Well, I put it off as long as possible, but now I have to register my car in California. Question: do I have to pay the $300.00 fee? My car was purchased in Pennsylvania. Does Audi actually do any additional de-smogging and/or Nader-ing to the A4 for sale in California? Any input would be appreciated.<p>scott<br>97 1.8tqms<p>

The California $300 penalty is just a fine for not having the engine modified for Lo emissions to meet the California requirements. Typically, most car makers charged an extra $500 or so in the production of their cars to make them meet California emissions. But more and more car makers are meeting this emissions requirement all on their own without additional charges or modifications. All in all, currently BMW and Audi meet California LEV standars without modifications, so no DMV penalty should be accrued. You should inquire to Audi whether the /97 models met these standards.

At least this was the case 4 years ago. This is a penalty fee and nothing else.<p>Both a former roomate and my brother brought out cars from New Jersey to California. A Honda and Toyota that met low emmisions standards with no mods needed. My brother was told that this fee is paid upfront if the car is bought in CA so to make things "fair" for the consumer (i.e. don't encourage people to go to Oregon for car buying) they charge the fee for out of state cars.<p>Of course, I need to look at my window sticker, but I think I remember seeing CA Emissions $0...<p>An odd twist of the law for older cars. Cars built before a certain year (I think somewhere in the 70's) don't have to pass ANY emmisions standards. Told to me by a friend whose dad owns several classic cars. One of his dad's cars puts out smoke like it was a coal furnace. Smog check? Nahh! Don't have to!!

engine compartment. If yes, you don't pay $300. If no, you pay $300 no matter what. When I moved to California 8 months ago the '96 Honda Civic I purchased in Virginia had CA emissions label so I only paid $75 to register my car. The BMW E46 I just bought costs $600 to register not including the $2400 sales tax. CA is expensive.

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There was a class action suit brought by a consumer's group last year against this "discriminatory" fee. I had to pay even though my car was way below the standard limit. It's really a fee to discourage the trade of importing cheaper cars from less expensive markets. Stay tuned, if you have to pay the $300, you might get a refund if the CAS wins.<p>CalVol<br>'89 Jetta, 1.8L, 8v