Moving a Ferrari to California - help please

Hi Folks,

I'm moving to SF in July and my cars are scheduled to be shipped by Intercity.

I have never had an exotic in California before...what do I need to know re:

- Registration: I'm planning/hoping to leave them on AZ plates as long as possible

- Smog: Both maser GS spider and CS passed in AZ with no drama

- Front Plate: I can't imagine ruining the beautiful fronts of these cars, heck I don't even see anywhere to mount a plate

- Group drives/Meets/C&C/Trackdays: other than paying attention to this forum, what mailing lists, groups do I need to join?

- Insurance: I was paying $2400/year for all three of my cars in Scottsdale, my carrier said that goes up to $5850/year if I keep same coverage and only change location to SF. A 140%+ increase is pretty painful. That was with the Maser and Ferrari being stored at Sausalito storage 99% of the time too! I have ACE and went through the hassle and work to shop and change carriers last year...they were much cheaper than allstate and Haggarty back then...any help/referrals appreciated.

- Best place for service on the CS and Maser?

- What else do I need to know?

Thanks and I look forward to meeting folks in coming months.

Dave

 

Fees must be paid within 20 days of entry or residency to avoid penalties. Any vehicle owned by a California resident must be registered within 20 days of entry into California unless a special permit was obtained...http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/howto/htvr9.htm#feesdue

Front plate is required or face a $100 fix-it ticket...how it gets mounted is your problem. Whether or not you ever get stopped depends on where you drive and the state of mind for the police that notice.

 

The problem as I see it:

Driving with AZ plates and golden bronze skin = No Problem.

Driving with AZ plates and San Francisco pallor = Problem.

 

Park your car in SF with no front plate and you WILL get a ticket. Just a matter of time.

Join us for a drive!

 

- Group drives/Meets/C&C/Trackdays: other than paying attention to this forum, what mailing lists, groups do I need to join?

FOG drive every other Saturday. Check out Ferrari Owners Group thread

- Best place for service on the CS and Maser?

T&R Automotive in San Francisco

- What else do I need to know?

Enjoy California

 

They really enforce front plates in SF. They'll pull you over just for that.

I stuck my front plate on with velcro. (sticks to the clear-bra, so I'm not worried about pulling paint off if I remove the velcro).

I have decent rates from State Farm, but probably just best to call around.

I can recommend "clean air smog" in San Francisco. They don't do anything "special" to help the cars pass (mine runs super clean anyway), but they're just friendly guys who like cars. Their rollers are buried in the floor, so you can roll over them easily.
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I'd retain the AZ address and keep the plates on etc. Make sure your insurance includes the AZ address in case it gets checked. You'll be OK with one plate that way. With no front plate you may catch a cops eye but he should back off when he sees the AZ plate.

 

If you have chosen to live in the City and County of San Francisco, you are going to get hosed on many fronts, including insurance and the need to have front plates on your cars. Insurance rates in SF zip codes are essentially double those in the suburbs. Buy the clip-on front plate brackets or the one that screws into your tow hook. The PITA is that you have to attach it every time you park your car on the street or in a public garage. Welcome to San Francisco!

 

If you do this, let me know the plate # so I can call it in. Too many complain about no money in California for education, etc, yet they avoid paying their fair share by not registering their car(s) in the state. Another words, I believe what you're suggesting is illegal unless you can prove AZ is your primary address.

 

Auto license fees are supposed to support the DMV and CHP, not schools. We have the lottery for that.

 

Whatever, people always complain about long waits at DMV's and not enuf police catching the bad guys. The point is, if you're not willing to pay the price to live here, then don't live here and certainly don't complain about state finances. I have 3 cars, including a classic Ferrari that I only drive about 500 or so miles a year, but I still pay all my registration fees.

 

Clean Air? I go there, too, but so far not for my 360. http://www.cleanairsmog.com/ They are terrific. For F-cars, though, I suggest T&R Automotive, as they know Ferraris.

