State Ref Ticket. Please share advice + help. Thank you!

[m2mike]

Well, as some of you know already. During the Irvine 5yr anniversary meet. I got pulled over and received a state ref ticket. I would like to get some advice on how to get this over spending the least amount of money as my budget is extremely tight right now.

Here's my story.
03/30/2011 - Pulled over outside of the Irvine Meet.
The ticket says CVC27156(b) - Modified Emission.
CV27151 - Modified Exhaust
The officer did not take a picture of my motor.
The state referee stick in on the back of the citation

04/21/2011 - Got a Notice of correction and proof of service changing my violation to 27151(a) and that the violation is a correctable infraction

05/04/2011 - Got a Notice stating that Mandatory Appearance is required. I reserved my court date on 05/12/2011.

So using the information given, what ways can I go about taking care of this? what should I say to the judge to help me save the most money?

I hope you guys could help me out on this issue. Please PM me if you think the advice should not be publicized on the forum.

Thank you so much!
Mike

[akito]

mike
Exhaust Ticket Information VC 27151 & Similar - NASIOC

[Om1kron]

cvc27156(b) is an infraction.
Smog Device, vehicle not equipped with device when required, or device has been dissonnected or modified.

This is whats on the ticket then that's what you'll get tried for, if they fucked up and send you something else then they may throw it out or they may add it on top. Either way it's not correctable so even if you changed motors got a legit smog and passed with flying colors. What you pay is up to the court that cited you.

PERIOD

for 27151(a)
Exhaust systems, modified to exceed 95 decibels (vehicles under 6000 GVWR, except motorcycles). Exhaust system, modified to amplify or increase noise (vehicles 6000 GVWR & above, and motorcycles).

you can take the car to the state ref if you find one that will let you get certified for the exhaust without the clause that it's hooked to a turbo downpipe and it passes the sound test they might let you slide on that, either way it will just be a waste of your day if it doesnt. Nothing gets reported back to the courts with you have illegal engine so and such and blah blah.

for the mandatory court appearance portion you will be arrainged for what you got ticketed for which is pretty much the same shit I got, you should've already got a letter with the amount your bail is. Pretty much, that's how much your ticket is going to be regardless, the exhaust getting signed off by the state ref (not highway patrol you have to pass a legit sniff and sound test) it will shave like 150-200 bucks off of the total damage.

I don't have an exact breakdown for mine but I was also cited for "rolling a stop" hence why the awesome cops pulled me over that is like a 350-400 dollar ticket, my total bill is 899 which I will be paying this friday.

The judge will ask if you corrected it and do you intend to correct it. (you still have to pay the fine) I told him no I have no intent of correcting anything and will pay my fine and he offered to give me time to pay it and extended it out till may (6 months)

enjoy

[m2mike]

Correction, I just read my ticket over.

Basically, my current citation includes CVC27156(b) & CVC27151(a)
I think this pretty much means I have to swap KA back, smog the car and pay the fine.

Now, the question is.. do I fight the ticket or no? The officer did not take a picture of the engine bay I dont think. Is it worth fighting it? I know I will have to swap the KA back and smog it regardless.

Also, does anyone have a spare KA I can use and give back? And maybe help me swap it in? I will pay and provide beer and food of course.

[!Zar!]

You could pay the fine which will be upwards to $700~ and leave whatever setup your car has.

Or you could swap a ka/all emission back in and pay the $15~ smog fee that the state ref charges.

But what would you fight in court? As long as the officer feels it is necessary, he can send you to the state ref.

I was sent to the state ref once for a blue samco radiator hose.

Also, don't get caught driving your car on the street untill you get your ticket/state ref situation sorted out or you will get charged for a misdemeanor for driving it on the road.

[m2mike]

So should I plead guilty or not guilty when the judge askes? and what are the consequences of each?

I was told that I could say my motor has blown up since and that would be out of commission for a while. That way the judge will just offer me to pay a fine without me going through state ref and all that crap.

Is that correct? again, thanks for all the help guys.

