Check this out. Yesterday, I go to AAA to register a 38 Chevy I just bought. It's not on the computer. So, I need a VIN verified. Seems that, if a car is checked in to, it reactivates it on the computer. So, yur gonna love this, the girl checking yesterday reactivates the car on the computer. Since it's on the computer now, I don't need the VIN verify I spent all day on. BUT, because it's on the computer, and hasn't been registered in years, there's a $440 back fee due
Can you produce a bill of sale showing that you recently purchased the car? Would it be worth the $440 not to have further hassles with the registration? Sounds like a typical DMV mess.Sorry
Yea, I got one. Bought a crappy Nissan Stanza from the county impound lot auction because my Brother had one with a bad engine. Planned on swapint the engine out and maybe a few trim and body pieces to get his back on the road. Well, I drug it home for $45. My 'Bro comes and looks at it, and decides it's nicer than his nissan, so he wants to try and just get a title for this one and junk his. I went to the County Clerks office [local DMV] and tried, but they would not give me a title because it was still registered in someone elses name.... OK, back to plan "A", just use it for parts. 2 days later, the neighbor calls me and asks if I know why there's a police car parked out front.... Hmm, I peek out the window, and all of a sudden, there's 6 police cars, and their all headed my way with guns drawn!!! I open the door, and get a .38 stuck up my left ear. Told [yelled at] GET ON THE GROUND!!! DONT MOVE!!! To make a long story short, the Nissan was [previously] owned by some cat who had been arrested for drug trafficing....... Apparently, the local impound and the local police have a bit of a communication problem. The cops were looking for the car but could not find it. The impound had it, but never notified the police!!!!! Little old innocet me goes to the DMV and tries to put my name onto this "wanted" car, and an alarm at the police station goes off! Here's the kicker. The neighbor who called me is the cousin of the Mayor of the city of Louisville........... Needless to say, I got one hell of an appology from the police chief as well as reimbursed $2200 for damages to my property as a result of the police search. I know that's not the kind of story you were looking for, but I thought you guys would enjoy it!
Hey Groucho, I got fucked on this about four years ago, I bough a vehicle with a lien title, lien paperwork, and was told this covers "haunted paper" worrries at the DMV in Ca. Fuck, if it did! Four years of back tags plus the current years fees. I couldn't shit right for a week! Swankey Devils C.C. "Meanwhile, back aboard The Tainted Pork"
I cant imagine how stupid someone has to be to believe that the same folks who run the DMV will be able to administer 'national health care'!
Yeah, that sucks! Leins are supposed to clean the slate. So much for that. I'm not gonna contest mine in fear of opening Pandora's box. I bought a Blazer from a guy years ago, and on the registration it shows the amount of the last reg, it showed he paid almost TWENTY FIVE HUNDRED BUCKS! When I called and asked, he'd said the prior owner got him pretty GOOD
Thanks, I'm pretty stoked. I have 2 now. An orange one for a Gasser build, and a black one to be a bit more sled-like (chrome reverse/fat whites)
If you have a dated Bill of Sale, go back and ask for a supervisor. You may have to fill out a Statement of Fact saying the car wasn't used on the road. They should waive the back fees. When I got the Y.O.M. plates on my 31', it had to be handle by a supervisor because the girl behind the counter didn't know what to do.
In oklahoma you can state that the car has not been on the road since last registration, show receipts for work done to make it roadworthy (over 300 I think) and you're in with just the latest years registration.
I'll 3rd that . My dealings with the dmv in every state I have been in has been really eye opening. Most were complete idiots. The things you have to do to get things cleared up are mind boggeling. I'm not necessarlly referring to an old car but any car if it is brought from out of state., you are screwed. If you built it from scratch , you might as well plan on going there several times and jumping through many hoops to get one registered and taged. They treat everybody like crooks trying to register a stolen vehicle. Hell if you stole a car would you be at the dmv trying to register it. Just my $0.02 Thanks, BOBBY FORD
I bought a stock 1928 Model A coupe and went to the DMV in CA to get the title transferred, showed them the bill of sale and proof of insurance but the clerk refused to transfer the title because I did not have a smog certificate!!!!!
I bought a car that had been parked for 20 year and they waved the back taxes.You may need to contact you new connection at the police station. Hay Chief ol buddy.
You should try to register an out of state boat / trailer in Texas..... You have to go to Parks Dept to register the boat itself, then drive to the DMV to register the boat trailer - but not before weighing the EMPTY trailer (must provide weight scale ticket). None of the women in either of these offices really knew what the fuck was going on here. I made 5 trips to each office and got 5 different sets of instructions on how to register these things. And to think, MY taxes pay their salaries .....
had the same thing happen to me years ago for the '60 elco $440 in back fees from a lien sale. but i've also heard from the dmv that the vehicle drops off the computer after 5 years and only needs 1 year to bring it current. i had a '50 buick that was last registered in the late 70's a few years ago, took it in for the vin verify and paid the rest of the year to bring it current........word to the wise the $15 non op fee is WELL worth it.
