Cali Car Mod Laws vs Out-of-State Car?

[Terzzzz]

I know this has been covered many times, but my scenario is a little different so hear me out please.
I'm from out of state and I plan on visiting California for a few months this summer. Here there are basically no laws as far as how your car looks, sounds, what engine you have, etc. (I drove around with no hood all last summer with no hood, no front or rear bumper, slammed to the ground, straight pipe, stanced, sr20det, open wheel wells, stripped interior, etc)

My car is NOT like that anymore, i have all the body panels, but its STILL low, STILL straightpiped, stripped interior, and have a sr20det.

My question is can the cops give me a hard time if I have non-California plates and tell them I'm just visiting? I hear all the horror stories about people getting their cars impounded and stuff for having an exhaust or tint or a sr20det. Last thing I want is to get my car impounded in a different state.

[PureRush]

You have a high chance of getting pulled over. They'll give you a ticket for anything and everything. Just try to avoid CHP cause they are the worst when it comes to engines/emissions/exhaust. Just drive quiet and chill and you should be fine. No guarantees though lol

[mr.nismo.]

just dont drive like a moron and you will be ok. if you have out of state plates and license. they cannot do anything. rule is if your staying 6 months or longer then laws apply to you.

[One_love_silvia]

they can't touch you for your car. they cant send you to a state ref if you arent from that state.

[K_style]

just dont drive like a moron and you will be ok. if you have out of state plates and license. they cannot do anything. rule is if your staying 6 months or longer then laws apply to you.

they can't touch you for your car. they cant send you to a state ref if you arent from that state.

just dont drive like a moron and you will be okhttp://www.pbwm.info/hu4i.jpg

Wrong.

I have gotten pulled over with my AZ plate in LA and got a Big Fat ticket for Modifying.

If I took it to the court and fight over since I was from out of the state, I might have won the case.

But Cops don't give a shit. They will issue a ticket anyways.


It all depends which cops. Some cops are jerk some are nice. Some don't even respect the people's rights and constitution.

That's the reality.

[Terzzzz]

thanks for the feedback. damn, i was hoping the out of state plates will allow me to be untouchable haha

I will only be driving it to and from the track, hopefully that decreases my chances of getting pulled over. I always drive like a grandma on public roads haha as long as they don't impound my car, ill be happy..

[mr.nismo.]

They can't touch you. I was a highway patrol explorer for 3 years. The cop can be a dick and cite you but go to court with your out of state plates and license and its dismissed

[cchondro]

You would have won that case K
since you do not live in California nor plan on moving, being your only intention for going to California is for visiting you would have won that case.
YES they will write you a ticket,
YES they will be rude about it,
But in the end you are not a resident of that state and your car will not fall under their particular rules so they shouldn't be writing you a ticket for having a modified car. If you take the ticket to court you would win.
You have to be a resident for more than 6 months for them to write you a ticket for their laws.

[chris_s13]

California Highway Portal are the ones to watch our for

[Terzzzz]

They can't touch you. I was a highway patrol explorer for 3 years. The cop can be a dick and cite you but go to court with your out of state plates and license and its dismissed


were you california HP??

sweet this is great news. like i said i don't drive like a dick, so the only reason they could pull me over is profiling how my car looks/sounds. but if i can get it dismissed easily, then i'm not worried at all anymore.

also, if they ask me to pop my hood, do I have to? or would it not matter even if they recognize a sr20det and say something, since i'm just visiting.

[Terzzzz]

You would have won that case K
since you do not live in California nor plan on moving, being your only intention for going to California is for visiting you would have won that case.
YES they will write you a ticket,
YES they will be rude about it,
But in the end you are not a resident of that state and your car will not fall under their particular rules so they shouldn't be writing you a ticket for having a modified car. If you take the ticket to court you would win.
You have to be a resident for more than 6 months for them to write you a ticket for their laws.


this is what i was hoping to hear, do you know this information from first hand experience or someone you know personally?

[K_style]

were you california HP??

sweet this is great news. like i said i don't drive like a dick, so the only reason they could pull me over is profiling how my car looks/sounds. but if i can get it dismissed easily, then i'm not worried at all anymore.

also, if they ask me to pop my hood, do I have to? or would it not matter even if they recognize a sr20det and say something, since i'm just visiting.

this is what i was hoping to hear, do you know this information from first hand experience or someone you know personally?


If you have time to come back to court date. Don't forget your travel expense.

It's not like you can have hearing next day.

You will have to appear @ the court to plea Not Guilty. Judge might dismiss it there or you will have to come back to hearing with the cop you cited the ticket.

Reason I didn't fight over is that expenses are far greater than what the ticket cost.

[K_style]

If you have time to come back to court date. Don't forget your travel expense.

It's not like you can have hearing next day.

You will have to appear @ the court to plea Not Guilty. Judge might dismiss it there or you will have to come back to hearing with the cop you cited the ticket.

Reason I didn't fight over is that expenses are far greater than what the ticket cost.


Also, Cops know that out of staters most likely to just pay the fine rather than go through all the inconveniences.

[cchondro]

Also, Cops know that out of staters most likely to just pay the fine rather than go through all the inconveniences.

This is 100% correct

[Terzzzz]

so fucked up. maybe ill just bumper tow the car to the track, then they really can't touch me right?

[EDacIouSX]

Wrong.

I have gotten pulled over with my AZ plate in LA and got a Big Fat ticket for Modifying.

If I took it to the court and fight over since I was from out of the state, I might have won the case.

But Cops don't give a shit. They will issue a ticket anyways.


It all depends which cops. Some cops are jerk some are nice. Some don't even respect the people's rights and constitution.

