I purchased my 31 Ford Coupe project back in August. The car has a title, reg card and plates from 51, the last time it was registered in CA. I have all the necessary pieces for the puzzle that is registering an old car in CA, or so I thought. After 3 months and a lot of calls to Sacramento, they finally tell me that I can't use the 51 plates on my car as you cannot "retain" old plates. I either accept a new white plate or grab a 31 plate (year of manufacturer program). I really would like to use the 51 plates, but don't know what to do at this point. Anybody have any idea how to get this resolved?
They might be right on that. I think it's because they have probably purged the data from their computers since it hadn't been registered for so long, so that plate number isn't in the system anymore. And YOM plates have to have a year that matches the YOM. I had the same problem with my '31 Plymouth which had 1953 plates on it when I bought it. Even though I had the plates, the pink slip, the bill of sale, etc., they made me go to the highway patrol and have them verify the VIN and then they gave me a new set of plates. The local highway patrol guy was nice about it though and didn't give me a hard time about it. At least you can use your old plates for trading value to try to find some YOM plates with the correct year. It does suck though having perfectly good old plates and they won't let you use them because of their genius idea to purge your car from their system.
its true, gotta have YOM plates.. hell youre lucky, we cant run them at ALL... either hobbyist or new plates.. either way they are UGLY
aint there some way u can put down the plates as personalized? cost ya, but atleast u can keep them black n golds....
read this link http://reviews.ebay.com/DMV-clear-C...1951-1956-1963-YOM_W0QQugidZ10000000000961771 gonna answer more than everyone's questions
You could get personalized plates with the same numbers and letters as your 51 plates and just run the 51's....if you get pulled over play dumb and pull out the personalized plates from under your seat...tell'em you had the 51plates on for a show and forgot to swap them back. (if the guy even says anything) Damn old chevyseller...that has some good info....guess maybe getting personalized plates may not work huh!
Actually, in this case it shoudn't be YOM. Im just trying to use the plate that was last used on the car. I thought you could retain old plates as I've seen and heard from other people. Guess it just comes down to what type of dmv employee gets your paperwork.
This comes up a lot around here. If you've already started your process with DMV, you're SOL with the '51 plates, unfortunately. Had you started with a titling service instead, your chances would have been pretty decent. Problem is, CA DMV reassigned a lot of the older plate sequences to new motorcycle plates, so that can determine continued use of old plates, even for YOM applications. Rule of thumb: If you can avoid DMV from the start, don't start with DMV.
So what can a titling company do for me? The chicky at dmv gave me two options: 1. register it and receive new plates. 2. Send all my paper work back to me and not do anything. At this point, I'm leaning towards my second option....
In Michigan you have 3 options; 1) YOM plate- $35 for lifetime registration 2) Historic Plate(new black plate)- $30 for 15 yr registration 3) Purchase a new plate- Not sure of price but it is only a 1 yr registration I run YOM plates on my 30 sedan. Bought a matching set on Ebay for $40. Good luck with the Cali DMV... CTJ
Nothing now. Like I said, once you "start" with DMV, there's no turning back. Some titling services go by the book anyway, so it's not guaranteed you could have had any luck to begin had you gone that route. In the last couple of years, DMV has drastically changed its approach to titling vehicles of substantial vintage, namely '20s and '30s Fords. The individual DMV clerk may not know a thing about old cars, but they do know what they've been told to do--and not to do--when it comes to issuing titles for these era cars.
It has NOTHING to do with what DMV clerk you get. You have 2 choices. #1 DMV will issue you a NEW set of white plates. #2 Get a set of 1931 plates, available from many license plate dealers, and use those YOM plates on your car. END OF STORY Other information you may have heard is INCORRECT. Don't waste your time and energy on a fight you will NEVER win. Good Luck, Have Fun
i failed at a similar attempt. wouldnt let me put 64 plates on my 65. im still pissed about that, and now they sent me a letter saying my registration is going to be suspended because im not insured. my insurance company has sent them documents explaining that i am insured 3 times and they still sent me another letter saying the same thing.
yup, the dmv is hell. the downside like said above is the the plate #'s are off the computer (5yrs) and are now used for a motorcycle. NOTHING would have prevented this unless the p.o paid to have a non operational permit for it.....not even a registration service. also the personal plate gag won't work because the numbers are gone (if they wern't gone then the '51 plates would have worked). i've said it a lot here but the '47 and '51 plates are getting hit HARD, very few good numbers out there. i was lucky and found a set of 47's with an odd number/letter combo and it stayed good for 3 years (i kept calling every year). also on a side note i use tamperproof bolts on my plates ('47,'36,'56), may not look traditional but i still have them.
i don't think in our lifetime.......but i hope i'm wrong, my panel looks lame with the white plates. you correct the black plates come out in 1963.
Nope not true, you are all wrong! Don't give up. I registered my 1959 Ranchero with 1963 black plates this summer. The vehicle was long out of the system. The issue is (as it was told to me at dmv) is that the field offices have no way via their computer system to assign an old plate other than a YOM plate. They can, however, do it by hand in Sacramento. That is what was done for me.I am living breathing proof that you can run your old plate even if it is not YOM.Mike
Yes indeed, the Crapifornia DMV is infested with idiots. Not five minutes ago I recieved another renewal notice for a car I no longer own (this is the third time) and have filed the proper paperwork stating so. Now I get to go back down there and fill out the transfer paperwork for the umpteeth time...................hopefully this time they get the message.
They started reusing plate numbers from 1950 to I think 55 or 56, so that plate may not even be DMV clear. I would go for the 31 plate thats what I plan to do for my 31
Thanks BAD ROD!! I'm still fighting. Sooooo, I spoke with yet another dmv employee today saying that it IS possible to do the above mention transaction. In fact, every employee I've spoken with to date (with the exception of one) said that this is possible. Unfortunately, no one has actually done it.
I'll treat you to an ice cream cone if you get DMV to process your title with those plates! Out of curiosity, which DMV office are you going to in SoCal?
ahem...................use Auto club for everything......DMV only employs idiots and illegal immigrants
To check old plates in california do this... it works I did for my 31' You can't check for number usage on their website. It can only be done in the office or on the phone. Phone the DMV special processing unit and tell them you want to see if your numbers are in use. 1-800-777-0133, then select options 1,3,6,3,0 to get to a live operator. Happy hunting...
i tried to do that, and they said they can only do the VERY baisic things..... or maybe the infestation has spread!!!!!
Very true! But I am an AAA member and they say the dont do YOM.....BTW I heard the Santa Monica DMV is the best one to go to if you have old plates to register for some reason.
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