Any Limit on How Long You Can Wait to Register a Vehicle in CO? (Boulder: sale)

[mscdman]

Last July (8 months ago - July 2014) I purchased a 1963 car from California. I was sent the title and a bill of sale. and have that handy.

However, the car has not been driven since being shipped here - went straight from the tow truck to the restoration/body shop and has been there since being worked on. When I bought it the car wouldn't drive so I really couldn't get it to the DMV at that time.

It is now almost restored and I was going to:

1) Get a VIN verification
2) Take it to the DMV to register with collector plates (apparently I don't need emission on a collector plated pre-1976 car)

My question: Will I have any trouble registering the car since I have had it 8 months and not registered it? If so, what do I need to do to correct this? I am anxious to register the car as it is almost done with the restoration so I can drive it!!

[reed303]

You may be subject to "Prior Ownership Taxes" from 7/2014 to current. But since on a '63 the tax should only be $3 per year it should not be much.

You can get an on-line estimate of title & registration fees at Boulder County's webpage at
Calculate First Registration Fee

Sounds like you are aware of:
House Bill 13-1071 Summary

• Changes the definition of a collector’s item to include vehicles that are 32 years old and older.
• Requires vehicles model year 1976 and later to comply with emissions testing requirements upon registration and re-registration.
• Requires the vehicle owner of a collector’s item to sign an affidavit acknowledging that the vehicle will not be driven on roadways more than 4,500 miles per year.

[Texas Ag 93]

I'm in a similar situation. We have a 1973 Mustang that has been undergoing resto/mod for the past 7 years in the state we previously lived in, and they are now nearing completion and want to test it out, but it has no plates or anything, so they asked us to register it here in CO and send the plates to them so they could road test it. It's never been registered anywhere since we bought it because it's been torn apart in resto that entire time. We are a little unclear on how to register a vehicle that is physically not in this state (and never has been), but this was what we were told when we called 3-1-1, and asked to speak to a specialist on the car registration thing:

1. You can send the VIN verification to the shop where they are doing the restoration and they can complete the form and send it back to you.
2. You can also have the shop do a form for "Statement of Fact" describing why and how the car was not in drivable condition, has been in the shop for X time etc etc.
3. Then, you should be able to take the above forms, the title etc to the DMV and register it.

I will say that even after my conversation, I felt a bit unclear on whether the above would work. The Rep I talked to was supposedly a specialist who was knowledge about the vehicle registration process, but I just didn't get the feeling he was 100% certain he knew what he was talking about.

The forms I referenced above are available on the colorado.gov site at https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dmv/forms-vehicles. Hope it works out and I have steered you in the right direction.

[mscdman]

Thanks! I was worried I would have to get the PO to send me a new title and bill of sale or something

[Texas Ag 93]

Well, like I said, when I talked to them, the Rep was clear as mud. I don't feel confident this is the right way to go about it, but I sent the forms I described above to the shop in Texas and they are going to return them to me and we will try (at least once) to register it. If they make it too much of a hassle, we are just going to wait until when and if we return to Texas and do it there (we are likely relocating back).