DMV. Third time isn't a charm

[FleetsidePaul]

I was washing my Thunderbird and I noticed that the tags expired last month.

I never got a renewal notice. This is the third time.

Let me put on my conspiracy theory foil hat on and say that I think that they are deliberately not sending them so that the can charge late fees. I wouldn't put it past them.

Most normal people with one or two cars wouldn't notice or think it got lost in the mail. But I have a lot of cars and I do notice. 3 times in the past year?

So I got hit with late charges yet again. I could complain but it's the DMV no point in doing that.

As if they don't charge enough already.

[4u2nv]

Here in Ontario Canada our fearless leaders dropped having to buy plate stickers after years of having to have them , I think on my truck it was $125 a year .
The things they will do to get reelected !!!
I'm sure they will get it out of us in another way.

[LONGHAIR]

Aren't your renewal dates related to your birthday? That's the way it is done here.
I have done mine by mail, for many years. They send a form about 6 weeks before and you can either mail it back or do it completely on-line and get the sticker in the mail too. If you get new metal plates, those come separately from the sticker.

The funny thing here is with personalized plates. They have the letters/numbers printed/painted on them, the regular ones are actually stamped into the metal.

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by 4u2nv

Here in Ontario Canada our fearless leaders dropped having to buy plate stickers after years of having to have them , I think on my truck it was $125 a year .
The things they will do to get reelected !!!
I'm sure they will get it out of us in another way.

Way back in the day, we got new plates every year, before someone got smart enough the realize it was a huge waste of money. Seems to me that the stickers started in the 70s? but I'm not sure exactly what year.
It all seems stupid though. In the computer age, the police can tell in seconds if your renewal fee has been paid. The money is all they really care about anyway, the sticker is moot.

[burnin oil]

Here in TN the renewal is a year after it was registered. It seems like I get a post card from the DMV every month.

[Boog]

No way to know if the DMV is dropping the ball on sending the notice out or it's the postal service losing it. I've been having trouble with lost mail and more importantly returned mail as undeliverable. The title to my 91 was returned to the DMV "undeliverable" and of course they will not try resending it or send a notice. Why would they if the first envelope came back? The local DMV was of no help other than to tell me to call the state office. I had to track down my own mail and make a trip to the state office to get it.
It's nuts as I have lived at this address for 30 years and my mail box is wide open easy access to it. The mail delivery person was the one sending some of my mail back. Water bills, magazine subscriptions, you name it. I think she's been moved to another route or replaced altogether.
What if Publishers Clearing House was trying to pay me millions? I might have missed out on that!

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

Aren't your renewal dates related to your birthday?

For drivers license, yes. Vehicle license tags here are based on when the vehicle was first licensed.

[CG]

I don't think we get renewal notices? but I don't have 20 cars to license so its pretty easy to keep on top of haha.

The date to renew is attached to the same day you purchased the vehicle. For awhile there they were making us buy new plates every few years as money making thing for the state, of course they tried to tell us it was a readability issue. That finally went away. Another thing that used to be nice they did away with was when you bought a car if the tabs weren't up you didn't have to buy new ones until they expired. (we call the little stickers tabs and the metal plate with the numbers the plate) Now if you buy a car that someone just put new tabs on say a month earlier you have to pay for new tabs starting them fresh from the day you purchased the vehicle.

[FleetsidePaul]

It could be the postal service . But who can I complain to? The DMV or the Post Office? I'll just pay the fines and shut up.

[dieseldawg142]

Originally Posted by 4u2nv

Here in Ontario Canada our fearless leaders dropped having to buy plate stickers after years of having to have them , I think on my truck it was $125 a year .
The things they will do to get reelected !!!
I'm sure they will get it out of us in another way.

same in BC, they dropped plate stickers about 3-4 months ago. makes it a pia to tell when your insurance will expire now.
plates we can use forever...still using the same plate on our stepper when we bought it in '95

[truckster]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

Aren't your renewal dates related to your birthday?

That would be painful. I'd have to renew a dozen vehicles all at the same time.

They got rid of the mail notices here for a couple of years. A lot of people ended up with expired registrations. Now it's an option to have a renewal notice mailed to you.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by truckster

That would be painful. I'd have to renew a dozen vehicles all at the same time.

They got rid of the mail notices here for a couple of years. A lot of people ended up with expired registrations. Now it's an option to have a renewal notice mailed to you.

An option? I'll have to check into that. I get the renewals on some cars but not others. That might be it.

And I would hate to have the renewals all hit at once. I have a few that come in right before Christmas. So family and friends only gets a lump of coal.

[Boog]

I have ran into some instances where a change will be made to your account UNLESS you check no. I hate that.

[72c20customcamper]

I get email notices for plates and for inspections. But there are no fines if you renew late Ive let plates go 6 months . You do lose the 6 months on the registration because it will expire the same time . Ours are two year registrations

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

An option? I'll have to check into that. I get the renewals on some cars but not others. That might be it.

And I would hate to have the renewals all hit at once. I have a few that come in right before Christmas. So family and friends only gets a lump of coal.

