HankG Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Well, after doing so much work on my Subaru, I looked up the registration cost and found that it is going to cost nearly $700 to register, which I don't understand at all since my current truck had years of back registration and only cost me $400. So now I'm in the position of having to decide if it's worth registering the vehicle or just selling it and finding something with clear registration. It's a 1995 Legacy Outback in (once I finish working) basically perfect running order. Basically the question is: Is the value added by registering the vehicle greater than the cost of registration? If it makes any difference, the area I live in tends to value Subarus more highly than other areas and they hold their value extremely well here. Btw, is there any way of disputing fees or at least finding out more about them? I don't understand at all why my truck, which was just as overdue if not more, only needed $400 to register yet they want $700 for the Subaru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike104 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 You will need to talk to the folks that look after vehicle registration in Humbolt county to get an explanation as to the vehicle registration costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I am glad I don't live in Humbolt County. Why so expensive? What state do you live in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankG Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 Humboldt County is Northern CA. It's high because it hasn't been registered since 2009. However, my truck was two years overdue as well and was only $400. It looks like the CHP fee is what's really raping me. Kind of infuriating that the thing I'd like to support the least is what I'd have to spend the most on. Here are the fees: Current Registration: 31.00 Current California Highway Patrol: 23.00 Current Vehicle License Fee: 17.00 Current County Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies Fee: 1.00 Current Fingerprint ID Fee: 1.00 Current Auto Theft and/or DUI Crime Deterrence Program: 1.00 Current Abandoned Vehicle Fee: 1.00 Current Air Quality Management District: 6.00 Alt Fuel/Tech Reg Fee: 9.00 1st Prior Year Registration: 31.00 1st Prior Year California Highway Patrol: 22.00 1st Prior Year Vehicle License Fee: 23.00 1st Prior Year County Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies Fee: 1.00 1st Prior Year Fingerprint ID Fee: 1.00 1st Prior Year Auto Theft and/or DUI Crime Deterrence Program: 1.00 1st Prior Year Abandoned Vehicle: 1.00 1st Prior Year Air Quality Management Dist: 6.00 2nd Prior Year Registration: 31.00 2nd Prior Year California Highway Patrol: 22.00 2nd Prior Year Vehicle License Fee: 16.00 2nd Prior Year County Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies Fee: 1.00 2nd Prior Year Fingerprint ID Fee: 1.00 2nd Prior Year Auto Theft and/or DUI Crime Deterrence Program: 1.00 2nd Prior Year Abandoned Vehicle: 1.00 2nd Prior Year Air Quality Management Dist: 4.00 Current Registration Penalty: 30.00 CHP Penalty: 180.00 Current Vehicle License Fee Penalty: 10.00 1st Prior Year Registration Penalty: 50.00 1st Prior Year Vehicle License Fee Penalty: 18.00 2nd Prior Year Registration Penalty: 100.00 2nd Prior Year Vehicle License Fee Penalty: 26.00 Grand Total Registration Fees: $667.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 California was/is funny. (And not Ha! Ha!). I do not now how many other states require payment of all back-registration (years that the vehicle was not registered), but I am glad that Washington State is not one of them. I assume that it does not matter that the vehicle is new to you? (My previous run-ins with CA were over my own inoperables.) Would it matter if it was from out of state? (A whole extra can of worms...) If it were registered in another state and then bought/brought back into CA would they still want their pound of flesh? Good luck. Edit: Wow! I just saw your previous post. Just WOW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) it would probably be cheaper to sell it to a friend in another state for cheap, register it there, and then buy it back for cheap. you wouldn't even have to move the car or the money for that matter. just do everything through the mail. Edited February 21, 2011 by johnceggleston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 it would probably be cheaper to sell it to a friend in another state for cheap, register it there, and then buy it back for cheap. you wouldn't even have to move the car or the money for that matter. just do everything through the mail. I bet California realizes this loop hole, and their computer system will block this move once the VIN number is brought up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankG Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 As infuriating as these ridiculous charges are, I will probably end up paying them. Despite it all, counting the parts car, random other parts, and the $700 in registration, I'll only be about $1200 into the car, which is a pretty damned good price for a 95 Outback in awesome condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wally Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 not a bad total amount. however, it must be frustrating that such a large portion goes to the state. i'm glad i don't live in kalifornia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93Newbaru Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Holy hell @ those fees! Who the hell are these people? I forget to register my crap and either plate it with a spare legal plate I have or buy a new plate. Like $100. I'd never pay $700 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 This is why I will not be sad when CA sinks into the pacific ocean. I won't miss it. They can tax the fishes for all I care. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I am appalled that California charges all those fees on a car that I assume you weren't driving. Would it be better to sell the car in or out of state to avoid paying the laundry list of fees, then buying something else? Let me guess........there would be a whole new list of fees to be paid upon buying something else. Gotcha coming or going! