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etg · 01-24-2011, 02:37 AM

Stop and listen.

IF the vin is ran at the dmv, the inquiry is registered as a transaction. A vehicle is only out of the system after 5 years without a single transaction. I purchased my truck under the belief that it would be out for over 5 years, but it turns out the previous owner went in to pay off his late/no registration fees, which reset the time. So I had 2 years, not 5, of time out of the system since then, but because I checked it reset, so I would have to wait until about 2015 to not pay anything but new license fees.

When you purchase an old vehicle in CA with back registration fees due you are not responsible for the back registration fees. There is a clause in the DMV code in our favor that is meant to keep the restoration of state vehicles alive. It states that if a vehicle is submitted for registration by a new owner, they must only pay the current years registration due provided that a registration/transfer of title is done within 20 days or a reasonable period of time.

So I took my trucks info to get registered. They told me there had been 2 years left before it was out of the system, then it reset, so I'd have to pay the back fees or wait 5 years from that day. They gave me a $700 bill. I payed 400 and went home to do research. I found a bunch of stuff, I'll dig up my notes for you. I went to another dmv and said hey, this says I don't have to pay back dues because it's a special interest vehicle that I am registering for the first time. They said that is true, and you wouldn't have to pay anything, except you didn't non op or submit a transfer of title until 2 years after date of the sale. They also said the other dmv had made a mistake and I owed 389 dollars, so I got an 11 dollar refund. I plead my case that 2 years was a reasonable period of time, since these trucks take a while to get built, she said no, she would have been lenient to 1 year max, but I can apply for a refund with the state.

Moral of the story: if you just purchased a vehicle 25 years or older it qualifies as a special interest vehicle, which means you don't pay any back registration, only current registration and transfer fees, assuming you do it within 20 days of purchase, or a reasonable amount of time.

01-24-2011, 02:37 AM	#7
etg Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: San Diego Posts: 147	Re: Ca truck out of DMV computer Stop and listen. IF the vin is ran at the dmv, the inquiry is registered as a transaction. A vehicle is only out of the system after 5 years without a single transaction. I purchased my truck under the belief that it would be out for over 5 years, but it turns out the previous owner went in to pay off his late/no registration fees, which reset the time. So I had 2 years, not 5, of time out of the system since then, but because I checked it reset, so I would have to wait until about 2015 to not pay anything but new license fees. When you purchase an old vehicle in CA with back registration fees due you are not responsible for the back registration fees. There is a clause in the DMV code in our favor that is meant to keep the restoration of state vehicles alive. It states that if a vehicle is submitted for registration by a new owner, they must only pay the current years registration due provided that a registration/transfer of title is done within 20 days or a reasonable period of time. So I took my trucks info to get registered. They told me there had been 2 years left before it was out of the system, then it reset, so I'd have to pay the back fees or wait 5 years from that day. They gave me a $700 bill. I payed 400 and went home to do research. I found a bunch of stuff, I'll dig up my notes for you. I went to another dmv and said hey, this says I don't have to pay back dues because it's a special interest vehicle that I am registering for the first time. They said that is true, and you wouldn't have to pay anything, except you didn't non op or submit a transfer of title until 2 years after date of the sale. They also said the other dmv had made a mistake and I owed 389 dollars, so I got an 11 dollar refund. I plead my case that 2 years was a reasonable period of time, since these trucks take a while to get built, she said no, she would have been lenient to 1 year max, but I can apply for a refund with the state. Moral of the story: if you just purchased a vehicle 25 years or older it qualifies as a special interest vehicle, which means you don't pay any back registration, only current registration and transfer fees, assuming you do it within 20 days of purchase, or a reasonable amount of time.