Cars & Bikes, Driving & Riding

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

Bought my 2006 Acura for $2k from a coworker in March. Just struck a deal to sell it for $4k. Not bad


Also the requirements for a sale in NC are convoluted. The selling party is expected to hand in the license plates but I don’t understand how the buying party is expected to drive the car (maybe even to GET to the DMV) unless they’re at the DMV at the same time as the seller which is kind of annoying

[dodint]

I bought a BMW from a private party near Charlotte and drove it back to Morehead City with no plate on the car. No one cared.

But yes, the transaction is best done at a DMV office.

[NTP66]

Do you need to go to the DMV? You can't do it at a tags and title store? That's what I did way back when.

[dodint]

NC doesn't have them. You have to go to a plate agency office.

Probably because they want to make sure you pay your 3% Use Tax.

[faftorial]

I bought a BMW from a private party near Charlotte and drove it back to Morehead City with no plate on the car. No one cared.

But yes, the transaction is best done at a DMV office.

That's amazing. I wouldn't think one could do that.

[NTP66]

Ah, that sucks. Unless their DMV is better than PA's, which would be hard to not be.

[dodint]

I bought a BMW from a private party near Charlotte and drove it back to Morehead City with no plate on the car. No one cared.

But yes, the transaction is best done at a DMV office.

That's amazing. I wouldn't think one could do that.

I have a picture from the day I got it home, hah:



When I bought the Delorean in Georgia the drive home to PA was substantially longer, so I took the plate off of my Mustang and used that. I do not recommend it but again, nobody noticed/cared.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

huh interesting. I don’t know why NC doesn’t allow you the ability to transfer plates between drivers rather than forcing a switch but whatever


And NTP’s comment has me wondering what the worst and best ranked DMVs are. NC’s is pretty bad but I haven’t had to deal with PA’s

[NTP66]

I have only had one good experience at a PA DMV - the time I went in to provide documentation for my Real ID. In and out in 20 minutes (giggity). That was the only time I can say something positive about their physical locations. Thankfully, you can do damn near anything online now.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

According to this site, NC is 33rd out of 37 states (not enough data on the other 13?) in satisfaction. PA is 23rd


https://www.syracuse.com/opinion/2014/0 ... _york.html

[NTP66]

That's also from 2014, so really dated.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

it’s hard to find a more recent comprehensive list. just accept that you’re not as boned as North Carolinians are

[DigitalGypsy66]

I've had more interactions with the SC DMV in the last couple of years than I have in probably 15 years. I renewed my license in November 2020, when all branches were appointment only: In and out in 30 minutes. Toughest part was the customer service person was speaking through a speaker because of the plexiglass and masking.

My son got his permit and then license, which was fairly smooth. What was cool is he took the road test with his driving instructor, who writes up the paperwork, and he turns it in at the DMV, and then got his restricted license. He'll get an unrestricted license in November, after a year of driving (only difference is he can't drive after 6 November-March, after 8 April - October.)

I changed my address, car registrations (all 3), and voter's registration all online. Took 2-3 business days to get the new license and registrations back in the mail. Of course, they did charge me a "convenience fee" for paying with a debit card. Very common with state and county offices down here, unfortunately.

[dodint]

huh interesting. I don’t know why NC doesn’t allow you the ability to transfer plates between drivers rather than forcing a switch but whatever

Most states have you return the plate. It rarely goes to the seller. Mainly because it would make it very easy for them not to register the car and keep driving it with you as the recorded owner. Imagine if you sold your car to someone, gave them the plate, and they repeatedly drove up and down a toll road and the bills were sent to you because your plate was on a car registered to you. This is a surprisingly big problem.

There are also liability concerns for similar reasons. If someone is involved in an accident and the car is still titled to you, you're still accountable for that car in some jurisdictions.

Some states help with this by allowing you to report that you sold the car. But if you take the buyer to the DMV and transfer docs together you're off the hook.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

huh interesting. I don’t know why NC doesn’t allow you the ability to transfer plates between drivers rather than forcing a switch but whatever

Most states have you return the plate. It rarely goes to the seller. Mainly because it would make it very easy for them not to register the car and keep driving it with you as the recorded owner. Imagine if you sold your car to someone, gave them the plate, and they repeatedly drove up and down a toll road and the bills were sent to you because your plate was on a car registered to you. This is a surprisingly big problem.

There are also liability concerns for similar reasons. If someone is involved in an accident and the car is still titled to you, you're still accountable for that car in some jurisdictions.

Some states help with this by allowing you to report that you sold the car. But if you take the buyer to the DMV and transfer docs together you're off the hook.

Well I guess in my scenario both the buyer and seller would be able to record their transferral through an online portal. Idk. It just feels weird expecting someone to drive without plates

[tifosi77]

Paid my car registration on 5/6. Got email confirmation, saw the charge on my cc, all's good. No new paper ever arrived. I'd check online and it would say I was good to go, and that I should wait. Would call, and they'd say I'm good to go, just wait.

