I have to go to the DMV today

"BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather" (bugeyedacura) 09/03/2015 at 11:00 • Filed to: None

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I hate going to the DMV. Not that I think anyone really enjoys it. But why do things have to be so complicated? The cardinal problem is that my car is leased. I was always told that leasing a car was a bad money decision, which being in car sales has taught me isn’t necessarily true. But the real problem is the way the state treats you when you have a leased vehicle. It truly is like they feel you have no rights to this car. Luckily VCI is awesome and sent me POA.

Ash78, voting early and often > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 09/03/2015 at 11:04

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Same here, but mine’s for tag renewals.

2001 Passat: $31

2015 Odyssey: $688

At least I knew it was coming. Damn you, ad valorem taxes!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Ash78, voting early and often 09/03/2015 at 11:15

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Anyone who didn’t know that was coming,

Patrick Nichols > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 09/03/2015 at 11:20

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I generally like going to the DMV, but mainly because any of the mundane tasks I can go to the town clerk’s office. If I’m at the DMV it means I have a new moped/bike as the town doesn’t do those plates or the other two times I was getting my license and getting a new picture when I was turning 21. Next time is bound to be less exciting...

KirkyV > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 09/03/2015 at 11:26

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I’m really glad the DVLA doesn’t seem to be anything like the DMV, in spite of their fulfilling similar purposes. The DMV sounds hellish.

citizennick > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 09/03/2015 at 11:28

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My DMV is luckily in a smallish town, so no bad lines, but I swear every time I go in its full of weirdos that come out of the woodwork. I never see normal people.

Milky > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 09/03/2015 at 11:46

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Im not sayin’ …. I’m just sayin I’ve sen that DLO shape before.

I also hate when people say #AccordCoupe and say everything has the BMW kink. What have I become?

Justin Hughes > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 09/03/2015 at 11:46

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Here’s an appropriate soundtrack for your DMV visit.

Wacko > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 09/03/2015 at 11:57

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September for me is time to renew my plates. 2 cars at 200$ per year.

Here in quebec it works with our last names, Mine starts with a L so it’s September for me.

Wacko > Ash78, voting early and often 09/03/2015 at 11:59

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wait you have to pay more every year for the value. Here in quebec it’s when we buy the car, then when the next person buys the car.....

Ash78, voting early and often > Wacko 09/03/2015 at 12:01

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It varies by state, but most states — especially those with low overall tax rates — find ways to get you through annual registrations. It’s just like a property tax on a home, assessed based on the estimated value, so it typically goes down over time. When the car changes hands, nothing extra is paid beyond what the new owner might owe for their portion of the year.

Singapore does the exact opposite — price goes UP each year. Part of their solution to keeping old, dirty, unsafe cars off the road.

fourvalleys > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 09/03/2015 at 12:23

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I’ve had some really great and really poor DMV experiences, since I’ve lived in a few different states.

The best: Illinois. Maybe this is just because it’s a suburban office, but I’ve never waited more than 2 minutes (seriously) and I’ve never had a trip take more than 30 minutes total. They didn’t even give me a hard time about my Mini having the wrong number of characters in the VIN. They’ve been helpful and friendly, and even though I had to re-take my written test when I first moved there (for both D and M endorsements), it still ends up taking less time than I thought. I guess it’s probably a good thing they make you take the written test when you move to IL, though. Also, I’ve heard it’s awful in Cook County (Chicago). I believe it 100%.

The worst: Florida. You’re required to change to a FL license within 10 days of moving into the state. Ten days! You can make an appointment to change your license, but the first available appointment was 45 days out. In Miami-Dade, there’s only one facility that handles walk-in licensing appointments, and it was about an hour away without traffic (in a mall, too). Plus an hour in line (you get to wait even if you made an appointment). I made the appointment 45 days out and kept the slip in my car in case I got hassled. It wasn’t an issue.

I also had a FL license plate recalled for being “inappropriate” after it started getting shared online. Rather than renewing the insurance and tag when my car wasn’t operable, I surrendered the plate in person at an official tag office. A month later, I got a letter in the mail saying I had a week to surrender the plate, or my license would be suspended. That was a problem, because my mail was on hold while I was out of the country. I learned that my license was suspended a couple of days after I got back.

So, I went to the DMV. Yes, that walk-in one. Waited in line, showed them my receipt from January 31 that showed I had, in fact, surrendered my plates. They argued that I needed to surrender them before they expired on January 31, and surrendering them on January 31 wasn’t “before” that. Seriously. I argued for about an hour, citing their own books and discussing how expiration dates worked. They eventually budged, but still wanted me to pay the ~$250 fee to re-instate my license - despite the fact that all of this was caused by a clerical error on their part. I got to argue that for another hour or so before they relented.

They eventually wiped the suspension from my record, but Jesus that was painful.

0pihl > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 09/03/2015 at 12:39

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I’m disabled now but able to drive and here in California there’s a disabled line at the DMV that gets you through at warp speed.

Not worth it, though.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Milky 09/03/2015 at 13:42

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I see more this

Wacko > Ash78, voting early and often 09/03/2015 at 14:29

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over here a car can be taxed an unlimited amount of times, all depends on how many times it changes hands.

It’s something like 10%.

It’s alays on the lowest value, either blue book value or actual sale price, until it’s no longer listed, then Every official sale price in quebec is 100.00$ . So the The DMV thinks I paid 100.00 for my 3500.00 jeep.....

Ash78, voting early and often > Wacko 09/03/2015 at 14:46

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We have that kind of sales tax, too, but if you’re selling among friends or family, most people just sell the car for $1 or something like that (like you said).

This registration tax is in addition to the sales tax — part of the hidden costs of living in a low-tax country and especially a low-tax state.

For $688, where’s my universal healthcare?!

TahoeSTi > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 09/03/2015 at 14:49

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What state? www.DMVappointments.org has wait times listed for a bunch of states. Maybe you can at least avoid the line.

Wacko > Ash78, voting early and often 09/03/2015 at 15:14

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dude our universal healthcare is taken from our income taxes, on average is about 40% of our salary. We have about 15% sales taxes on everything except gas, the gas tax is crazy here. if I’m not mistaken 20% gas tax then the 15% sales tax on top of that. we are one of the most taxed places in the world.