What State is Model A Friendly ???

[Keith True]

There is nothing illegal here about buying your buddies car,registering it,then selling it back to him.You do get into a gray,murky area though if you do it for a fee.N.H. only started letting us title antiques a few years ago,the car has to be older than 25 years old.NO titles are issued for cars between 15-25 years old.The first title in N.H.was issued in 1964.I discovered a glitch in the antique titling process,but only if you are registering the car at the same time of title application.If you use the little blue paper,TDMV 19,verification of VIN,you can go to the town clerk,fill it all out,get your plates,and the paperwork and title app goes in to the state.When the paperwork hits state level,registration division gets the TDMV 19 and the title division does not.Then the title app gets rejected until you fill out one for them.The town clerks say you only need one,but the two state divisions are separate entities,and only one gets your inspection form.Now I make out two,and tell everybody else to also.

[Jim Huseby]

I'm still jittery about my experiences trying to transfer my dad's clear title for my '30 CCPU awarded to me by probate court in Missouri. Every one of the ten or more licensing clerks from three counties quoted me a different law and different requirements, asking for non-existent procedures and various (no two the same) fines, not to mention various levels of attitude and intellect. The kindness and efficiency of the last clerk nearly made up for the scare, and I think her law was the right one.

[mhsprecher]

DMVs make life difficult for all of us. Low level clerks and an extremely legalisitic process, probably because there is so much potential for fraud. I bought my car from someone in MD and registered it in my name in MD with vintage tags. It was not a problem. The mileage on the title was higher than the mileage I reported there was not an issue. I don't have to renew my tags, so that is good.

[Elcastor]

If you have a title for California, Washington should be easy. It was for me. Just don't ask for an antique car, permanent plate for Washington. Big cost and hassle if you want that. Not worth it.

[TerryH]

When I bought my Model A out of state and had it shipped to California, a friend recommended that I go through the local AAA office and let them help with registration. I did just that and found that they had a senior representative there that specialized in antique car registration, and he was a huge help, and I had my car registered in no time. From what I have heard from others, California is not all that bad for registering a Model A. Good luck!

[Curt Campbell]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Iowa has been very accomodating to me. If no title have to have inspection and purchase a bond for what they call a bonded title. However....the title is totally clear and has no indication of bonding. It works well in my experience....reasonable.

[CarlG]

I was really surprised when I registered my PU here in Alaska. They took the signed CA title (Pinkie), no inspection, no nothing, Just give them $200 and I got title and tags good for 2 years. (Not antique tags but "collector car" tags that allow me to drive it all the time anywhere.) In and out of DMV in 15 minutes.

[stallerl]

Greg,
If you are a member of AAA just go into any office tell them you want to talk to an agent about getting a title for a car that hasn't been registered for a while. I just went through that with a Model A I bought that didn't have a current title or registration. I paid a few bucks in penalty fees and sales tax and left with a current title in my name. Nothing illegal and easier then working directly with the DMV. If you aren't a member of the Auto Club and live in the Huntington Beach area we can meet and use my membership to find out what the DMV fees would be, without going to the DMV directly. Let me know if I can help out. Lou

[Jim/GA]

Originally Posted by TerryH

When I bought my Model A out of state and had it shipped to California, a friend recommended that I go through the local AAA office and let them help with registration. I did just that and found that they had a senior representative there that specialized in antique car registration, and he was a huge help, and I had my car registered in no time. From what I have heard from others, California is not all that bad for registering a Model A. Good luck!

Yes! I found the AAA Office in Los Angeles to be an easy and painless way to transfer title of my car (titled in TX) to my daughter now living in LA. Walk in, sign some forms, pay some money and walk out with plates and reg.

I know my transfer was not as complicated as an antique car, like you have, but I am sure they do the old cars often and know all the traps. They are there to help you, not give you a lot of attitude.

AAA is a real service to the motorist in California (in my experience).

