World's Best DMV Experience

Nice!

 

Wow - $740 passenger car registration for a 26 year old car???

The Texas registration for my 1986 Testarossa was only $63.00 -

 

+1, that's a ridiculous registration fee. wonder what they base it on...

 

Wow, I had never personally had such a high registration fee and I thought MI registration fees were based on vehicle weight, but I was dead wrong in this case. Apparantly: "License plate fees for 1984 and newer model year passenger vehicles and light trucks are calculated using a percentage of the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) at the time the vehicle is first titled." That strikes me as an extremely unfair and inefficient system.

 

It must not be value related in Texas, as the 1995 355 and 2005 Ford GT I share never cost more than $70-80 for the registration fee each year.

They do hit you harder when you title a car.

 

It is indeed quite unfair as an old car, such as my '91 Mercedes costs over $100/yr to register. Which means I fear it won't serve a poor family for long after I donate it. Which is too bad, because it's a great little car with lots of good life left in it.

On the other hand, registration for my 308? $32/yr. Which I think includes extra for the custom plate.

 

The year after I bought my F355, I got the renewal notice and saw that it was registered in Harris county (Houston). So I walked into the local (Austin) DMV and told him to change the address to where it got mailed. He had to push but a single button and then print it out. Saved me $150.

 

More money for councilor's. What else.

 

well, yeah....

still that's a huge registration fee, 2x what I paid for my 911 in California.

 

it seems there is no uniform rate / system for vehicle tags, in some states there is a nominal tag fee and that's all, while in other states they manipulate a tax into the total registration fee before one can operate a vehicle. The tax is computed by various schemes. Some states have a maximum regardless what the value of the vehicle is, while others keep on collecting as a percentage of the value regardless of year model. Then there are states that charge an ad valorum tax on ones property ( cars etc ) , separate from what DMV revenue schemes may be in play. If one lives in the wrong state with a high value car they can have their pocket picked clean.

 

I feel much better about my $36 575 registration.

 

What is it with all this registration bureaucracy? Are these fees just to pay for the clerks that stamp the forms? Even in free socialist Europe we don't have this. I've owned cars in four EU countries and there are no annual fees for registration. I thought the US was the land of small government!

 

What about the vehicle excise duty in the UK? My 1989 Toyota mr2 is £220! Our Q7 costs £475 per year, and the charge for a new car in the top band (highest co2 emissions) is £1,030 for the first year! Also of course in the US the fuel is about a third of the price that we pay in the UK.

 

I've got to side with Anthony here, Paul. It's pretty expensive for all the reasons he mentioned. Insurance-wise it's pricey too. I pay as much to insure one car over here as my parents do to insure four in the States.

We're definitely not spared the fees here.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Bull. Vehicle Excise Duty in the UK was originally set up to pay for the roads. Of course these days, it all goes into the government pot. All the same, in the UK we have very very few tolls compared to the US and many EU countries. So far, the UK VED is a quid pro quo. In fact I pay more in French Autoroute fees each year than the VED, and that's with gas guzzling cars.

This annual US registration fee seems very different.

 

I hope this isn't too P&R (someone stop me if it seems so):

I would argue that the annual registration fee in the US is equivalent in almost every sense to the vehicle excise duty in the UK. You cannot use the vehicle on public roads in either country without paying it and there are exemptions for classic cars beyond a certain age (though in the UK this is pre-1973 rather than a set age all cars could eventually achieve).

I think the only major difference is that the UK calculate it based upon the engine emissions assuming that more emissions equates to a larger engine displacement which will equate to a wealthier owner (given the petrol prices we endure), while in the US it is calculated from the value of the car. Ultimately, neither system reserves these funds exclusively for the upkeep of the roads and is essentially a wealth tax.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

If so, terrible state of affairs in the land of the free. I much prefer the French system. Car check every two years, no annual "fee" and you only pay when you drive (taxes on fuel + plus the tolls on autoroutes). Moreover, the quality and upkeep of road surface there makes the UK's seem almost medieval.

 

In Wisconsin if your car is 20 years old or older you can register it as a collector or hobby car and pay 3x the annual registration one time and never have to pay again.

So pay $225 one time and never pay again as long as you own the car.

 

Land of the "free" not so free any more...

Kai