Instead of getting rid of front license plate they are getting rid of the inspection sticker. You are going to have to show proof of inspection before they will renew your license plates.
On the surface this is mostly harmless, but there are going to be a lot of negative unintended consequences...
#1 is that if you have a car in your garage that cannot pass inspection kiss your license plates goodbye. Looks like they are pushing me to get rid of my personalized plates and go Antique. I've been giving them free money for the last several years for a car that has not left my garage... oh well there is good news after all.
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"HB 2305 9/1/2013; 3/1/2014; 3/1/2015 Single Registration/Inspection Sticker.
• Eliminates inspection sticker. • Tax Assessor-Collector’s office will verify inspection via TxDPS database or with printed inspection certificate prior to issuance of registration. • The state's portion of the inspection fee will be collected at time of registration. • Vehicle owner must have inspection within 90 days prior to registration expiration. • Vehicles sold by dealer must be inspected in the 180 days prior to sale of the vehicle. • Administrative Rules must be adopted by 3/1/14. • Implementation by 3/1/15."
They say it's price neutral...meaning that you will pay less for inspection but pay the difference at registration time.
So for 99% of the people this is no big deal. But for those that drive around and wait 13, 15, 18 months to get an inspection, they will be forced to get inspection or they will have expired tags as well. Still no big deal.
The big deal is that Texas is the #1 or #2 snow bird state. What if you have an RV in Minnesota and the tag expires in July. You have to plan your trip back to Texas to get your rig inspected or your tags will expire. This will push some folks to consider South Dakota as their home state.
The other big deal is as I said earlier, say you have been paying tag renewal all these years but your car is not driveable? So no inspection, no tag. So the unintended consequence is less revenue from garage queens. Not a big deal for 99% of the population, but will definitely impact some Fiero owners. I will be forced to give up my personalized tags if my car is not drivable. I'm sure this was not discussed in Austin before they passed the bill.
All you need is someone you know who can "get" a sticker.
No you can't...because in 2015 there won't BE a sticker to get. Part of the reason they are doing this is because of all the illegitimate stickers floating around. Shady inspection shop will still probably forge the inspection certificate or whatever it is they use, but either way it will inconvenience the driver as we have another hoop to jump through before we can get our tags renewed.
Yes Stephen you are going to get an inspection every year before they will renew your registration.
It's the unintended consequences I'm worried about and they will all be bad. Got a trailer that's not inspected? (and who takes their trailer in for inspection even though it's supposed to if it's gross weight is over 4,500 lbs) then no more tag for you.
The only way to hold this off I think is to renew for as many years as they will let you in 2014.
[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 04-08-2014).]
This isn't as bad as you may think. They did this in NC not too long ago and I would hope your state can do it as smoothly.
-Inspection will be registered in the computer so they will know you had it done, no need to worry about that. - the car has to be inspected to be road legal anyway so there's really no excuse to have a tag but no inspection anyway - you can get a waiver in extreme circumstances but it's usually better to surrender the tag then when the car is road worthy trailer it (or like most people drive with a friend behind you) to an inspection station.
The inspection shops are no more or less able to fake your passing as it's all been in the computer for years. It's just lazy cops who don't check. Then again even with stickers I've seen people many years out of date and never get stopped.
Does Texas have the same law as NC where on antiques you don't have to display your license plate? Here on cars 35 years old (Fieros aren't there yet, I know) we run an old plate from the year the car was made.
Let me also add that this makes things easier for the driver because now inspection and tag renewal will be synched. The days of keeping track of them separate are over. You'll most likely get a year free to put your next inspection at the closest tag date. Then just do both in one trip from now on. It's no more hoops to jump through, one less actually since it's one trip now. We have inspection shops all around the tag office anyway.
- the car has to be inspected to be road legal anyway so there's really no excuse to have a tag but no inspection anyway - you can get a waiver in extreme circumstances but it's usually better to surrender the tag then when the car is road worthy trailer it (or like most people drive with a friend behind you) to an inspection station.
Maybe I'm the only person this negatively affects...
but I have been doing the state of Texas a favor by renewing my trailer plates, my motorcycle plates and my Fiero plates even though none of those have left my yard in over a year and inspections have expired. So under the new law I can't renew any of those registrations until I get an inspection. And if I can't get an inspection for whatever reason I have to give up my tag. Now I have been paying extra for personalized license plates which I would have to give up if my car is not drivable. So in the end it will save me money, but it's very inconvenient.
After 25 years we can get antique that does not require inspections at all. I have that on my Indy but it comes with heavy restrictions. You are only supposed to drive in parades, or to shows and public events. Or to the repair shop. Many people say they have driven that way for years, but I am so paranoid that I'm gong to get pulled over that it's almost not even worth it.
[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 04-08-2014).]
Maybe I'm the only person this negatively affects...
but I have been doing the state of Texas a favor by renewing my trailer plates, my motorcycle plates and my Fiero plates even though none of those have left my yard in over a year and inspections have expired. So under the new law I can't renew any of those registrations until I get an inspection. And if I can't get an inspection for whatever reason I have to give up my tag. Now I have been paying extra for personalized license plates which I would have to give up if my car is not drivable. So in the end it will save me money, but it's very inconvenient.
