops to jump through
You can do like most of the people who have cars that are “no no’s” in California is figure out how to register them outside California. Other then that like others have stated before , the money tree is needed to do it “right“ ( AKA everyone In government needs their cut )
Thank you guys for the help, chances are, if I ever get a kei vehicle I'll wait until after I leave California, the main reason I wanted one was for their relatively low cost and excellent fuel mileage. Been thinking about a Ford ranger/Mazda b3000 with the extra cab, or a first gen Toyota Tacoma; preferably with a v6 but those are hard to find with stick and extra cab for a low price.
Meeting the smog standard in California should be a breeze given the smog standard in Japan are even stricter.