That's the reality.

If you have time to come back to court date. Don't forget your travel expense.

It's not like you can have hearing next day.

You will have to appear @ the court to plea Not Guilty. Judge might dismiss it there or you will have to come back to hearing with the cop you cited the ticket.

Reason I didn't fight over is that expenses are far greater than what the ticket cost.

Also, Cops know that out of staters most likely to just pay the fine rather than go through all the inconveniences.

This is 100% correct



This all may be true but it's really irrelevant. You can fight tickets through a "trial by declaration." Basically that means you just write a letter and provide evidence/proof with your paper. I've done it and I live in california, I never even went to court and still won my case (red light ticket, ~$450).

You would have been able to keep your $200 for 1 hour worth of work to write an argument and provide proof of your innocence. You still should have fought it. In fact, you should ALWAYS fight every ticket. Why? Because it costs you nothing but some extra time for a chance to keep all your money.

[zerodameaon]

so fucked up. maybe ill just bumper tow the car to the track, then they really can't touch me right?

If the laws have not changed, they can still get you because the car is still on the road. Only way to get around that is to have the car on a full trailer all 4 wheels off the road.

[Hashiriya415]

When a car is out of state it fallows the state laws that it is from. meaning for example, you bought your car brand new in 1992 or whatever and it came with SR20DET at Nissan in Wyoming, you then drove to Cali, these fucks will try to write a ticket even though its legal for the SR. They still will go that way. Not because its the law, its because they are retarded and want to try and do things to fuck people over. That's when you file law suit against them with an attorney.

Another thing for this "pop the hood" thing.
If there is a problem get outside your car lock it, and deny any searches without a warrant. If any attempts are made to open or search your car, film it.

[KOUKIboy]

Damn, Wyoming sounds like car heaven!!! lol

[Terzzzz]

If the laws have not changed, they can still get you because the car is still on the road. Only way to get around that is to have the car on a full trailer all 4 wheels off the road.

that would be some bull shit, cuz i def can't afford a truck and trailer at the moment. flat towing would still draw less attention than driving it on the freeway i think, right?

[Terzzzz]

Damn, Wyoming sounds like car heaven!!! lol

haha it is, no emission laws or anything either, all the rednecks pour black diesel smoke, open headers, anything u want pretty much.

[Terzzzz]

This all may be true but it's really irrelevant. You can fight tickets through a "trial by declaration." Basically that means you just write a letter and provide evidence/proof with your paper. I've done it and I live in california, I never even went to court and still won my case (red light ticket, ~$450).

You would have been able to keep your $200 for 1 hour worth of work to write an argument and provide proof of your innocence. You still should have fought it. In fact, you should ALWAYS fight every ticket. Why? Because it costs you nothing but some extra time for a chance to keep all your money.


awesome, that means i don't even have to be present to fight the ticket? well i guess im fearless now!! haha

[90240sx07]

Damn, Wyoming sounds like car heaven!!! lol

actually montana is car heaven
no smog no emissions
no laws about modding besides exhaust noise
can register just about anything
open roads
but has alot of cops in certain cities

[EDacIouSX]

bottom line of this entire thread is:

1. You are 100% legal to drive your car in California
2. Cops may want to give you a ticket and will write you one anyway.
3. If you are written a ticket you can fight it and have a 100% chance of winning.

There still are certain tickets I believe that you can't fight but those mostly apply to running a red light, stop sign, speeding, etc. Basically the way the law is setup is that the cop in California must apply your states law to you in california. They can't do that unless they know the laws, its pretty obvious that speeding, running a red light/stop sign is breaking the law so.... they can write those just fine.

[Terzzzz]

awesome thanks everyone for your imputs! hope to meet some of u california guys this summer maybe!

[zerodameaon]

that would be some bull shit, cuz i def can't afford a truck and trailer at the moment. flat towing would still draw less attention than driving it on the freeway i think, right?

Its some BS but we got a few stupid tickets flat towing our Jeeps a few years back. Most notable ones I can think of are cracked windshield and modded exhaust (ran stacks up the side for deep puddles). Cop was being a dick and we got the tickets dropped but its apparently the law. Its really all based on whether or not the the cop go this cheerios pissed in that morning.

[PureRush]

This all may be true but it's really irrelevant. You can fight tickets through a "trial by declaration." Basically that means you just write a letter and provide evidence/proof with your paper. I've done it and I live in california, I never even went to court and still won my case (red light ticket, ~$450).

You would have been able to keep your $200 for 1 hour worth of work to write an argument and provide proof of your innocence. You still should have fought it. In fact, you should ALWAYS fight every ticket. Why? Because it costs you nothing but some extra time for a chance to keep all your money.

Man you must be smoked out. When you choose to plead not guilty to a ticket, you have to pay the fine before your trial. If you plead guilty they usually reduce the fine substantially.

[Dagostino480]

Dont worry about it dude, just be cool and drive normal and the cop will be fine with you. Just say that where you are from they have no rules and you will be set... I have gotten pulled over for my exhaust like 6 times but I still have my AZ plates on and they send me on my way

[fliprayzin240sx]

I've gotten exhaust and tint ticket in CA with FL plates. Hell, I've even popped my hood for a CHP officer for a show & tell/training for his new partner. No ticket for my SR20. All tickets got thrown out by the judge.

[MisawaJason]

so for us military members who are stationed here, how do these rules apply to us? I've been here for well over 6 months.

[mr.nismo.]

Then Cali laws affect you. You should have a Cali license, plates and all

[MisawaJason]

Fuck that. I'm here NOT by choice