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Note to self: never move to California. If you only have $1200 tied up in it I'd say it's worth it. A 95 wagon in good running shape can sell for $1000-1500 here easy. With timing parts/tires/brakes/ other new parts I've seen them listed for up to $3000, whether they sold for that I don't know, but it's surprising how well these wagons hold value sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankG Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 I don't think the out of state thing would work. I don't know anyone that could do it unfortunately, and I have no idea what the registration fees would be like out of state then back in CA. $1200 is really a good price for the vehicle once I get it back together. This area of Northern CA values Subarus and Toyota trucks higher than most of the country. With clean registration it would probably go for at least $2000 and likely higher. I could drive it for a couple years and still sell it at a profit. My main gripe isn't that I need to spend another $700, it's that I'm basically taking the money and throwing it in the trash. Not going to see any results for it. Unless I get pulled over. Then I can have the satisfaction of knowing my fees are paying for the cop to give me a ticket. The DMV was closed today (or at least there was no one answering the phones). Going to give them a call tomorrow and see if there's any way to get the fees reduced, but I don't have much hope of that. Satan will ice skate before the government lets you give them less money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bru73 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 o ya i live in ca also they have a fee for everthing and a tax for what they missed it is all bs if u sell it out of state and bring it back in they tack on a new fee out of state car reg one time fee of $300.00:confused::mad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Did you own this car for the past years, or are you paying overdue registrations caused by the previous owner? in wisconsin, it costs 75 to register a car. if you register late, its a 10 dollar fee(after 30 days of renewal date), or you can issue a NEW plate number for the normal fee on the registration form, you can verify that the car has not been operated on public highways from this date to this date, if you went a while on renewing the plates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpar Mod Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I got familiar with California's ridiculous registration rules and fees when I was looking to buy parts for a 1976 car I was restoring several years ago. The guy lived in Northern Cali. He had bought a '70s car from an estate and when he went to retitle it, found out that the classic car bargain he bought was no longer a bargain as he was looking at having to pay years of back registrations just to title it. He ended up parting it out. Good for me, really bad for him. Here in the Keystone State, passenger cars and SUVs are $36/year. If a car is sitting for whatever amount of years, it doesn't count when you get it back on the road. My full size 4x4 truck is only $56/year. The license plates stay with the owner, not the vehicle like in Cali. The only thing that cannot be done is to reinstate a vehicle title after it has been classified as salvage. The vehicle can be totally rebuildable, but if the salvor has already had the title redone as salvage, it's too late. A lot of salvors take rebuildables and have them titled as reconstructed. That shows up as an "R" title, but is legal to drive on the streets. The "R" is just a consumer safeguard that a buyer knows that the vehicle was rebuilt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricearu Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) there has to be a clause that says if the vehicle was down, broken or parked, it need not be registered and should not be penalized. If they are hard lined, move. its cheaper to live elsewhere. stupid super-lib state. I would die before I lived in cali. but then again I'm from texas, what country are you from? :lol: P.S. I got a red light camera ticket the other day. I was pissed that it was 75.00, then I read that california's were $468 EACH. God bless texas. Edited February 22, 2011 by Ricearu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankG Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Did you own this car for the past years, or are you paying overdue registrations caused by the previous owner? in wisconsin, it costs 75 to register a car. if you register late, its a 10 dollar fee(after 30 days of renewal date), or you can issue a NEW plate number for the normal fee on the registration form, you can verify that the car has not been operated on public highways from this date to this date, if you went a while on renewing the plates. Fees are from previous owners. I haven't actually even driven this car on the road yet and I'm still going to have to give them $700. It'd be funny if I weren't the one paying it. You guys are making me want to move with how cheap and easy vehicle registration is in other states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 WTF why the fee for the CHP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 WTF why the fee for the CHP? Somebody's gotta pay for all those mirrored sunglasses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-3-2-4 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 LOL! good one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 State is Bankrupt. Its a nice place to live other than the taxes and it can't be more expensive than living in a lot of Foreign Countries? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpar Mod Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) There are plenty of issues in other states as well. Michigan has high registration fees. Some states have no inspection requirements. Pennsylvania has them and in three regions with higher population densities, has emission testing. At least our inspections are decentralized where any licensed shop can get certified to do them. Saves a LOT of time and aggrivation over going to a DMV location and standing in line for hours. Our DOT work is decentralized also. We have what are called "messenger services" where private entities do license and title work where you do not have to go to the infamous DMV locations either and stand in line for hours for these services. My wife is a title clerk at our branch of Manheim auto auctions. She does title flips and paperwork when dealers buy & sell cars at the auction as well as for dealerships' daily title work for sales and trades. The office is right at the auction location just north of Pittsburgh and she is not a PennDOT employee. Everything is done right there. The AAA offices even can print out registration cards and other official documents. At least they got vehicle stuff right here. Edited February 23, 2011 by Allpar Mod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Some states have no inspection requirements. Oregon has no inspections. That's how it should be. Also, we don't salt roads like they were McDonalds fries, so our cars don't rust away to unsafe heaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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