I can't find the thread where there was talk about house car registration, so I looked it up at the DMV website. Looks like it won't be too tough to comply-

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbo...ly%20attached.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

I get email notices for plates and for inspections. But there are no fines if you renew late Ive let plates go 6 months . You do lose the 6 months on the registration because it will expire the same time . Ours are two year registrations

It's August 7th... My registration expired July 22nd. It was $57 extra for a total of almost $350 for a 20 year old car filled with $7.00 a gallon gas.

No slack in California. Just pay up and then pay some more

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

I can't find the thread where there was talk about house car registration, so I looked it up at the DMV website. Looks like it won't be too tough to comply-

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbo...ly%20attached.

Wish I had known that before I bought some YOM commercial license plates for my truck. (not cheap).

I'll see if I can use them and still call it a house car. All they do is say no. I've had plenty of women tell me no so I'm used to it.

[Steeveedee]

Probably can't use the commercial plates, since the point of calling it a house car is to not pay commercial registration rates.

[LONGHAIR]

Way back in the day, it was different here in Ohio. They did it alphabetically. A-K had to get their plates (no stickers then) in either April or May, I'm not sure. Then L-Z got theirs the following month. There were always huge lines, huge like out of the building and out into the parking lot on weekends. I imagine it would have been easier if you could go during the week?
Registrations were only one year at a time, so this happened every year.
Some time in the 70s it changed to birthdays, spreading it out over much more time. Stickers started around that time too. As long as they were undamaged, you could keep the same plates, just add the new sticker.
Several years ago, they brought in the possibility to do it all on-line. Then they made it so you could register for more than one year at a time. I think it is up to 3? You can replace the actual plates during any of the registrations, for an extra fee. Two years ago, they finally dropped the front plate requirement.
That one has been a long time coming. I sure wish that the Camaro didn't have to get drilled and that ugly bracket installed. They did it the day I bought it, apparently they don't come from the factory pre-drilled, for the states that don't require it. The bracket was in the trunk.
Now, my Colorado, that has never had a front plate, has the stupid bracket.

[mrtoni]

Cops can tell in a second if your registration has been paid. However it is not legal for them to park and just run every plate that drives by. If you have an expired sticker they can stop you. However i moved states and didnt realize my insurance was cancelled because my agent was in Cal, i was on Nevada. After driving with no insurance, dmv canceled my registration. I saw a cop pull out and get behind me sure enough pulls me over. He says your registration and insurance are canceled. Well, why did you run my plate in first place? Judge agreed, i hadnt done anything to be justified in them paying any attention to me.
Dismissed

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

Way back in the day, we got new plates every year, before someone got smart enough the realize it was a huge waste of money. Seems to me that the stickers started in the 70s? but I'm not sure exactly what year.
It all seems stupid though. In the computer age, the police can tell in seconds if your renewal fee has been paid. The money is all they really care about anyway, the sticker is moot.

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by mrtoni

Cops can tell in a second if your registration has been paid. However it is not legal for them to park and just run every plate that drives by. If you have an expired sticker they can stop you. However i moved states and didnt realize my insurance was cancelled because my agent was in Cal, i was on Nevada. After driving with no insurance, dmv canceled my registration. I saw a cop pull out and get behind me sure enough pulls me over. He says your registration and insurance are canceled. Well, why did you run my plate in first place? Judge agreed, i hadnt done anything to be justified in them paying any attention to me.
Dismissed

Newer police cars have plate readers . Reads every plate as they go by the patrol unit, it pops up on the screen that the inspection is expired or registration insurance ect. And its totally enforceable as every car gets read not randomly by the officer . Tolls by mail work the same way

[joedoh]

had this happen on property taxes, they used to send two bills, one every six months to allow half payments. this (tax) year they switched to ONE bill (the december bill) that had a reference to the EOApril payment, and if you missed it OOPS 2% late charge. increased revenue!

most people pay escrow and escrow doesnt miss this. but individuals do!

[Steeveedee]

Yup. We paid off our house a few months ago, and the HOA nicked us for non-payment, because we had it paid with the mortgage. I used to travel a lot for business, so I had the wife pay the bills and do the taxes, because I never knew where I was going to be when those deeds needed doing. I've been retired 7 years, and she's still doing those things, but some of them slip under the radar because on that.

[special-K]

It's ridiculous to fine for letting a tag expire. What is the concern that justifies the fine? Who is being protected by this? Maryland fines you if you let your insurance lapse and you don't turn your tags in. My Harley is sitting with '14 stickers on the plate. I haven't ridden it and haven't renewed registration, but I've kept the insurance up on it. They just recently finally sent me a letter asking about the status of the vehicle. As long as I can show it's been constantly insured it's not a problem.

I get e-mail notifications from them as well as mail. I think I might have had to request to mail option.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by special-K

It's ridiculous to fine for letting a tag expire. What is the concern that justifies the fine? Who is being protected by this? Maryland fines you if you let your insurance lapse and you don't turn your tags in. My Harley is sitting with '14 stickers on the plate. I haven't ridden it and haven't renewed registration, but I've kept the insurance up on it. They just recently finally sent me a letter asking about the status of the vehicle. As long as I can show it's been constantly insured it's not a problem.

I get e-mail notifications from them as well as mail. I think I might have had to request to mail option.

It's just an excuse to ding you for more money. What do they care if your vehicle sits in your garage? That's your business.

I'm going to request email notifications so nothing else slips by. Knowing the state they will probably charge me for that too.

When my wife retires I am so out of California.