the reason I was given is this for the smog. Ca's dmv has no juristiction over out of state dealerships and therefore you need to prove to them that the car has not been modified to make it not meet ca spec.
dmv is up and up on that fact. i have purchased two new cars out of state and a few used.
I think you should try just going to a local smog place and tell them to smog it. they don't need any paperwork to do it!!! they will just electronically foward the info to the dmv and give you a certificate.
then try again to go to the police/sheriff to have them do a vin verification. talk them into it!!! (not sure about this) dmv has always done this for me.
I have learned that dealerships don't know anything about anything regarding registration. The clowns I bought the car from tried charging me tax on the euro delivery 10k refundable deposit!!!
2nd option: I would try to get a refund from the dealership and then register it yourself, by far the easiest. plus when you register it they ask you what the car is worth/not what you paid for it!!! since the car has depreciated since you purchased it and put on so many miles it is probably worth 5k less than what you paid for it
Just to clarify, I paid nothing to the dealership, just got a temp tag and took off, of course they did hold my 10k euro deposit hostage.