DMV rant

[67-400]

***See my last post for the results***


SO, early march I send in for my Hobbyist plates.....application & the 1-time fee of $200. I'm thinkin i'm gonna wait 2-4 weeks to receive the plates and have plenty of time to get the car going for Automotion.

2-4 weeks come along & I get a letter saying they require pictures, all 4 sides, interior & engine bay. I send them.

1 week later I get another letter identifying the closest State Patrol Headquarters for me to call and schedule a safety inspection of my car to confirm my car is "Road-safe."

Has anyone ever had a problem like this getting plates for their old car??? I know they're special plates, but for those who i've talked to with hobbyist have never heard jumping through all these hoops.

Rant over.

[michelle]

Interesting. I was hoping to send in for hobbyist plates soon. If this is a normal situation, I don't think the State Patrol would pass my car.

Looking forward to what others have to say about this and if they had similar experience!

[Plum Crazy]

They make the Hobbyist plates harder to get because of the modifications to the car that wont allow you to get Collectors plates. They want to make sure its not a danger to others on the road.

[BR3W CITY]

wtf? I went to get plates for my 66 about 4-5 ago; I just sent in the paperwork, title and a check. About 2 weeks later, my title arrived. 2-3 more and i had my nice green plates. No pics, no evaluations or anything

[Prince Valiant]

Yeah...you're still the only one I know that have had this foisted on them.

Like I said...call them up and explain you're getting offers and would like to sell the vehicle, so as to get your title back. Then register it as a classic.

The mods you have won't raise anyones eyebrows....it's not like it's back-halved, wheelie bar'ed, roots 8-71 fed funny car. :goof

I mean, technically, even headers makes a car "modified" right? But many classics have headers, aftermarket carb, etc...so go for it!

[FoxStang]

After the lady at the DMW gave me the wrong price for hobbyist plates, and I had to go back and write another check for more money everything worked out fine (Which is BS). Got my title in a couple of weeks, and my plates in about a month later. No pictures, no questions.

[SmokinRAM114]

interesting.. my 78 chevy truck mud truck thats on 44s that stick 15in outside the fenders i put hobbiest plates on it. i JUST got them, they arent even on the truck yet.. :goof they are sure giving u the reach around. they said if its modified outside the original look of the vehicle it had to be inspected, i just said it wasnt. no questions asked

[67-400]

Yeah...you're still the only one I know that have had this foisted on them.

Like I said...call them up and explain you're getting offers and would like to sell the vehicle, so as to get your title back. Then register it as a classic.

The mods you have won't raise anyones eyebrows....it's not like it's back-halved, wheelie bar'ed, roots 8-71 fed funny car. :goof

I mean, technically, even headers makes a car "modified" right? But many classics have headers, aftermarket carb, etc...so go for it!

Thanks for the idea, but I guess i'm just going to fix all the problems that I wouldn't normally consider worth fixing IMMEDIATELY. Emergency Brake, Wiper motor, Speedo, Hazard lights, Exhaust (but would probably get pulled over for anyway) anti-freeze overflow resevoir and other small stuff.

Bottom line is that this stuff would have eventually been taken care of, just not all within the past month. I just wanted the plates that I already paid for!! BTW, they didn't bauk at cashing the check either, that went straight to the gov't

I'll keep you posted :thumbsup

[SSScottSS]

wtf? I went to get plates for my 66 about 4-5 ago; I just sent in the paperwork, title and a check. About 2 weeks later, my title arrived. 2-3 more and i had my nice green plates. No pics, no evaluations or anything


That's all I had to do for mine, but prior to the hobbyist plates my car was registered with regular plates. Maybe that's the difference? :confused

[FoxStang]

That's all I had to do for mine, but prior to the hobbyist plates my car was registered with regular plates. Maybe that's the difference? :confused
Couldn't be, mine was an out of state car that hadn't been registered in years. Are you sure you didn't accidentally check reconstructed or home-built vehicle?