[Forge_55b]

I had the modified exhaust ticket and went to the ref which will check your emissions, etc so if you want to have it cleared that way, the whole swapping back to a KA is your best bet. otherwise just pay the fine and call it a day.

oh and in the court i just plead guilty but show the "correction" and pay the court fee

if you plead not guilty then you have to post bail for an actual trial in which the cop shows up and says your car was modified and thus you lose because you obviously did not get it reffed

[95_S14]

Just pay the fine I got refed with my old rb25 coupe ,and I went in they asked if ifixed it I said no , they asked why I said money is really tight I only go to school the judge dropped it from 800 to 250 but made a note if I got pulled over for the same thing I'd be paying in full

[dking240sx]

Fine is about 800. ^^^^ pay it or get payment plan! Or use the school excuse! Ive gotten two they Suck'

[SoCalDrifter]

Originally Posted by m2mike

Correction, I just read my ticket over.

Basically, my current citation includes CVC27156(b) & CVC27151(a)
I think this pretty much means I have to swap KA back, smog the car and pay the fine.

Now, the question is.. do I fight the ticket or no? The officer did not take a picture of the engine bay I dont think. Is it worth fighting it? I know I will have to swap the KA back and smog it regardless.

Also, does anyone have a spare KA I can use and give back? And maybe help me swap it in? I will pay and provide beer and food of course.

this happend with my old sr and i got a ref ticket and i just went to the court and went to the payment area and told them i wanted to pay for it but they said i had to go to the court when i was issued and i told them i need a extrension and i used all the extensions then they will send you something in the mail and they will tell you the price for all your tickets ( i got 3 at once when they reffed mine) and i just called in and paid for the tickets and then you wont have to worry about it anymore just use all 3 extensions and then they should send it in the mail and if i was you i would run a stock exausht for awhile and take it to the ref and show them the stock exausht on your car and you should be good but the tickets wont be cheap i paid 600$ for my ref ticket and a few hundred for the others

[m2mike]

It looks like paying the ticket might be my best option at the moment. So if I opt to just pay for it, I won't be stuck with the state ref and swapping everything back, right?
Does it count for any points on the driving record?

[spooled240]

i've always wondered what happens if you DON'T get the the ticket corrected because I had a few of my friends tell me that they just paid the fine and that was it...no gross polluter status or hold on registration..nothin.

This pisses me of because I got a referee ticket a couple years ago for my ka-t and I threw all the stock parts on it, got it reffed which costed $25. Then showed up to court and STILL had to pay the full amount of the fine which was $271 for modified emissions. So I saw the judge, told him I fixed it and he reduced it to the minimum fine of $125. But fuck, I think i would've just paid the $271 if there was no consequence for not fixing it changing parts is a bitch

To the OP, I'm guessing you don't have the original KA so I would just pay the fine. Then change your setup to an extremely stock-looking piece of shit engine

[240sxvaj]

hummm...tempting since i have a 96 240 that just passed smog with flying colors completely stock. and im gonna paint my car in the summer, might give me a reason to take out the whole engine for paint. just a thought though.

I dodged a bullet once, Ka-t s13 w/ super loud buddy club 2 exhaust, i told the cop i was a student and that ill take it off, he let me go. i guess thats why im keeping my stock engine/emission. good luck with everything.

[luckysr]

i got refed in my rhd s14 sr i switched the name to one of my good friend name and went to the judge and said i sold it and i had to pay 200 bucks and that was it couple of months later i switched the name back and didnt hear anything else but also that was back in 07 sooo dont know how they are now.

[Om1kron]

Funny story. I got pulled over today, cop did a 180. follows me then lights me up for my exhaust, then he's like have you been pulled over before? How long have you had the car? Do you live here locally? etc.

I replied yeah bro no biggie, exhaust right? and he starts laughing like yeah man you ever get a ticket for it?

I told him yeah back sometime last year, got sent to the ref and everything!

He's like dumbfounded and was like oh yeah did you get the sticker?

