Thumper could have gone the "AAA" route and registered the car that way, especially if he bought a used car from out-of-state with a registration that stated a build year prior to 1974. More than likely he will end up getting a "VIN verification" notice from the DMV and he'll have to take the car to the CHP for review.
If the car is brand new, you got me on this one...not sure how he did it!
I did mine all bass-ackwards....registered (and paid full taxes) through AAA first, got the VIN verification notice, then went to CHP and they gave me a new VIN ID,
then went to DMV and got my certificate before heading to BAR for the smog check.
Just follow the Kalifornia rules and it goes fairly painlessly. Just eats up time and nerves, that's all.
