So I went to the DMV today...

"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
06/07/2018 at 15:54 • Filed to: DMV

To get title and registration on the Mercedes and also renew the sticker on the BMW (after acing Illinois’ half assed emissions test).

Talked to a total of 3 people - ALL friendly, helpful and efficient! ! In and out in less than 10 minutes - despite the tax hassles of bringing in the Merc from Michigan.

Shout out to the Naperville Secretary of State office!

DISCUSSION (38)

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:07

SO you’re sayin it wasn’t like this

Kinja'd!!!

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:09

ive always had good luck with the DMV when ive had to go but for license plate stickers i always just hit up currency exchange cause the hours are way better

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:10

Better than my experience in Sacramento. I made an appointment, got there, waited in the “I have an appointment line”. Yes, this is a thing. Got to the counter, found out I needed a form in addition to the stack a lawyer gave me. Filled it out, waited in line again, got a number, and waited more. I should’ve just gone up to Placerville. Even with the half hour drive each way it would’ve taken me less time. With no scheduling an “appointment”. So far the Stafford and Spotsy DMVs here in Virginia have been pretty smooth.

WilliamsSW > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
06/07/2018 at 16:10

I even joked around with the cashier!

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:12

Kinja'd!!!

WilliamsSW > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
06/07/2018 at 16:13

I usually do renewal stickers online, but I literally drove straight from the emissions test facility to the Secretary’s office, so I figured I might as well do the whole thing at once. Now they’re both good for another year.

WilliamsSW > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
06/07/2018 at 16:14

Lol - in and around Chicago they are much more like this.

WilliamsSW > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
06/07/2018 at 16:18

Small town DMV >>>> city DMV.

I used to drive a lot for work, and if I needed to renew a license, I would do it in a small town instead of Chicago. Much easier.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:18

You have not experienced DMV until Hayward, California, DMV. Worst. On. Earth.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:19

haha i usually wait till the absolute last minute to get my stickers. it expired on may 31st so thats when i went to get it so doing it online doesnt work for me. that said the currency exchange is 4 blocks from my house and im in and out in a few minutes. my parents always did the online renewal though

WilliamsSW > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
06/07/2018 at 16:20

Lol I drove my Lexus for ELEVEN months on an expired sticker until a cop noticed it. You would have been fine. :)

Chariotoflove > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:21

So, I missed the announcement and had to go back. Silver V8 Merc. That could be fun. Hope you like the new ride so far.

WilliamsSW > Chariotoflove
06/07/2018 at 16:24

Love it! Thanks - I was rushed the day I bought it, and went on vacation right after that, so I’ll post more on it in the next few days.

Most important thing though is that the wife was very resistant to every part of what I was doing- then she drove it the day after she bought it and told me I did a great job, and it’s the nicest car she has ever driven.

I just hope she doesn’t steal it from me and leave me with her Lexus...

Mercedes Streeter > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:25

Drove my smart for over a year on expired stickers, cops didn’t even care. ;)

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:26

So now that you’ve registered it can we get an Oppo review?

WilliamsSW > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
06/07/2018 at 16:26

Ugh. There are some crappy ones around here (Elston Ave in Chicago is notorious and my dad has some stories...), but I got very lucky today.

WilliamsSW > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
06/07/2018 at 16:27

Coming soon! Perhaps tomorrow, early next week if not!

Svend > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:27

Lol. This is how we tax a car in the U.K.

((the V5C is a certificate of registration of the vehicle))

Kinja'd!!!

Done from the comfort of your home.

Chariotoflove > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:28

Maybe she’ll let you borrow it if you’re real nice.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:32

yeah i feel like expired stickers is one of those things that wont specifically get you pulled over but if you get pulled over for something else theyll certainly add expired tags to the ticket....

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 16:44

I’m finding that much of what we need we can do via the mail. Also, there’s a DMV 35 minutes up the road that if we get there at 7:30 am, we can get in at 8 and be out by 8:30. In Hayward, you have to get there at 6:30 and if you’re lucky, you’re out by 9. And when I made a serious effort to complain about it at DMV Central, they seriously did not give a crap. At all.

