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Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 02:25:12 +0100
X-Mailer: Microsoft Internet E-mail/MAPI - 8.0.0.4211
Status: RO
Welcome to USA, Tondar! Maybe we'll have to take you into the mountains or
keep you 3 weeks in the rain so you will get over your homesickness.
Anyways, the royal worthy master king of cars in California is the "DMV =
Department of Motor Vehicles". They have a pretty good website which gives
out some good info. Check out these URLs: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/ and
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/newtoca/newtoca.htm. That should get you started. I
will be new to Calif soon too. I'm moving from Munich ... but I am an
American since I grew up in the Boston area and also in Buelach. Good luck
with importing cars ... something I wouldn't want to do. In 1974, my
family moved from Massachusetts to Switzerland and we brought along our VW
Squareback on the France (passenger ship). It was the last Atlantic
crossing of the France and as usual, the French went on strike and the car
wasn't unloaded for 2 months. We had someone who we met on the ship
collect the car and drive it from Le Havre to Switzerland and in the
process he blew the engine. After we had that fixed, the body repairs that
my dad had done in USA before leaving didn't meet Swiss regulations (it was
a type of "bondo" instead of steel), and all the body work had to be ripped
out and redone. In retrospect, we should have just bought a car there.
I think in USA, you are allowed 1 car in your lifetime to import where you
can "sneak" by many regulations. Otherwise you have to have DOT bumpers
installed, side crash reinforcement bars in the doors, change the
headlights (much brighter in USA than in EU), etc, etc.
Well, have a great start and don't forget that in the USA you can "right on
red" after coming to a full stop ... and you can pass on the right (so be
careful on the freeway to check BOTH sides before changing lanes!
-chris c
-----Original Message-----
From: Tondar Chatenet [SMTP:tondarc_at_yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 1999 2:06 PM
To: swiss-list_at_swiss-list.com
Subject: swiss-list: Car
hello
I just arrived in California and first of all i am glad to see that
there is this swiss list because i am really home sick... :-((
I hope i will meet some of you in the next months.
I am now importing my car from Lausanne because it was brand new and i
am allowed to drive it with swiss plate for one year.If you see me
give me a sign!!!
My question to you is do anyone already braught a car here and do you
know all the modifications which are necessary to immatriculate it
here afterwards?i have heard that there is something to change in the
pollution system.
Thanks.
Tondar
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Received on Tue Feb 23 1999 - 18:47:00 PST
