Question about bringing a European car to California

[DarkoNova]

Need some clarification on what's legal and what's not, here. I'm looking at buying a BMW from a guy on the east coast. He says he legally imported it a while back from the UK. He has a clean title and the registration. The thing is, it's right hand drive. I don't think that matters but I'm hearing conflicting reports from people. Some say it shouldn't matter because USPS mail trucks are rhd, too. But others say rhd cars are illegal in California.

Then there's the smog stuff. It's an '88 3 series, though. I had one a few years ago and the only smog stuff I remember was an O2 sensor and a cat. I don't even think it had an egr valve, but I could be wrong. I'm under the impression that it will basically have to comply with an American 3 series of the same year. Seems simple enough.



I was going to call the CHP and the DMV to see what they knew about it but of course it's the weekend so they're closed. So I figured there has to be someone here that knows how the process works.

I'm thinking that since he already imported it and has the title and registration, he did most of the work. Hopefully I'm right, lol.