how to avoid late fees in cal dmv?

[camaney]

ok so i bought a 67 gmc in aug 08 and the guy i got it from toldme that everything was good with the dmv so i went today to register and they toldme the registration its overdue since 2000 they want $600plus to put it in my name its there a way to get around it?any way i went back with the guy i got from and his wife says he will be in jail for 2 years

[Ricks1971]

What I would do is do a lein sale on the truck. In other words file a lein sale form with the DMV that the vehicle has been at your place for as long as you can remember. make sure there are no outstanding tickets on the truck and also find out when the registration expired. Most likely if you say it has been at you place and was not running you can lein the title over to you with no past due penalties. know you have to tell a white lie but that would be one way to do it.

[71swb4x4]

Can you sell it to a friend out of state, have them license it in their state, and then buy it back and bring it back into Cali and relicense it in Cali?

[lowriden58]

Originally Posted by 71swb4x4

Can you sell it to a friend out of state, have them license it in their state, and then buy it back and bring it back into Cali and relicense it in Cali?

that could cost almost the same as what he is looking at paying now. man cali has some weird laws

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by 71swb4x4

Can you sell it to a friend out of state, have them license it in their state, and then buy it back and bring it back into Cali and relicense it in Cali?

Don't do that...people were doing that with salvaged titles a few years back, then re-titling them in Calif again so salvage would be cleared. The DMV came down hard, and you will end up with more fees/fines. I would suggest trying to do what Rick says. Calif DMV Sucks!

[bbarooo]

If you lein sale it the DMV just notifies the registered owner right? That could be trouble if the guy you bought it from is not on board with the plan or isn't the registered owner. You would have to discard the pink which gives him rights again. The lein works better if the registration is so far out its dropped from DMV records.(which they stopped doing in the 90's). If it's on record with back fees I think you might be stuck. I have had luck calling trucks historical or classic (don't recall the wording at the DMV) to get the fees waived, all depends on who you get at the DMV or Autoclub if you belong.

CA DMV does have some crazy rules. That happed to me on a '68 and the fees were more than I paid for the truck.

[sleepertruck72]

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/faq/genfaq.htm#BM2547
If you scroll through here it says after 4 yrs. of no registration renewals the DMV purges the vehicle from their system. I thought it was 6 yrs. but it says 4. It may be that it had parking tickets or other fines.When I looked at a truck for sale I called DMV and gave them the VIN and plate # and they told me the amount that was owed in fees ahead of time. It saved me a headache and needless to say It broke the deal. I would try calling and pretend to be buying the truck from joe blow give them the vin # and they should let you know an exact amount in reg fees. It may or may not help.
A lien sale as mentioned would be worth a try. heres a link to the dmv site on lien sales. You may even try a lien sale on a vehicle "abandoned on your property."
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/howto/htvr7.htm
Good luck with it !!!

[2bits]

I would go back to the DMV and tell them the truth and ask what options they suggest. YOU should not have to be responsible for his registration and if he is in prison, what is the solution? IF paying HIS fees are their only option, I would start telling white lies and not feeling guilty about it at all because that it totally not fair.

I've had vehicles that was not even changing the name on I just hadn't registered in a few years and they said as long as there were no tickets on record for the vehicle I could affirm that the vehicle was not on the road, They would only charge a small late fee, not the back registration. That is TX from what I am hearing CA is pretty dern strict.

[long69]

when i bought my truck a few years back, the truck had been out of registration for a few years. but it was still in the system. its renew cycle was in oct. and it was maybe aug. when i went in. they made me pay for two years to register it. one for the current year and one for the next year.

[SactoJim]

I got lucky.....Mine fell out of the system. I've heard different stories about how long it takes....mine was off the road for 10 years and I never filed a non-op, so I was concerned when it came time to register early this year.....needless to say, I was relieved.

Never quite understood why I should pay the DMV $20 (I think) for a non-op for the privilege of not being able to drive it anyway!.....go figure.

It's pretty much a crap shoot as to what help or favors you will get from DMV personel. I've had luck in the past driving a few miles out of the way to a nearby smaller town DMV instead of the big city DMV where employees tend to be a little less helpful.

Hell, considering the kerbillions of dollars this state is upsidedown with, they may triple your fees!!!!!

[special-K]

I can`t believe that state is so unconstitutional that they have bent laws to make a buyer responsible for a previous owner`s actions.I thought laws were written to protect people,but it seems the vehicle is all they care about.To be more clear...taking the vehicle off the road is all they care about.They have no regard for victomizing a person/taxpayer/voter in the process.

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by special-K

I can`t believe that state is so unconstitutional that they have bent laws to make a buyer responsible for a previous owner`s actions.I thought laws were written to protect people,but it seems the vehicle is all they care about.To be more clear...taking the vehicle off the road is all they care about.They have no regard for victomizing a person/taxpayer/voter in the process.

You hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, there is nothing we here can do about it.

[hiridn69gmc]

When I had a Nova registered I was able to by pass all of the fees by having the previous owner sign a form saying the vehicle was non-op for the years that is was not registered. Being in your situation, not sure if he would sign it in jail. But worth a try. I was down in San D. and it was about 4 years ago, not sure what the name of the form was, but they should know.

[70 net440]

I once had to pay $200.00 to register a $100.00 dirt bike for my kids. As suggested, try a smaller town DMV or AAA if you belong. Be sure to follow up if you use AAA. I've had them forget to file paper work because DMV's fax line was busy and they forget to try later. I didn't realize the state was kerbillions overbudget, I thought it was only a few zillion.