California DMV sucks

[msherwood]

I recently got my 2013 RT registered in Ca. I must say it was an adventure getting an out of state spyder registered in Ca. They nearly took me out in handcuffs when the idiot told me I did not have a Motorcycle license. I told him none was needed in California. After going back and forth and speaking with management I finally got my tags and temporary plates. After what they charged me for transfer, tags and taxes a person wonders why California has a money problem?

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I recently got my 2013 RT registered in Ca. I must say it was an adventure getting an out of state spyder registered in Ca. They nearly took me out in handcuffs when the idiot told me I did not have a Motorcycle license. I told him none was needed in California. After going back and forth and speaking with management I finally got my tags and temporary plates. After what they charged me for transfer, tags and taxes a person wonders why California has a money problem?

It has been said here a few times that bringing a Spyder into California from another state is either an exercise in perseverance or - well I won't say!

[Motorcycledave]

The people at DMV know you do not need a motorcycle lic. to ride a Spyder
or any other 3 wheeled rig. California does not consider the Spyder to be a
motorcycle, so no motorcycle lic. required. Sorry you had all that trouble
You know they needed all your money here to build the bullet train to Bakersfield and
for the twin tunnels to send water to LA, The California DMV is and has been a bad joke
for as long as I have be old enough to drive.
I see you are in Manteca, I am 15 miles North East of you give me a call some time maybe
we can go for a ride.
Dave
209-887-3283

I recently got my 2013 RT registered in Ca. I must say it was an adventure getting an out of state spyder registered in Ca. They nearly took me out in handcuffs when the idiot told me I did not have a Motorcycle license. I told him none was needed in California. After going back and forth and speaking with management I finally got my tags and temporary plates. After what they charged me for transfer, tags and taxes a person wonders why California has a money problem?

[ARtraveler]

The people at DMV know you do not need a motorcycle lic. to ride a Spyder
or any other 3 wheeled rig. California does not consider the Spyder to be a
motorcycle, so no motorcycle lic. required. Sorry you had all that trouble
You know they needed all your money here to build the bullet train to Bakersfield and
for the twin tunnels to send water to LA, The California DMV is and has been a bag joke
for as long as I have be old enough to drive.
I see you are in Manteca, I am 15 miles North East of you give me a call some time maybe
we can go for a ride.
Dave
209-887-3283

Well said.

[Lew L]

Just another reason why I left 26 years ago---------

[BajaRon]

I recently got my 2013 RT registered in Ca. I must say it was an adventure getting an out of state spyder registered in Ca. They nearly took me out in handcuffs when the idiot told me I did not have a Motorcycle license. I told him none was needed in California. After going back and forth and speaking with management I finally got my tags and temporary plates. After what they charged me for transfer, tags and taxes a person wonders why California has a money problem?

Anyone who has registered (or attempted to register) a vehicle in CA has at least 1 horror story (myself included). It's always been a nightmare, and probably always will be.

The spenders in California will never have enough money. They never saw a budget that they couldn't overspend. (If they even look at the budget at all).

I love CA. It is a beautiful state with, IMHO, more potential than any of the other 49. But I finally threw in the towel in 03. Just couldn't take it anymore.

Tennessee has its issues, of course. But they are in the ballpark of what I am able to deal with. For example. You can register any private vehicle, regardless of year or design, for $88.00 or less. Property taxes are very low. Sales tax is 9.75$ (same as CA) but there is not income tax.

Glad you got out of there without handcuffs!

[RinconRyder]

I recently got my 2013 RT registered in Ca. I must say it was an adventure getting an out of state spyder registered in Ca. They nearly took me out in handcuffs when the idiot told me I did not have a Motorcycle license. I told him none was needed in California. After going back and forth and speaking with management I finally got my tags and temporary plates. After what they charged me for transfer, tags and taxes a person wonders why California has a money problem?

With the recent demise of circuses most clown colleges have been converted to DMV schools and it is a nationwide problem. I have been licensed in AZ, CA, NY, NJ and VA and, I really hate to say it, but VA was the very best at handling not only vehicle licensing but also driver's licenses - and that was back in the early 70's.

Both AZ and CA issue temporary paper plates then mail the permanent ones later. The prisons must be slow getting new metal ones supplied. At least we only need a rear plate and not front and rear like so many other states. And no dorky tax or inspection stickers on the front windshield either. Those really bugged me back east.

As far as cost goes, most states will get you one way or the other. Here in AZ we don't have a property tax on vehicles per se but an in lieu tax when you register your vehicle. Our registration fee is only $8 but the rest are taxes. Overall we are about in the middle of the 50 states when it comes to total tax money paid to the state.

AZ MVD recently rearranged their offices for better service. Their used to be chairs in which to sit while you waited for
your number to be called. To reduce wait times they removed the chairs.

[oldrider60]

I am with everyone else, why did you move here? Most of us are trying to get out. Get yourself a AAA account I never go the to the DMV unless it's something AAA cannot handle.

[tomand]

you know that the broke state just keeps on spending.....studip


and they can quit stealing our water from Lake Mead anytime and find their own.

[cmbspyderrss]

I don't understand a lot of things but never could understand why you have to pay sales tax repeatedly on an item. I would rather spend a weekend away with my EX than an hour at the DMV. I honestly would be far less frustrated, pissed and much happier i wasted $$ on her than the DMV by then end of the weekend.

I am lucky enough to have a DMV service in my town where i bring in my stuff and 15min later i get ALL the DMV service i need. It is $60 on top of the DMV cost but would pay 4x that to not deal with the DMV and all the other nasty people in line.