After 25 years we can get antique that does not require inspections at all. I have that on my Indy but it comes with heavy restrictions. You are only supposed to drive in parades, or to shows and public events. Or to the repair shop. Many people say they have driven that way for years, but I am so paranoid that I'm gong to get pulled over that it's almost not even worth it.
Good reason to get those Fieros running and start bavk coming to the Tx events..
Antique plates are different. That's a type of registration. What I was refering to doesn't affect registration. In NC you have a normal plate sticker etc.. you just don't put it on the car. You keep it in the cab somewhere and show it only if asked. Legally any citizen can ask but no one (including cops) will unless you violate another law to get stopped. This doesn't help or hinder you in you circumstances. I was just curios if NC was the only state to do this.
(c) Any antique motor vehicle, registered pursuant to this section, shall be used only for participation in club activities, exhibits, tours, parades and similar uses, but in no event shall it be used for general transportation. (State's web site add bold text.)
People who park for years, drive to shows, no problem but even Drive for vacation could break the rules. Driving to work will break the rules. If stopped then you can loose the special tag and whatever fines.
I don't drive much but still have to use normal tag and inspections, including emissions testing, to drive to doctors stores etc.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
People who park for years, drive to shows, no problem but even Drive for vacation could break the rules. Driving to work will break the rules. If stopped then you can loose the special tag and whatever fines.
I have the Antique on my Indy because it's cheaper and there is zero danger of me breaking the rules since the car is not drivable at the moment. But if I get it running I will probably get regular tags. It's not worth the savings if I get stopped and receive a citation. I know, why have tags if it's not drivable? Part psychological, part legal. If I let the tags expire then it's just a parts car and I am not motivated to fix it ever, but with tags it's a car in need of repair. And legally they will give me more grief to add tags versus renewing which I can do by mail.
As for the deal in NC we don't have anything like that but for antique you can use a year of manufacture plate as your actual plate. There is nothing you have to carry inside the vehicle.
Yeah Stephen I need to do that, and I will again someday. I keep renewing those un-drivable cars just in case.
[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 04-09-2014).]
FYI I was able to renew my personalized plates foe $40 without having a valid inspection or registration. Not sure if it's worth it or not. Would rather switch to Antique and since it's not drivable zero risk.
So for 99% of the people this is no big deal. But for those that drive around and wait 13, 15, 18 months to get an inspection, they will be forced to get inspection or they will have expired tags as well. Still no big deal.
Nothing new really to me. Every state I've lived in since I became driving age has required inspection before issuing registrations or registration renewals. Well those states I lived in that required any kind of inspection at all.
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Originally posted by jscott1:
No you can't...because in 2015 there won't BE a sticker to get. Part of the reason they are doing this is because of all the illegitimate stickers floating around. Shady inspection shop will still probably forge the inspection certificate or whatever it is they use, but either way it will inconvenience the driver as we have another hoop to jump through before we can get our tags renewed.
I don't know if it's still doable but back in the day you could always find somebody who new somebody that would pass your car for smog for $100 or so in Southern Cali. They just pulled in a known passing car and smog checked it with your info entered into the computer. You drive a old 78 VW Rabbit? Wow, well look at that. It's got as good a emissions as a new Honda Civic.
[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 10-12-2015).]
Texas is pretty lax about a lot of things... I went in for another vehicle and the Insurance card literally expires the next day. I ask him if he wants to see the new card and nope. As long as it's before midnight on the day it expires your good for another year. They store all the information on-line for proof of insurance, but they don't check it unless you get pulled over. Kind of explains why 20% of the people in Texas don't have insurance although it's required.
Just for reference; here in New Jersey if your car is 25 or more years old, you can get historic plates good for life. for a one time $50 fee. No inspection requirements at all provided that you drive 5000 miles or less per year. There is also a classic, rod and collector classification for a cars newer than 25 years with the same 5000 mile requirement, a yearly plate fee and an inspection exemption. The caveat is that you need collector car insurance, usually very low cost, but the restriction is the same 5000 mile yearly limit but restricted to use in shows, cruise nights, parades, repair shop trips, and an occasional leisure/Sunday drive. A condition of this insurance is that if you have an accident while running errands or going to work, your insurance coverage is completely null and void.
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If the car isn't able to pass inspection, it shouldn't be on the road. Yes, there will be some inconvenience and adjustment.
I agree with you, but my point was that I have personalized license plates and I didn't want to surrender them because the car was not driveable. Obviously it will not be on the road if it is not driveable.
So your saying that all those raggedy ass unsafe cars should not need inspection because they passed years ago, that is a stupid law to begin with. There are no negative unintended consequences, only the first law has negative unintended consequences. The new law will save lives, not save the garage queens. One lost live is not worth all the queens in the world. How do/dare you even dispute having safe cars on the road? So you can save your "vanity plates"
Jscott...just pay the license plate fee....it will allow you to keep the plate in your name. If on the car and registered or not....since it is all done through myplates.com.