E39, K5. Whatever it takes. > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
06/07/2018 at 16:44

Used to pass by the Hayward DMV daily on my commute (from hell). If I passed by before they opened, there was always a ridiculous amount of people waiting outside. I can only imagine the horror on the inside.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > E39, K5. Whatever it takes.
06/07/2018 at 16:57

On the best days, it is a mere horror.

WilliamsSW > Chariotoflove
06/07/2018 at 17:00

If I’m lucky...

WilliamsSW > Mercedes Streeter
06/07/2018 at 17:02

They finally pulled me over the very day it rolled over into month 12- because the sticker color was no longer valid, so it stuck out.

They were nice about it, though-

WilliamsSW > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
06/07/2018 at 17:03

Mine got so old the sticker color flagged me, so I was pulled over just for that.

This happened in that time frame where Illinois was too broke to send out reminders. Ugh.

WilliamsSW > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
06/07/2018 at 17:04

I could have mailed it in (and renewed the BMW online), but had the day off, and had to take the BMW in for emissions testing anyways, so I knocked it all out.

Chariotoflove > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 17:05

You have to do what I did. Buy the wife her dream car first, and then get yours. My wife’s was a minivan. But we won’t talk about that...

WilliamsSW > Svend
06/07/2018 at 17:06

For the BMW, I could have done it online.

For the Merc, I just bought it, from out of state, and had to pay the difference in tax rates between Michigan and Illinois. I actually filled out all the forms online and printed them, and could have mailed them in, but I had the time today, plus I wanted to get license plates on it ASAP, since the temp registration keeps falling off.

WilliamsSW > Chariotoflove
06/07/2018 at 17:11

See, back in December, my wife unloaded her X3 (which she hated), and got a Lexus RX350. It was hard to get her to even look at anything else -and the RX350 and RX450h are the ONLY two cars she test drove.

She loves the RX - but doesn’t really have a lot to compare it to.

I, on the other hand, hate driving that thing, and told her that if she wanted to trade, she would have to have something better to offer me :)

Svend > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 17:19

Cool.

Though the paying taxes to the DMV for bung a car is alien to me.

WilliamsSW > Svend
06/07/2018 at 17:22

Technically I paid the taxes to the Illinois Department of Revenue. I actually had to write a separate check for that- the plates and title fees are paid to the Secretary of State.

And the reason it’s so convoluted is because the Michigan dealer collected 6% tax from me - but because I live in Illinois, I owe 7.5%. Had to file paper work showing I paid the 6% and write a check for the difference.

Svend > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 17:28

Wow. I know I’m strange but I find differences with other countries interesting.

Here we have a flat rate of VAT (value added tax) of 20%, but that’s factored into the price of a vehicle when buying it commercially, there is no tax on a private sale.

Simply find the car you want, buy it, get it road taxed (Vehicle Excise Duty) and insured then registered.

WilliamsSW > Svend
06/07/2018 at 17:36

Hardly strange- I find it interesting, too.

It’s not terribly different here - the process is a bit different (and most people complete it either online or at the dealer where they buy the car).

The quirk here is that the tax is not consistent nationwide - it varies by state, and in some cases even by county or city (but mostly by state).

Chariotoflove > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 17:43

Don’t blame you. I just could never get into the RX. Hold fast on that.

Svend > WilliamsSW
06/07/2018 at 18:20

I find it odd that you pay a tax on a private sale of a vehicle.

That and paying taxes on money winnings such as the lottery, etc... where we don’t and only pay tax on the interest of the winnings.

WilliamsSW > Svend
06/07/2018 at 19:26

True - although in my case, I did buy it from a dealer. But I would have owed the tax just the same if it was from a private party.

shop-teacher > WilliamsSW
06/08/2018 at 11:27

The Lombard DMV office is also full of very nice and helpful people. When I took my motorcycle test, the examiner even brought me a bottle of water, because it was such a hot day out.