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Old 07-03-2007, 12:39 PM   #1  
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Default We have the wrong plates on our car - DMV rant

boobalah bought a new car in 2001. Fortunately, because it was a new car at purchase, it didn't have to be smogged for 6 years. We just took it to the smog station on Sunday. We'd never noticed that the renewal form had the wrong plate number on it. It was off my one digit in the middle. It passed and the guy submitted it with the license number on the plate which is on the car along with the VIN.

I called DMV this morning and was in the voice mail &%## for 20 minutes (including one disconnect). I finally got a human being who told me that it didn't matter whose fault it is, we have to buy new plates and I had to go to a DMV office to handle this.

I went tothe DMV counter at AAA. The guy there was so nice. He checked and the license plate number on our car is assigned to someone else. Bet that person is glad boobalah hasn't used that car to commit crimes. We, too, are glad whoever has the plate number that was assigned to our car hasn't done anything nasty.

Anyway, since it was NOT our fault, he waived the fee and issued new plates for our car. I just hope the smog thing will be OK.

What a headache.

What's your DMV story?
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Old 07-03-2007, 01:12 PM   #2  
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Interesting you don't have to smog every 6 years, I also live in the Bay Area and purchsed my car , new in California and have to smog it every 2 years and my friends have to do the same.I wouldn't care except it has gotten expensive.
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Old 07-03-2007, 01:26 PM   #3  
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Originally Posted by bargoo View Post
Interesting you don't have to smog every 6 years, I also live in the Bay Area and purchsed my car , new in California and have to smog it every 2 years and my friends have to do the same.I wouldn't care except it has gotten expensive.

I thought that as well. However, you get a bye for the first 5 years. Since the VIN is an odd number, it came due this year instead of last.

We have to have our camping truck done every 2 years. When I had to do my Saturn last year, it had to go to a Test Only station. What a rip off! $50! I sold it last year and bought a new one this year.

If you are going to sell a car, I highly recommend Wheels and Deals in Santa Clara.
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Old 07-03-2007, 02:33 PM   #4  
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mare~I had a similar thing happen to me here in So Cal. We bought a new car in 1994 (I think--this was several cars ago!!) and I picked up my plates at the DMV. Never did I think that they were wrong. Two years go by.....I get my bill to pay the tag fees and get new stickers....I pay, I get my stickers.....then one year I notice (when I get the bill) that the license plate number on my car doesn't match the one on my bill. I go to the DMV.....the girl actually says she remembers (from 2 years earlier) the day SHE mixed up the plates. The other guy realized it right away and came back in the office to get it straightened out, but the DMV didn't think to call me!! Here I was driving around for over 2 years with invalid plates! I was mad. Anyway, the DMV gave me new plates and all was solved. Thank goodness I hadn't been pulled over!! That would have been embarrassing (as well as confusing!).
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Old 07-03-2007, 11:23 PM   #5  
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What is smogging your car?
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Old 07-04-2007, 02:05 AM   #6  
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What is smogging your car?
In California the heavy pollution that hangs in the air (mainly in urban areas) is called smog. When you get your car smogged you are having a service station hook your car up to a computer to check your emissions. If your car releases too many pollutants your car doesn't pass. The state sets these limits. If your car doesn't pass then you can't get your tags renewed until you get the car fixed. It sucks, but it's a good thing because otherwise the air quality here would be 10 times worse.
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Old 07-04-2007, 11:53 AM   #7  
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Thanks for enlightening me about smogging, I had no idea.

I did have a scary experience yesterday at the Tag office. We bought a used boat last month that the previous owner had let the tags go unpaid for yrs. 2006 and 2007. I went in to buy my new 2008 tags and much to my surprise found that I had to tag it for 2006, 2007 and 2008 to get the tags current. (PLus pay a bunch of back penalties). Way more expensive than I ever imagined. Apparently the reasoning here in OK is the Tax Commission doesn't care who didn't pay for the tags, the new owner accepts all responsibility. Yes, it sucked and I should have taken some KY with me. LOL. I did learn something from this experience. Apparently it's the same with used cars. But, if I ever BUY used again, I'll make sure that the seller has the tags current before I buy from them.
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Old 07-04-2007, 12:08 PM   #8  
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And these smog tests are tough, One year my gas cap failed the test!I had to get a new gas cap to pass. If you don't pass your smog test you can't register your car.
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