HELP!!! Does the way a cobra is titled help/hurt resale value? And why?

[ChicagoChris]

The City of Chicago requires a smog test every two years for cars +1968. A Cobra replica titled as a modern car would have to pass smog or file for an exemption (huge hassle).
Living in Chicago, I titled my CSX 4000 as a 1965 Shelby Cobra making all things (smog and re-sale) a non-issue.
So Bill S. it is a line of crap and the law.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by ChicagoChris

The City of Chicago requires a smog test every two years for cars +1968. A Cobra replica titled as a modern car would have to pass smog or file for an exemption (huge hassle).
Living in Chicago, I titled my CSX 4000 as a 1965 Shelby Cobra making all things (smog and re-sale) a non-issue.
So Bill S. it is a line of crap and the law.

Might be a city law (sorry, those I do not know as they are local to your location only), but not a state one........Cities will do just about anything they can for revenue.......



Bill S.

[Mastiff107]

There are a lot of states, to include WA which require emissions testing on newer cars. It is worth money to me not to have to deal with emissions and continual related regulation changes. It would be a strong consideration for me in purchasing a car. There is no down side to registering it as a '60's. From my experience in owning many cars in 16 states, most states will accept and transfer a title on a car without changing specifics. To begin with, there's no way for them to take the time to figure out what a car actually is, with the exception of "kit" or "Assembled" titles. When given the chance on my Shell Valley, I had it titled it as a "1966 Shelby AC Cobra". No emissions, no licensing fees and collector car insurance (Grundy). This saved me at least $700 every year.

[jhv48]

If you registered it as a 60's cobra (when in fact it wasn't) and tried to sell it to a buyer in California, he could be faced with fraud charges and the impounding of his vehicle if he transferred the registration to his name as a 60's car and got caught. You see, California's registration fees are based on the year of the vehicle as well as it's value. He would therefore be cheating the state out of its share of reg fees. Thus the fraud. He would need to change the year of the car to the actual year of completion, pass that year's smog regs or apply for an sb100 smog exemption.
So, yes, it can affect the value of the car to buyers in some states if it is registered improperly.