As of yesterday my registration expired. So I went to the DMV office to get a temp tag. They said I need to get my car smog checked. No piece of paper or electronic correspondence in the history of my 2022 renewal mentioned getting my car smogged. I'd have done it in May when I paid the renewal if I knew. *sigh*

[mac5155]

Just Cali things

[robbiestoupe]

[NTP66]

Delaware DMV, resident take fight to court over ‘perceived profanity’ on vanity tag

DOVER, Del. — A federal judge on Monday refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed against Delaware government officials who recalled a vanity license plate issued to a breast cancer survivor because of what the state transportation secretary described as a “perceived profanity.”

The judge said in a ruling that the lawsuit by Kari Lynn Overington of Milton raises a “significant constitutional issue.”

As a fellow perceived profanity vanity plate holder, I fully support Kari and her fight against the DMV.

[Shyster]

Interesting case indeed. I would imagine that Delaware is going to argue that license plates are government property, and therefore when a car is displaying a license plate, the car is displaying government speech, not the speech of the driver. And governments have more authority to control their own speech. There is support for that view, at least when it comes to the slogans that states themselves have put on their own license plates. But on the other hand, Delaware permits people to ask for custom plates, and the state is clearly not being viewpoint neutral in regard to evaluating vanity places. Further, the SCOTUS held in Matal v. Tam and Iancu v. Brunetti that the Patent and Trademark Office's practice of refusing to register "disparaging," "immoral," and "scandalous" trademarks violated the 1A, so there is pretty clear precedent saying that a government cannot refuse just because they find something vulgar.

She really needs a lawyer, though, and not just any lawyer, but one experienced in appellate practice and constitutional law, because I guarantee this would be a case for the Third Circuit to ultimately decide, if not the SCOTUS.

[faftorial]

I think this happens often.

fficials in the Hawaii capital of Honolulu have recalled an offensive license plate created during an "ill-advised oversight" of the review process.

The license plate reading "FCKBLM"—an apparent abbreviation of "f**k Black Lives Matter"—was spotted on the road and reported to KITV4.

The City of Honolulu was made aware of the plate, which was believed to have been issued on the island of Oahu, after KITV4 brought it to their attention.

KITV4's Tom George later tweeted out a picture of the license plate on a vehicle with "Trump 2024" placard on the back window, along the slogan "because f**k you."

https://www.newsweek.com/hawaii-fckblm- ... te-1618301

[faftorial]

The North Carolina agency that supplied a woman with her custom license plate is now considering whether it should be recalled. On Feb. 24, Karly Sindy said in a Tweet that she received a letter from the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles saying that someone complained about the text on her license plate — FARTSM. Sindy, a molecular biologist turned software developer, lives in Asheville with her husband and 7-year-old daughter. She first got the custom license plate last October after submitting a request for it and not hearing back for a while. “I remember getting an email being like ‘oh, it’s being reviewed,’” Sindy said, adding that she thought her application might get rejected. “They didn’t send me a follow-up email that it was approved — I just got it in the mail and I was so excited, I was jumping around.”

The SM at the end stands for Smoky Mountains, since Sindy has a special “Friends of the Smokies” license plate — one with a big black bear looking toward the custom text on it. And until now, Sindy said, the plate has gotten generally positive responses from other people. “A lot of times, I come up to my car and someone’s taking a picture of it,” Sindy said. “And people driving by will give me a huge thumbs-up. And I have a 7-year-old daughter and I pick her up at school — it’s the most popular truck, the fart truck.”

[mac5155]

Delaware DMV, resident take fight to court over ‘perceived profanity’ on vanity tag

DOVER, Del. — A federal judge on Monday refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed against Delaware government officials who recalled a vanity license plate issued to a breast cancer survivor because of what the state transportation secretary described as a “perceived profanity.”

The judge said in a ruling that the lawsuit by Kari Lynn Overington of Milton raises a “significant constitutional issue.”

As a fellow perceived profanity vanity plate holder, I fully support Kari and her fight against the DMV.

Me clicking the link and thinking it was something actually profane... Lol

[mac5155]

I think this happens often.

fficials in the Hawaii capital of Honolulu have recalled an offensive license plate created during an "ill-advised oversight" of the review process.

The license plate reading "FCKBLM"—an apparent abbreviation of "f**k Black Lives Matter"—was spotted on the road and reported to KITV4.

The City of Honolulu was made aware of the plate, which was believed to have been issued on the island of Oahu, after KITV4 brought it to their attention.

KITV4's Tom George later tweeted out a picture of the license plate on a vehicle with "Trump 2024" placard on the back window, along the slogan "because f**k you."

https://www.newsweek.com/hawaii-fckblm- ... te-1618301

Perhaps the bureau of land management screwed them over?

[NTP66]

I really liked some of the later model M3’s, but this new front end… woof.