Vehicular Headaches

Not on the scale of american_made's, by any stretch, but still a royal PITA.

So I decided back in June that I was selling my Triumph Sprint ST 1050.  Listed it on a couple or three websites, had some nibbles but no takers.  My plate was going to expire end-of-July.  My plate renewal comes in the mail, I sit on it, hoping to sell before shelling out $38 for the new sticker.  Push comes to shove, I pay the renewal in mid-July ... and of course, a buyer comes along almost that day.  Boom, bike sells and leaves my possession 25JUL2007.

I call DMV to inquire about a refund (still in July, mind you, and with the new registration and "08" sticker still on the paper they sent to me).  They flatly refuse.  I mention that I plan to buy another bike in the next 1-3 months, and the DMV dude suggests I hang onto the plate and transfer it to the new bike when I get it.  (DMV permits you to put an old plate on a new vehicle for 20 days while paperwork is done.  Cool.)  So I keep the tag and shop for a deal.

I call Foremost (my bike insurance).  If I terminate the policy on the Sprint, then I'm considered "new business" when I come back to them for a policy on the new bike.  If I continue this coverage uninterrupted, though, I get the 10% "renewal" discount offered to current policyholders.  I drop my coverage to liability only and at the state minimums, it works out to $12/month, I keep the policy going (on a bike I don't even own anymore!) for a couple months, spending $24 to save $72.  And shop for a deal.

I find a deal on the bike I want and set the purchase wheels in motion.  In preparation for pickup on 07NOV2007, I inform the dealer that I have a plate that I want to transfer, they're cool with it, I fax over a copy of the existing registration and the plate itself.  Pick up the bike, sign the papers, they'll take care of the DMV aspect.  I ride three hours home.

1. About three weeks later, I get a stiff yellow envelope from the dealer.  Inside is, you guessed it, a new license plate and registration card.  I call them and they admit that they screwed up, but I was charged the fees for transfer, not new plate request, so I'm good there.  But I've been riding around with plates that don't correspond to the bike they're on ... and that's a felony in NC.  At least I didn't get pulled over for anything, or it would've been ugly.

2. The county sends me a bill for a full year's personal property tax on the Sprint that I don't own.  I call the tax office and explain I sold the bike 25JUL, he says to send the bill in with my Bill of Sale and they'll send me a new pro-rated bill.  I do this, and I get my own paperwork back a few weeks later.  Seems I needed to surrender the PLATE in order to have taxes stop accruing on the motorcycle.  But, I plead, I sold the bike -- here's the Bill of Sale, here's the Bill of Lading from the freighter who physically took the bike from me to ship it to its new owner in TX.  Tough *feces*, says the tax-man.  We don't tax the vehicle, we tax the plate based on the value of the vehicle it's registered to.  You want the tax to stop piling up, you should have surrendered the plate.  But, says I, the DMV told me to keep it.  Tough *feces*, they reply.  Pay up.

2. Yesterday, I received a notice from DMV: Foremost has informed them that my insurance on my Sprint ST was terminated on 07NOV.  Operating an unlicensed vehicle is a crime.  Among the numerous options listed in excuse is NOT "I sold the damn thing months ago", so I call them.  And yup, "I sold the damn thing months ago" isn't a valid reason on the phone, either, for dropping the insurance.  I needed to have surrendered the plate BEFORE I terminated the policy.  But, says I, I didn't "terminate" the insurance policy -- I still have it, with the same policy number, but just covering a new bike.  Wrong, says DMV; Foremost calls it terminating, so I did indeed terminate the old policy.  (Even if I'd traded the old bike in -- that is, ride the old one to the dealer, ride away on the new one -- Foremost still calls the SWITCH in vehicles on the policy a Termination and New Policy Write.  Crazy.)  But, says I, there was no bike to insure -- I sold it in July (look, here's the Bill of Sale, here's the Bill of Lading from the freighter who physically took the bike from me to ship it to its new owner in TX!).  Tough *feces*, says DMV; we require insurance on the plate corresponding to the vehicle, not the vehicle itself.  You want the insurance requirement to stop, you should have surrendered the plate.  But, says I, YOU told me to keep it and the dealer screwed up transferring it; I haven't done anything wrong.  Tough *feces*, they reply.  There's a civil fine of $50.  Pay up.  And the incident will stay on your permanent NC driving record.

Left hand?  Meet Right hand.  Right hand?  Meet Left hand.  Have you met before?

 

Wow. And here I've been pissed that I can't get permanent plates for the Harley yet because almost 6 weeks later, the other guy's credit union still hasn't sent the title to mine.

ever seen deliverance? make him squeal like a pig.   

Sounds like you need a good attorney.   

You know, this used to be a helluva good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it.
Man, everybody got chicken, that's what happened. Hey, we can't even get into like, a second-rate hotel, I mean, a second-rate motel, you dig? They think we're gonna cut their throat or somethin'. They're scared, man.
They're not scared of you. They're scared of what you represent to 'em.
Hey, man. All we represent to them, man, is somebody who needs a haircut.
Oh, no. What you represent to them is freedom.
What the hell is wrong with freedom? That's what it's all about.
Oh, yeah, that's right. That's what's it's all about, all right. But talkin' about it and bein' it, that's two different things. I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. Of course, don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, 'cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are. Oh, yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em.
Well, it don't make 'em runnin' scared.
No, it makes 'em dangerous. Buh, neh! Neh! Neh! Neh! Swamp!

I should think the majority of this should be reconciled, and hopefully come out in the wash, when itemized on your 1040A.