Basically, the most you should have to pay is the non-op fees for however many years they might be able to hold you to. The date they are going to use will come from the title you have and the date which it says it was last registered for in the State of CA. You can say it was non-op from that time, which it likely was. The non-op fees are much less than the use fees if the car is worth much of anything. Now, if it was out of state or with no title and you need a new title or something, then it is treated as a new registration from when you say it was brought into the state. Essentially, the state of CA wants the min. non-op fees every year for however long the car was in the state or use fees if possible if they think the car was actually being used. If there are no records, they can only suggest it was non-op and probably need to settle for that. But, I guess you could argue it left the state shortly after the last CA registration and hung out in Nev. or something until you got it not that long ago and I could see how that could actually and easily happen with a collector car. With the car physically out of the state, I would guess it is not taxable, but you may have to prove that in one way or another with a letter from the seller or something.
can you take a car from cal that has been not been registered for say 5 years without that non-op stuff to washington state for example register it and then take it back to cal. without having to pay the back registration?
What she told you was to go out to your car and write up a receipt from last week when you got the car. What you heard was something else.
if you go back to A.A.A. ask the clerk to have the lancaster office fax a statement of facts.. "collector vehicle 25 years or older." lancaster keeps them in their file.. they will waive most of the fees. to be a collector you only need to own one car that fits the 25 year or older criteria.
What he said but the dmv has them also but like to play dumb!Tell them you want the statement of facts and a non op. All you should pay is the current reg and title fee all toll less than 80.00.
I use a place out in Temecula, place is called C.A.R.S they have a fee, but to be able to walk in and give them your paper work or your bill of sale and walk out 10 minutes later happy is worth there processing fee. the owner use to be a DMV lady so she knows the ins and outs. at one time i built a dunebuggy out of a VW bellypan for my pop and DMV wanted about $600 in back registration, paid about $150 after she got thru with it!!
I posted my story on here last autumn but here it is again. I swapped a 34 3 window coupe straight across for a 34 roadster but when I went to register it ,I had to pay the sales tax on the Blue Book value of the car. The value ? $26,500 !!!! It seems that Mass. has finally caught up with us hotrodders and are now using NADA book values to collect sales tax AND if it's a private sale, you can't claim the "trade in " value of your old car. I filed a protest with the tax office and all I got was the finger !
THAT'S why I'm leaving mine alone. Considering your situation, mine's an easy pill to swallow. Thanks
I have been going through this with Senator Joan Menard's office. Here is the info...ask for Kate: Senator Joan M. Menard Room 520, State House Boston, MA 02133 617-722-1114 In MA if you buy a project car and take 3 years getting it roadworthy when you register you are paying sales tax on the book value as stated above. I had the situation with my 46 that they wanted to charge about 5 years of back excise tax as well as sales tax on $15k. The problem with the excise tax system is that you CAN NOT call your local town hall and ask to pay your excise tax on your project car that is not registered because they need the information sent from the DMV when you register it to send you a bill. So you can't pay the tax. But when you go to register it you are stuck paying the tax, penalties and interest from the date on the bill of sale. The system is fucking broken and nobody will fix it. If we can't pay the taxes even though we want to (not really but) then they sure as hell shouldn't be able to charge us late fees and penalties.
as stated by Tumbleweed Garage collector cars being registered by car collectors do not have to pay back fees. that is all you need to know. everyone elses stories, while interesting, are not going too save you a penny at the DMV. you need to tell them at the counter you are a car collector and do not have to pay back fees. if you get the same fat bitch I had she will tell you how she has been working at the DMV for 16 years and there is no such thing. you then need to request that she call a supervisor since she obviously can not help you. they have some big old book of rules and regs. it took the sup a while to find it but they finally did. they tried to giive me shit saying any old car is not a collector car. I told them this is a 58 volkswagon and is very much a collector car and I'm going to restore it. then they tried to say what makes me a car collector so I told them about the cars I own and have owned in the past. in one last weak attempt to discredit me as a collector they said I sound more like a dealer. I told them if I had the money and space I would have never sold any of them. good luck. don't give up... this is a real rule
I'm sure glad to live in Alabama. After living in NJ, CA and VA, and putting up with their DMV's, dealing with the AL DMV is like a breath of fresh air. AL has to be the best for motor vehicle registrations and titling. Very common sense. All you have to do here is give an affadavit that the car has been sitting and not on the road.
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