Have you really been pulled over in SF for lack of front plate (or know people who have)? So far, it's only been parking. But maybe I need to change what I do if there is a real risk of being pulled over (I don't want the obvious hassle).

As for registering, as pointed out above, it's not legal to fail to register after becoming a California resident. Basically if your driver license/home address/insurance card/registration don't match (e.g. you have an insurance card (mandatory) with CA address, but your DL and/or Reg say AZ), you will get a ticket. Some people try to stay with their prior state's papers for awhile but usually what trips them up is the insurance card - insurance companies are pretty good about current addresses because that affects rates.

 

Pulled over for only no front plate in SF? I say BS

In SF you can get away with tons of driving violations...I've seen cops no bother ticketing u-turns in the middle of the street etc...but park illegally or let your meter expire and you'll get a ticket in 30 seconds

The only front plate tickets I have ever seen are at parking meters

I do not run front plates on my cars....lived in SF since 2002...no front plate tix...Ferrari, Porsche, viper, corvette, amg mercs, M Bmws.... Maybe I just have gotten lucky... Knock on wood

I run out of state plates on a couple cars, haven't had a problem yet, but my DD's are CA plated.... Cops won't just pull you over for out of state plates alone....but drive like an ass-hat and having out of state plates will definately get you pulled over...

 

Expired out of state plates are more likely to get stopped or CA plates expired more than 3-6 months (per what a local copy told me).

 

The parking police /"meter maids" are the ones giving out the front plates tickets. The last time I had lunch and a ticket in SF they came by at least twice in that small amount of time.

 

I live in SF, and I got pulled over at 11pm two blocks from my house, in my Boxster for no front plate. Local PD was coming toward me, after passing me, he immediately flipped a U-Turn, and turned the lights on. He had no other reason for pulling me over.

They don't enforce hit and run (I've called one in, and they wouldn't even pretend to write down the information), but they do pull you over (or me anyway) for no front plates. Maybe I'm the only one.

 

Call Bovet Insurance Services @ 1-877-287-2684. They are an independent Broker and represent many different companies. If two of the vehicles are garaged in Marin County, it should not be that bad for the premiums. My 05 F430, 11 Cayanne S, and 2012 Mercedes GL run about $3,000 per year with high liability and low deductibles.

 

I asked about what everyone was doing about front plates. After reading the reply about going to court for no plates, will install on ASAP using tow hook.

 

FWIW, I talked to a fellow Ferrari owner over the weekend who also got pulled over in SF for no front plate. He was just driving normally down Van Ness Avenue and a motorcycle officer pulled him over and cited him. The officer told him the only reason for the stop was the lack of a front plate. So, maybe it's being made a priority or it's the latest city "tax," or maybe enforcement is spotty, but there definitely seem to be stepped up efforts.

 

true, meter maids can/will give no front plate tickets, so just pay to park in a garage during parking meter hours. cops will use no front plate as an excuse to pull you over (to see if you have been drinking etc.)

 

By the way, you can get a ticket for no front plate on private property, and it can be a moving violation.

 

I've had two different Ferraris insured with, Fresno based, Leland West Insurance Brokers (they write with American Modern) and couldn't be more pleased. Their service is exceptional. They settled my claim for a windshield almost too fast for me. I wanted them to go after the responsible trucking company, not just settle the claim. They were ready to cut me a check in two days. They also honored my request for the vendor that would facilitate the repair. Last year at renewal time I was contacted with the news that, get this, my premium was going down. Not just down, from $1040 annually to $417 for an agreed value policy on my 1995 355 Spider. If you have a clean record you would do well to contact these people. How often has your insurance company contacted you with good news?

 

On the other side of the Bay, I STILL don't have a front plate. No ticket yet (knock on wood)

 

Yes, a friend of mine got a ticket parked at a meter in San Francisco on her VW bug for no front plate.

 

Besides driver record, any stated value policy is dictated by the stated value. For $417, you must not have a high stated value on your policy, if that's the type of policy you have. I also use LeLand West, and although I hope to never actually deal with them, it's good to hear a positive review of their claims processing capabilities.