flexed2death

I'm interested in buying a 07 or 08 Type-S 6MT. There don't appear to be any here in California but I've found quite a few in other states. I would appreciate any advice on purchasing a car out of state and bringing it to California. My questions are:

1. How much should I expect to pay to have it shipped to the SF Bay Area? Assuming worse case (east coast such as NY).
2. Will I have any problems registering the car in California? I'm not familiar with emissions laws and what not so I'm ASSuming that most cars sold nowadays are emission legal in all 50 states and I won't have any problems registering the car.
3. Once I negotiate a price, are there any services I can use to get an inspection of the car? My preference is to buy a certified one but I'd still like an independent source to verify that everything is good with the car.

Thanks in advance for any help.

jimmyl

Seems like 1 and 2 you could research yourself for a better answer.
I'll let other folks address #3.
If I can get the info of the shipper my buddy used to get my TL I'll report back or pm you.

1islandparadise

For #3, you can order independent inspections. Check out any vehicle on ebay and you will see a link that says, order independent inspection.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

East to West $600-$1000 and as long as no modifications, shouldn't be a problem in having the car registered in any state.
Find an inspection service in the area:
Examples
http://www.lemonsquad.com/
http://www.aimmobileinspections.com/...FcNM4AodLBhLHA

05 NHB

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/NonCAVeh/NonCAVeh.pdf

SDSilverM3

Since I was in the same boat as you and just bought an '08 Type-S 6MT from the east coast last week, I can probably answer your questions.

1. How much should I expect to pay to have it shipped to the SF Bay Area? Assuming worse case (east coast such as NY).
-For enclosed transport, the prices you pay for coast-to-coast will range from $1300-1900 depending on who you go with. Open trailer, $850-1200. I'd highly recommend enclosed especially during this time of the year due to unstable weather. You do not want the car covered with salt or magnesium chloride when it arrives. Remember, choosing the cheapest price is not your best option because you do get what you pay for. The lower you pay, the longer you wait for the car to get picked up because the carriers choose the well-paying jobs first and move down the totem pole to fill out their trucks. No space = no pickup. Transportation time is typically 6-10 days.

2. Will I have any problems registering the car in California? I'm not familiar with emissions laws and what not so I'm ASSuming that most cars sold nowadays are emission legal in all 50 states and I won't have any problems registering the car.
-Check the under hood sticker to ensure it is CA compliant (It'll say "OBD: CA OBD II" and most Hondas are these days). Ask for a picture to confirm. When you get the car into California, you will need to do a VIN verification at the DMV, CHP, or by any other authorized person. In addition, you will need to do a smog inspection. All of this needs to be done within 20 days of the time the car ENTERS Cali and reg fees needs to be posted by the 20th day otherwise you will pay penalties.

3. Once I negotiate a price, are there any services I can use to get an inspection of the car? My preference is to buy a certified one but I'd still like an independent source to verify that everything is good with the car.
I have used Auto Inspections, LLC in twice in the past and they were great. They were very thorough and deterred me from buying cars that were misrepresented by the sales people. The cost was about $400/inspection at the time. For this purchase, I actually flew out to PA and did the inspection myself.

My advice is to only buy out-of-state if it is EXACTLY what you want because it takes way more effort to acquire your car out-of-state otherwise it isn't worth it IMO. Buying from a franchised dealership makes it much easier because you'll only need to take care of the two things that actually require the car in Cali. The other stuff is handled by the dealership.

Good luck.

vlo421

Wow that is rare. I searched for KBP or WDP 6MT around New York for 8 months before I found a good deal on KBP. The only WDP 6spd I ever found was all the way in LA at the time.

RJNN TL

Damn! Type S's are this rare nowadays? I guess I was really lucky to have found mine..

vlo421

I actually found mine on AZ, but all the way from Florida. In the end the guy had some time to up to NY so I was a little lucky too. I'd probably still be looking if he didn't.

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

I would fly there and drive it back.

flexed2death

Should I be concerned about rust if I buy a car from the east coast? I've read that some think it's not an issue anymore with new cars and others say that the salt and other stuff they lay down does cause problems.

jimmyl

I worry about rust pretty much more than any other item!! Living in Texas though it isn't a real big issue at all. Actually, it isn't hardly even a small issue!!
So why on earth did I buy a car from Ohio????
The car itself isn't rusty, just all the nuts/bolts are oxidized, some quite a bit.
SO, if I were you I would only buy a car from a "non-rusty" state. {ie: no winter salt laydown}
Sure, you may be more prone to a dash that might crack, but you can fix or replace that. Rust is forever........

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

dealership told me that i bought the last black 2008 6mt type-s in california two years ago muhahaha!

so i guess #2 should be no problem as long as the car doesn't have any mods that would void emissions i.e. parts that go beyond the catalytic converter under our cars goodluck!

SDSilverM3

The car is going to have some rust regardless if it's coming from a snow state that uses salt unless they use a sand/gravel mixture. The latter isn't so great for your paint or windshield but hey at least your car won't be rusty. Just make sure the body panels don't have rust developing under chips and such. You're bound to find rust on the exhaust parts, suspension bolts, and various other components underneath. Not much you can really do about it so make sure you can live with it.

That's funny because I noticed that 30 out of the 49 6mt TL-S's for sale on the Autotrader are black.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

i just bought a 2007 TL-S that was about 15 miles from me. its nighthawk black pearl. and the previous week I was also looking at another one, carbon gray pearl, even closer about 5 miles from me. Why are people driving out of state for one? lol

stevietennis

^^^
You probably bought a automatic type-s. OP is looking for a 6MT.

icy2

I was looking for a TL type S 6MT a few weeks ago and there were some for sale in Cali and Oregon. They may have sold by now but, they were mainly NBP and I found a KBP in Oregon. Good luck trying to find one!

lumyeinjun

iTrader: (1)

Are you sure those are brand new 6mts? i think they meant i got the last new one haha

ez12a

pretty much. there are zero 6MT Type S'es on the trader at the moment at least within 75 miles of my zip in socal.

johnfilice

I did the same thing, even tho mine was in LA and I live in Sacramento. Shipping companies charge a grip and you never know how other people are going to treat your new baby. Plus it gives you a unique chance to learn how your car drives.

It also will be much cheaper as a flight to LA was 160 bucks compared to 750 bucks to have it shipped.

SDSilverM3

Reading pwned me. lol

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

I just bought my 08 S 6mt on tuesday out of state. Bought a plane ticket flew out early in the morning and drove it home. It was only a 7 hour drive so I was able to get home with the car by dinner time. I wouldnt mess with all the shipping and inspections. Just find a car thats reasonable driving distance, buy a one way plane ticket and drive it home. Just be very picky and make sure you get all the info possible up front. For me I limited myself by first checking that its one owner and clean carfax. Then if it passed that find out if it has all original body panels...then find out if its had any paint work, call the Acura dealership that it was originally bought and serviced at to make sure its been maintained, have the seller send a LOT of pictures of everything. This is what I did, it takes a lot of work especially if dealing with a dealer because salesman are pretty much worthless as are some private sellers. Anyway, a good clean car can be found this way it just takes a little more time, patience, and work. I did it and am VERY happy with my S.

James