New TDI's illegal in CA?

[Markus]

New TDI\'s illegal in CA?

Was at the dealership today, and was talking with on of the Service managers (while I waited) about European TDI models and their lack of presence here in the US. He mentioned to me that they were forbidden (by law?) to sell VW TDI's to anyone with a valid CA license...is this true?

 

[ProfessorCompressor]

Re: New TDI\'s illegal in CA?

That guy lied to you... I've been shopping around for a TDI here in L.A. and there are plenty to choose from.

 

[First D]

Re: New TDI\'s illegal in CA?

Yes, that is true, but as I understand it not because of a legal issue.

There were some posts on this a few months ago, my understanding is that VW has to limit the number of TDIs sold in the state to meet (weighted average) emission standards. Because the number are limited, prices are high in CA. So people go out of state. But even cars bought new out of state count in the weighted average if they have a CA registration address. So VW said dealers outside of CA cannot sell to CA residents. To get around this we need to use an out of state address to buy the car and then transfer registration to CA later.

I don't know if this applies to 2002. A few more TDIs seem to be arriving in CA. Maybe it's because it's the beginning of the model year and later on the supply may get choked off.

Someone please correct me if my explanation is wrong...

 

[kwhiner]

Re: New TDI\'s illegal in CA?

From my understanding you are exactly correct. It involves the weighted average of particulate emissions over the whole model line, the tdi's being the biggest contributor they are the ones being limited. Bummer, but until better fuels become readily available everywhere or soot traps such as Peugoet-Citroen have come out with we're stuck.

 

[SteveS]

Re: New TDI\'s illegal in CA?

Old myths die hard. This is one of those urban legends that has grown a life of its own, but has no truth in it. TDIs were never limited in CA...except by VW of America. There is no limit today, except by the allocation done by VW of A of the 25k TDIs they have released to the US. You will hear all kind of stories told at VW dealers, but if they don't have the car you want, do some searching and you can find it elsewhere...in CA. Today, there are southern CA dealers with a good selection of TDIs in stock. I've seen them, and I bought one--at a discount...even when there were dealers saying it could not be done.
I was buying my first TDI in CA in August 99 when VWofA pulled the TDIs from CA, so I researched this thoroughly. The state never had any limits on TDIs, and it did not matter where you registered it. I did go out of state to buy and register my first TDI, but registering in CA was never a problem. Several others did that exact thing, and we did not have to register out of state. That myth has been kept alive by dealers who can't get any new TDIs, and by some folks who post all kind of "facts" here. There are several TDIs in stock in CA right now. I have bought 2 new TDIs and registered them in CA with no problems. If I can, anybody can.

 

[Kent Tuttle]

Re: New TDI\'s illegal in CA?

I agree with Steve on this one. I too have seen TDI's on the lot here in CA. They had a Jetta wagon and sedan I saw last month at Bozzani motors in Covina CA. If you look at their web site they show 4 Jetta TDI's in stock right now.

 

[syck]

Re: New TDI\'s illegal in CA?

If selling a TDI in California is illegal then many many dealerships are breaking the law. But something tells me there's misinformation afoot. For example, I just bought one at Broadway VW in Oakland, CA on Nov 3, 2001 without any problems. Rest assured these cars are not illegal, but if they were, they'd give my car saleman new meaning to the word "dealer."

 

[Ron Raley]

Re: New TDI\'s illegal in CA?

I very seriously doubt that the TDI's are illegal in california, to many postings on this site of TDI heads purchasing TDI's in CA clearly shows this.... Realisticly you have a lot of dealers out there that will tell you a lot of BS just to hype the myth of how hard it is to get one of these cars,also alot of people who work at these dealerships DO NOT know what they are talking about, to include service or sales managers...these people in the car sales industry tend to move around like some cheap circus act going from town to town... get your info from a good salesperson,one who has been at the dealership for a few years and is willing to find you the car you want. A lot of these loosers just want to sell you what is on the dealership lot.

 

[SteveS]

Re: New TDI\'s illegal in CA?

This weekend I saw seven new TDIs on 2 dealers lots in SoCal, so some dealers are building an inventory of California TDIs.
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Ron Raley:
.... A lot of these loosers just want to sell you what is on the dealership lot.<hr></blockquote>
Exactly. When I was searching for my first TDI, I was told by one dealer that "VW could not get a red paint that would stick on the New Beetle." He was absolutely straight-faced. That was the most outrageous tale, but I heard many tales that all ended with, "but we have a ____ car on our lot we can sell you today."
Keep looking, you will find the car you want.

 

[Jackmc]

Re: New TDI\'s illegal in CA?

When I bought my NB in 2000 there were no cars available in California because of VW's restriction on NY and CA.

I called DMV here and found that they didn't care if I bought a car in Nevada and instantly transferred it to my Anaheim address but the dealership had to have a local address in Las Vegas to sell me one even though they also knew that I live in Anaheim.

I had no problem buying the car and driving it home and then registering it at my local DMV. All they did is look under the hood for the "50 States smog cert" and gave me title. They even deducted the sales tax I paid in Nevada from what I had to pay here.