Out of country vehicles are less likely to meet U.S. emission specifications, but they can be important if their emission systems are up to US standards. Ask the seller of the vehicle from Europe to inspect the underhood emissions label. Ensure the label indicates the car is equipped with U.S. emission equipment. In this case, since you plan on bringing and registering the vehicle in California, the emissions label must indicate it is 50-State (California) legal, and not just 49-State emission equipped.
If the vehicle was not built to meet U.S. specifications it must be imported as gray-market vehicle. This can be turn out to be fairly costly and time consuming. Review what the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has to say on this subject, as CBP controls what vehicles may be brought into the United States. The car you intend on buying from Europe must clear customs before it can be registered in any state in the US. The costs for a laboratory to modify and certify the emissions and safety equipment on a gray-market vehicle are considerable.
Please contact the California Air Resources Board for further information specific to the vehicle you plan on importing and registering in California. The ARB number to call is (800)242-4450.