I replied nope, the exhaust is about 10 over the limit so I just told the judge I'll pay the fine I don't have time to deal with adding another resonator to my exhaust for a sticker.

Then he's like dang how much does it cost to go to the ref, I hear those guys are assholes.

I reply that I've heard that too but the place I went was really cool and the guy was willing to give me the sticker for my exhaust if I brought it back and met the sound limit.

We shot the shit about a few other things and I asked him where GNC was and let him know I'm going to get out and go grocery shopping as I had originally intended when I pulled in.

He said cool and peace out, but did mention he gave only 1 exhaust ticket and sent someone to the ref but it was because they were being a fucking dick about getting pulled over.

Sweet, revolving ref tickets would've ruined my day. LOL

-------------------

swapping the engine out wont do shit mike, cause it will still have to pass smog and you'll still have to pay the fine. exhaust is the only one you can get certed if the ref station is cool and your exhaust meets the sound standard. Even if you have the sticker and have a modified exhaust they can send you back if they wish.

[upsdude]

this is why i hate california good luck to OP

[m2mike]

lol om1,
got super lucky there with a chill officer. yea i am looking to just pay the ticket now, if they let me and not give me any trouble at court.

between buying a new motor, paying the CV27156, labor etc etc. It will be way more than the ticket itself.

[xkamikazestormx]

My friend got one last yr.

He went to his court date and told the judge he wanted to pay it. It was like $700-800 and the ticket was done.

[WERDdabuilder]

cant you pay it as uncorrected? i did that couple years back and it was around 300. no judge nothing. just went to the window and asked if i could pay as uncorrected and she said yes.

[SoCalDrifter]

Originally Posted by WERDdabuilder

cant you pay it as uncorrected? i did that couple years back and it was around 300. no judge nothing. just went to the window and asked if i could pay as uncorrected and she said yes.

this is what i did i think its alot cheaper and easier

[xkamikazestormx]

maybe a couple years back.

IIRC, it's a mandatory court appearance for those tickets.

[jonnyrx7]

Received a Ref Ticket leaving college (driving 20 mph pulling out of a parking lot). CHP was waiting to cite "modified/street racer" cars because of "Fast and the furious movie." I was issued a ref ticket for my exhaust. I also had a previous fix it for exhaust that was correctable, he decided to give me the ref sticker. (Awesome right?) Anyway, paperwork came in the mail... bail is $580 and its a mandatory court appearance. I can't even pay the ticket online. I can mail a check in but it also has proof of corrections.

[m2mike]

I have yet to receive my bail amount. Still waiting for it to come in the mail.

[spooled240]

I try to be cool with the cops but most of the time they end up giving me a ticket anyways, probably cuz i look like a young kid with ear studs n shit


are city cops and sheriffs giving ref tickets now?

i thought only CHP could do that

[jamg]

lol california

[m2mike]

I believe I received my ticket from IPD? I am always respectful to the officers and I dont have piercing or any of that sort and always wear button up shirts. lol. it really just depends on the mood of the officer of that day i think.
I got pulled over because I had to brake due to the car infront of me stopping. He said he almost hit me, but if i dont stop, i will hit the car infront of me, so what can i do?

[drftem]

ok dont feel like reading everyones responses. so I apologize now if someone already stated this. if you go to the state ref and get it taken care of before the court date you take that info in with you to court on your court date and most likely they will throw out the case.

[spooled240]

^^ ohh yeah he probably got pissed

nope cuz i did that and they still required me to pay the full bail amount...the best I got was a reduction from the judge

i've heard more than once that you can pay the fine w/out correction and nothing happens so I'm thinking why the eff did I even bother with the state ref?

[Om1kron]

you forget the state of california is in a deficit, when you get a state ref ticket you're paying it regardless.

If you get reffed for something correctable like your exhaust, that's about the only thing you can have reversed. I think the fee either way is the same.

[g00se]

Something that you can also keep in mind is that you can also extend it ( 6 months at a time ) about 3 times. I am sure you can save the penalty over the course a year and a half.