[V4F]

memorize your best lies & go for it . don't offer any info not asked .........

[Bill Steiner]

I'm in Texas and have no problems . Bill

[msmaron]

Many will disagree but i have never had any problems in Illinois...

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by msmaron

Many will disagree but i have never had any problems in Illinois...

But, in Illinois money talks............now we know who has the money!

[Tom in SW VA]

Virginia (DMV) is very cooperative. You can use period (year) tags or state produced tags. There is a one time fee.

[bill44]

You must have a California Titile, because you mentioned you had a "Pink Slip" That slang was only used in California as they used to be pink. Take the old registration and pink to DMV. They may charge you a penality for not getting a non op. If you have to have the car inspected, have it done by CHP. They are not interested in the value of the car like DMV is. Fees are based on the last purchase not the present value.

[showerxpert]

I would try to run it through the AAA, they can handle all of the items and are a lot friendly-er than anyone in the DMV!

[31 Woody]

If it is titled in your name in California and is non-op'd, re-registering is not a big deal. I did that with my '69 Mach 1 titling and licensing in 2001, then non-op'ing during a complete restoration. License fees were about $90 two years ago on a car worth far more than when parked.

[modelAsteve]

Do not go to the DMV! They are not our friends. If you have any paper work at all a DMV varifier can be you best friend. They will do all the paper work and you never have to go near the DMV. Up here in Nor-CAL price is about $200 to get it done. We use Donna Leek 530-320-5708. A used car dealer should be able to get you a local person. You can "Non-Op" it if you are not ready to drive it on the road. Good luck!

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by msmaron

Many will disagree but i have never had any problems in Illinois...

i didnt have DMV issues i had title printing issues when i got the 1967 title switched from my grandpas name to my name (67 was when it got switched from my great grandpas name to my grandpas name). I asked my local DMV if there was anyway to get the origional title back for sentemental and historical purposes and they said they couldnt promise anything but with the application they stated the owner wants the origional title back. Well i got it back and they didnt even touch it! so i got my title back along with the current actual title.

now the problem arose when i got the real title back the first time it said it was a 1929 ford grand cherokee....dont even wanna know how that happened as i looked at the handwritten copy copy that was sent off and it clearly states 29 ford model aa...

then good ol il sent a letter saying my 29 ford grand cherokee was deemed more than the $25 tax i already paid and wanted another $972 in taxes!!!

soo my dad and i wrote a letter to them explaining what happened, photocopy of the 67 title, photo copy of the fudged up title, copy of the copy of the application the dmv lady filled out that was correct and send pictures showing its current rusted carcas state. week later another title that was correct showed up and was told to ignore that tax letter haha.

but i have stopped in my local state police station and asked them about legality of me putting flashing amber lights on the back/roof of my truck as there is no way to make it out of my town on a non 55MPH road. mostly highways... he grabbed the shoebox thick vehicle code book and it clearly states snowplows and towtrucks and state vehicles and construction workers are the onlyones allowed to have flashing or rotating lights on and only when they are performing thier task.

he said he personally and none of his fellow officers would give me any grief about having amber flashing lights (i plan to set them up much like IDOT's orange trucks where they flash twice per side and random patterns) and he felt it would be a safety hazard if i didnt have them. i already have an orange triangle on a c clamp to use and plan to put another brake/tail on the pass side.

so really at least in my area the police arent too bad about hassiling classic car owners (as long as you arent speedig, burnouts etc) most of them like to oogle over cars and do show up and wander around cruise ins just to check out cars

[SLPreston53]

About 2 years ago we go the 31 PU licensed here in CA. We had an old registration, plus a bill of sale and a signed but out of date pink. All we needed in addition was a VIN verification (CA CHP will do house calls for this), a weight slip (as this is a PU and they mistakenly thought I had to have commercial plates), and a verification that the one signing the pink (the deceased owner's son) had legal rights to sign the pink. Pretty simple, actually!