[Wayne1977]

I am interested in buying a used 2017 Bolt and apply/transfer California HOV decal sticker. Does anyone know where I can find out when a sticker was issued for an used Bolt? Thanks!

 

[boltage]

Clean Air Vehicle Decals for Using Carpool and HOV Lanes - California DMV

Obtain a Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) decal to use carpool and HOV lanes. Learn about eligibility requirements, emission standars, and applying for a decal.

www.dmv.ca.gov

The color of the sticker indicates when it is valid for:

blue: 2021-2024
orange: 2020-2023
purple: 2019-2022
red: 2018-2021
white: 2000-2018 (cars issued white sticker 2017-2018 can get a red sticker)

A car with no sticker may be one of two cases:

• Car has never been issued a sticker and is eligible for a current (blue) sticker.
• Car has been issued a sticker, but the sticker has been removed.

 

[martinknutson]

Clean Air Vehicle Decals for Using Carpool and HOV Lanes - California DMV

Obtain a Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) decal to use carpool and HOV lanes. Learn about eligibility requirements, emission standars, and applying for a decal.

www.dmv.ca.gov

The color of the sticker indicates when it is valid for:

blue: 2021-2024
orange: 2020-2023
purple: 2019-2022
red: 2018-2021
white: 2000-2018 (cars issued white sticker 2017-2018 can get a red sticker)

A car with no sticker may be one of two cases:

• Car has never been issued a sticker and is eligible for a current (blue) sticker.
• Car has been issued a sticker, but the sticker has been removed.

This may help you determine if it's the latter:

Did Used 'Green Car' Already Get a Clean Air Sticker? - The Green Car Guy

It's no longer impossible to find out if a used plug-in, fuel-cell or natural gas car you're looking at ever had a California Clean Air sticker. The state has published a list of VINs of almost 223,000 cars and trucks that got decals before Jan. 1, 2017.

thegreencarguy.com

 

[bcarraher]

I recently bought a 2017 from Carvana that didn't have stickers. I applied and received a red HOV sticker.

 

[Jcray]

I recently bought a 2017 from Carvana that didn't have stickers. I applied and received a red HOV sticker.

Hm, does that mean they gave you the sticker for the year the car came out? I thought they'd give you a new one (orange of blue) if the car had never been granted HOV stickers previously.

 

[bcarraher]

Hm, does that mean they gave you the sticker for the year the car came out? I thought they'd give you a new one (orange of blue) if the car had never been granted HOV stickers previously.

I don't have the paperwork in front of me now but seem to remember it is good for about one year from now. My assumption is that the previous owner from SoCal had a sticker which Carvana removed when it was prepared for resale.

 

[Jcray]

I don't have the paperwork in front of me now but seem to remember it is good for about one year from now. My assumption is that the previous owner from SoCal had a sticker which Carvana removed when it was prepared for resale.

K, that makes sense. Just wondering cause I bought a used 2018 Model 3 in October of last year but sent in the paperwork for my yesterday hoping to get the blue stickers good through 2024. When I bought my 2017 Bolt used, the previous owner had already affixed the red stickers so this is my first rodeo.

Thanks!

 

[boltage]

I recently bought a 2017 from Carvana that didn't have stickers. I applied and received a red HOV sticker.

That implies that it previously had a red sticker issued to it; if it never had a sticker issued to it, you would have gotten the current one (orange for 2020, blue for 2021).

K, that makes sense. Just wondering cause I bought a used 2018 Model 3 in October of last year but sent in the paperwork for my yesterday hoping to get the blue stickers good through 2024.

If it was never stickered, you should get blue stickers. If it was previously stickered, you are likely to get the same color stickers that it previously had.

 

[martinknutson]

That implies that it previously had a red sticker issued to it; if it never had a sticker issued to it, you would have gotten the current one (orange for 2020, blue for 2021).



If it was never stickered, you should get blue stickers. If it was previously stickered, you are likely to get the same color stickers that it previously had.

Note that California is pretty sensitive to HOV sticker fraud. Mine (red) were damaged, and when I applied for replacements they were pretty clear that I get one bite at that apple - meaning I was allowed one set of replacements. They might be more forgiving if the vehicle has been retitled.