[Chupaca]

It's the worst...I had to retest to get a renewal and they said I needed a motorcycle license for the spyder. When we moved here they made us all retest I have lived in 10 states and you just walked in turned your license in and they gave you your new license..could go on but

[bobnaquin]

I recently moved from Manteca, Ca to St George, UT. Going to the DMV in California is like going to the United Nations. Going to the DMV in Utah is like a drive through experience. So easy. So polite. The people working there outnumbered the people needing service every time I went.

Now getting a drivers license in Utah is not so easy. When you show them your California driver's license they sort of laugh. To get a DL in Utah you have to show proof that you belong in the USA and that you have reason to be in Utah. Oddly, they won't except a California DL or a US passport as either of those things. They want your actual Social Security Card and closing statements on a home or some other billing statement. I had to go dig up my Social Security Card which I found still attached to the mailer that was sent to me a thousand years ago,. I have to say I was impressed that I could find it.

[Bob Denman]

So California's DMV sucks...
Please tell me about one, that doesn't!

[KX5062]

Now imagine DMV being responsible for administering health care benefits.

Unfortunately, that's not a joke it's a real proposal here in Commiefornia.

[Pirate looks at --]

The DMV here is like any other. If you call ahead for an appointment you will be in and out in short order. I have not been inside of a DMV office for 4 plus years. I renew all registrations via the internet, I haven't had to take a drivers test since I can't remember, and still have two years to go on my current liscence.

That being said, I would not consider buying an out of state vehicle as it is a huge hassle. As most of you know, our emissions contrals are pretty strict here I just shop in-state vehicles. Sorry, and happy at the same time, that so many of you left. Sorry you felt you had too, happy that our population dropped. This is the most beautiful state in the union, the only thing I don't like about it............there are too many vehicles in this state!

[CA Railwhale]

I recently got my 2013 RT registered in Ca. I must say it was an adventure getting an out of state spyder registered in Ca. They nearly took me out in handcuffs when the idiot told me I did not have a Motorcycle license. I told him none was needed in California. After going back and forth and speaking with management I finally got my tags and temporary plates. After what they charged me for transfer, tags and taxes a person wonders why California has a money problem?

Here in California, we are pretty much the most taxed citizens in the country. The state doesn't have a money problem, it has a spending problem. The democrats running things never saw a project that they didn't want to spend other people's money on. The only thing that keeps me in the state is the weather here in Ventura.

[2dogs]

Go on your computer to Calif. DMV and choose an office close to you. Click on appointment availability and you'll get a list of next available appoint times at that office. Pick one and reserve it. When you get there most often you'll be there no longer than 20 minutes and you're out. It works very well. By the way, if you for any reason get a cranky worker just politely request a supervisor and don't take no for an answer. Believe it or not, the DMV has found a way to try and make our visits to their offices a little less painful.

[classicvw]

The DMV experience can vary within a state too. Having lived all my life in very crowded Northern NJ, in the shadow of NYC, it's always been a harrowing, painful trip. They are so busy, the workers are rude, they bark at you, and treat you like you're a criminal trying to get over on them.

My daughter needed to renew her drivers license. They expire after 4 years. Every other expiration you need to do it in person at the DMV. The office is in a small mall. The line she got on was set up in a serpentine manner in the mall lobby, not even in the DMV office. The wait time to get inside to just see the receptionist was 3 1/2 hours.

I also have a home in lightly populated South Jersey. I bought my Spyder 2 days before I started my vacation so I decided to bring the paperwork with me and try the office down south. They open at 8, I arrived at 9. Upon arriving, I had thought they had moved to someplace else, there were only 3 cars in the shared parking lot. Nope, they were there, probably 8 employees and only one other customer. I was in and out in 10 minutes. The biggest time was spent by me filling out two forms. And maybe 2-3 minutes of the DMV workers discussing what to put on the title for "MAKE" and "MODEL" It seems NJ's computers don't like CAN AMs. The only thing the computer would allow them to enter was "CAN" for both the "MAKE" and "MODEL" descriptions.

[JerryB]

Hi Pirate,

Re: our emissions contrals are pretty strict

I would like to disagree somewhat. As I understand it, in California, if the costs of compliance exceeds a certain pre-determined cost then it can be waived & you get your registration, etc.

Here in Oregon there is no waiver under any conditions. No matter the costs of the repair work, you still have to pass the emissions testing; period, end of discussion.

NOTE: This is only for certain areas in the state of Oregon; mostly metropolitan areas.

Jerry Baumchen

PS) The above comments do not apply to bringing a vehicle in from 'out of state,' only about your emissions testing program.

[Gator37]

Just another reason why I left 26 years ago---------

Got out of there 58 years ago. was nice around San Diego then.

[RinconRyder]

I don't understand a lot of things but never could understand why you have to pay sales tax repeatedly on an item.

Example?

[classicvw]

Example?

Motor vehicles.

[Grandpot]

I've had to deal with other DMV's and I feel your pain. I now live in South Carolina and it has the best DMV I have ever dealt with. They are polite, well organized, and inexpensive. When you walk in, there is someone there to make sure you have the correct forms, you sit down until they call your number, and you rarely spend more than 45 minutes there.

Here's the good one; the maximum sales tax you pay on a car (new or used) is $300. No kidding.

[RinconRyder]

Motor vehicles.

YOU don't pay sales tax multiple times. You pay it only once, when you first buy the vehicle and sometimes not at all (if, like AZ, you buy it from a private party and not a commercial business).

[Bob Denman]

If you look at taxes as just the cost of living in the greatest Country in the World: it helps a little bit...



...A very little bit!