Help in Importing a 1966 from CA to New Jersey

All you need is the title, signed by the previous owner, and proof of insurance. It sounds like you ran into a difficult bureaucrat, no surprise at a NJ DMV. Your best bet is to go to a different DMV. Seriously. I've done this on a number of occassions. As soon as I hear, "We need to call Trenton," or "We can't help you," I just gather my paperwork and go to a different office. Or, return to the same office on another day and hope to get another person.

Also, don't try to register it as a historic or collector's car off the bat - they can't deal with that. Register it normally, as a standard passenger automobile. Then, once you're in the system, call Trenton for the paperwork to re-register as a historic or collector car, have them mail it to you, and deal with the more "exotic" registration via mail directly to Trenton. Hope this helps.

 

Also, if you have the CA title, and there is no mention of it being out of the country, there is no reason to bring that up - that will just utterly confuse them. If the car is already in the country, and there is a clear CA title, it seems there would be no need to mention its foreign provenance. Does the title have any identifier that it was out of the country for a period?

 

Hes right.. Try a different MV office. What part of NJ are you in? North, Central, South? South Plainfield is a good office, Rahway isnt bad. Newark is decent. They see so much fugasi crrap there, that if you walk in with a legit CA title, proof of insurance and 6 points of ID for yourself (goto the NJ MVS website for a list) with a car like that, i cant imagine theyd bust your chops. If you persist with problems, PM me and ill try to help you a little more.

Also, like Desmo said if you have a current, clean CA title, dont even mention the out of country part... Isnt their business. You just need to flip a CA title to NJ ownership.

 

As stated, if you have the CA title, signed by the previous owner, and a current insurance policy number (you don't even need proof of insurance), and the necessary documents to prove who you are (i.e., your NJ driver's license), you can register the car at any DMV office. And as far as registering the car directly as a historic or classic, no problem. I've done it many times. For historic plates, go right to the DMV office in Trenton. Not the main office, but the one in the Voorhees building on East State Street. They'll register it and give you QQ plates right on the spot. Classic registration, which avoids inspection like historic, you can do at any DMV office, but you'll probably have to speak to a supervisor. The dummies at the desk who hand out the paperwork won't know what you're talking about. They'll give you the papers for historic plates.

 

Adam... its late Fri night... I'll call you in the morning. I have some specific info for you.

Greg

 

Oh. You're screwed.

Just kidding! I know it's possible, but I don't know the exact mechanics of the deal. It would definitely require a call in advance to Trenton to find out the exact forms NJ requiires.