We have that system here in NC. It can be annoying if you have an issue you're working on to get it to pass but you can't renew your plates until it passes. But it keeps unsafe cars off the road - or at least that's the idea. I have to fix the e-brake on my Formula to get it to pass inspection before I can renew the tags.
Originally posted by jscott1: I agree with you, but my point was that I have personalized license plates and I didn't want to surrender them because the car was not driveable. Obviously it will not be on the road if it is not driveable.
Can you not get custom antique plates? I know you certainly can here. You should be able to relinquish your current plates to DMV, and get new antique plates with the same personalization, I would think.
Very short story and very Confusing in many states...
You have a Normal tag and/or vanity, Club or HC tags "attach" to your registration but states treat vanity plates and others special tags different ways. Means in some states, you should have normal tags in the trunk or other safe place when you are using HC/vanity/club/etc tags.
Normal tags and registration require insurance etc and can go with the car when sold/junked. Vanity, Club and often History/etc tags often may not go w/ the car or have extra hoops to go thru to transfer like transferring History/Antique tags.
States make big money for vanity and some other specialty tags. Have them "alive" like above doesn't mean the car still have valid registration, just means you payed the annual fee for that tag. Often Vanity etc tags are easy to transfer to another car. Take both registrations and pay whatever transfer fees and done. If needed get new sticker too.
Side Note: Most states, HC/HP tags (Hang Tags for the Mirror or License plates) are issues to the actual disable person. You can't transfer the tag to sell or junk the car in many cases. If not needed most states require you to surrender the tag to DMV. Having either and parked in HC space can still get you ticketed/towed if your not transporting the disabled person.
"Sticker" have different rules by state. NY PA and some others never use them on the tag but are on the Windshield. (Both states on Lower left side. Replacing windshield then you have replace the sticker too.) Example: Google image: ny registration sticker DE sticker has the normal tag # and if applicable special tag # printed on the sticker and you get 1 or 2 stickers to attach to the tags. This was to stop/reduce sticker/tag theft to get a valid sticker. (Old stickers came from a print shop. New ones are printed at DMV as part of printing your registration.)
Originally posted by dobey: Can you not get custom antique plates? I know you certainly can here. You should be able to relinquish your current plates to DMV, and get new antique plates with the same personalization, I would think.
Sorry no... Many states won't issue Antique and related tag as vanity tags. They cost little in most places and has there own rules. Many states want these tags to be obvious too. Example: I think DE Antique/historic tags have Brown background and labeled as such too. PA uses same colors but still very obvious, like... (From http://www.thesamba.com/vw/...ewtopic.php?t=311449 )
So your saying that all those raggedy ass unsafe cars should not need inspection because they passed years ago, that is a stupid law to begin with. There are no negative unintended consequences, only the first law has negative unintended consequences. The new law will save lives, not save the garage queens. One lost live is not worth all the queens in the world. How do/dare you even dispute having safe cars on the road? So you can save your "vanity plates"
Okay please go back and show me where I stated anything that you paraphrased above? All I said is that there was no documented way to keep vanity plates if your car can't pass inspection. After talking to the DMV they told me that in Texas you can pay a fee to keep the vanity plates but they won't issue the registration sticker so the car is not street legal and can't be driven on the roads. Which is redundant because the car physically can't be driven on the road.
Nowhere did I suggest that cars that can't pass inspection should be driven on the road. For that take up issue with all the states that don't require annual safety inspections. In the future I would appreciate you not putting words into my mouth and please don't come into my thread making baseless accusations.
Sorry no... Many states won't issue Antique and related tag as vanity tags. They cost little in most places and has there own rules. Many states want these tags to be obvious too. Example: I think DE Antique/historic tags have Brown background and labeled as such too. PA uses same colors but still very obvious, like...
This thread is about Texas, not DE or PA, or anywhere else. I was specifically asking jscott1 if it was possible to go this route for him.
A quick search suggests it's not easily done, but is somewhat possible. http://www.dmv.org/tx-texas/license-plates.php suggests that antique plates cannot be personalized, but it would be possible to get "classic plates" that are personalized, though it's not clear if the inspection requirement exists for those or not, or it would be possible to have a plate from the vehicle's production year that was personalized as you wanted, if you could find one, and use that with an antique registration.
A quick search suggests it's not easily done, but is somewhat possible. http://www.dmv.org/tx-texas/license-plates.php suggests that antique plates cannot be personalized, but it would be possible to get "classic plates" that are personalized, though it's not clear if the inspection requirement exists for those or not, or it would be possible to have a plate from the vehicle's production year that was personalized as you wanted, if you could find one, and use that with an antique registration.
In Texas Classic plates have the same inspection requirements as regular plates so that doesn't help. As far as I know you can't get customized antique plates other than the year of manufacture plates, (which don't exist for 1988 by the way).
Originally posted by jscott1: In Texas Classic plates have the same inspection requirements as regular plates so that doesn't help. As far as I know you can't get customized antique plates other than the year of manufacture plates, (which don't exist for 1988 by the way).
There were no vanity plates in Texas in 1988? Can you stamp one out yourself?