[SSScottSS]

That does sound like the steps needed for a reconstructed vehicle. Good call....

just looked at their website and that's the problem...

http://www.dot.state.wi.us/drivers/vehicles/personal/special/hobbyist.htm

I see it does say on their new application that you must send in pictures though. Glad I got mine before they made people jump through the extra hoops

[animal]

As of last summer I didn't have to do any of that for collector plates. :confused

[jbiscuit]

collector plates FTW

[67-400]

That does sound like the steps needed for a reconstructed vehicle. Good call....

just looked at their website and that's the problem...

http://www.dot.state.wi.us/drivers/vehicles/personal/special/hobbyist.htm

I see it does say on their new application that you must send in pictures though. Glad I got mine before they made people jump through the extra hoops


I revisited this application too, if you notice it does not have a box to check as anything other than MODIFIED STREET CAR or REPLICA or Motor home yada yada. Where is the standard un-modified 67 firebird that has nothing more than replacement parts? The other boxes indicate "Safety inspection required" whereas the modified street car says nothing about the inspection. Pictures, yes, but no inspection.

I called the DMV at lunch and they said "We have reason to believe the car requires the safety inspection because 'you declared it as a street modified vehicle on your Hobbyist application.'" BS!!

I also cannot request that I want my title/money back because it is illegal to sell a car knowingly it is unsafe in the eyes of the DMV. Unsafe until proven safe. I read that some time ago, i forget the source. MY car is owned by the DMV, in fact I PAID THEM 200 to own it. :flipoff2:

[67-400]

collector plates FTW

the same bish at the DMV i've been working with says now that they have suspicion of the vehicle not being safe, no matter what plate I put on it...it requires a safety inspeciton.

[Feature Pony]

I have never heard of this BS. I would trailer your car to where they want to inspect it, just so if they find anything wrong with it state patrol can't write you a boat load of tickets.

[SSScottSS]

This really sounds like some BS. I see all kinds of cars going down the road that not only do I suspect are unsafe, I KNOW they are unsafe, yet they don't get inspected.

The icing on the cake is I'm sure you'll have to pay for the safety inspection. I would consider either calling another DMV or sending an email to them from their website. I did that a couple times in the past.

[michelle]

So can a person apply for collector plates for a "modified" car that would probably fall into the "hobbyist" plate based on the requirements on the DMV website? Is there some type of penalty for running a "modified" car with a collector plate?

I like the blue color over the green. I think that's good enough justification. :goof

[SSScottSS]

It would be an improperly registered vehicle, just like putting car plates on a truck.

[67-400]

Well, I spent the past couple weeks fixing it up & finalizing it before I am able to take it to inspection. Things that I could have gone out with like a wiper motor, antifreeze catch can, hazard lights in turn signal switch, speedometer cable and install a parking brake, big deal. Don't get me wrong, I would have eventually fixed these things but AFTER I get my plates, at least I could still drive it without those things.

I scheduled my inspection appt for first available with State Patrol, late May. I'll keep you posted on how it goes & what they look for. :thumbsup

[FoxStang]

Well, I spent the past couple weeks fixing it up & finalizing it before I am able to take it to inspection. Things that I could have gone out with like a wiper motor, antifreeze catch can, hazard lights in turn signal switch, speedometer cable and install a parking brake, big deal. Don't get me wrong, I would have eventually fixed these things but AFTER I get my plates, at least I could still drive it without those things.

I scheduled my inspection appt for first available with State Patrol, late May. I'll keep you posted on how it goes & what they look for. :thumbsup

You need a parking brake for normal street operation?

[67-400]

You need a parking brake for normal street operation?

According to State Patrol, yah.

In the process of installing though, I learned I need a new axle shaft and bearing on one side. The rear is one out of a 70-81, if anyone knows someone thats got one.

[67-400]

Well, late may didn't work out for me, re-scheduled for end of June now. Had an electrical problem :fire Fixed it now, the soonest I can get in is end of June.

I just recently found out (from a guy who DID go through this) that this safety inspection is going to require a blower motor for the windshield. :flipoff2: Well I got 3 more weeks to figure that one out. Wish me luck!

[67-400]

I went to State patrol in Brookfield, I was in and out in 15 minutes. The inspector was real cool, he was more interested in the car than he was with checking off everything on the inspection sheet. He looked at the VIN, engine code, exhaust (for tailpipes) and took a peek inside the car, that was pretty much it. No blinkers, brake lights, back-up lights, wipers, parking brakes, tire tread, alignment, dome light, dimmer switch, defroster, blower motor (all of which I saw as part of the checklist) etc etc.

He mentioned that he's not sure why the DMV sent me, and that the hobbyist license plate safety inspection is aimed towards the old T-buckets for example, that have no front fenders & the engine is exposed.

[brotherbenn83]

The DMV is really smart. They mailed my license plate renewal to me at my address in Muskego, and on the top it says car kept in : Milwaukee Co, city of Greenfield. GENIUSES!