Car registration fees & insurance in Mass. (Boston: sales, car insurance)

[Atomicdoug]

I am bringing 2 cars into Mass, I wanted to get an idea of License & Title fees, as well as excise tax. Also, is there a state inspection? Any suggestion for auto insurance? In NJ, I used NJM, which is "NJ manufacturers" the offer policies to people in Engineering/Science and had good rates.

First car is a 2004 Mercedes C-class, car is probably only worth $5000 at this point. Second car is a vintage car (1971 Datsun 240z). I am assuming for the Datsun I can get antique auto plates and avoid annual inspections etc?

I've heard the registration fees in Mass are high?

[gf2020]

massrmv.com will answer your registration questions.

Most car insurance in MA is sold thru a local agent. I would ask your new co-workers or neighbors for suggestions. You can also shop Geico, Progressive and Allstate on-line.

[Dm84]

I use Costco for car insurance.

Honestly in the grand scheme of things, coming from NJ a lot of things will seem less expensive, except gas.

Yes, there's a state inspection every year. It takes me 10 minutes.

[CaseyB]

A normal registration for a car is $60, renewable every 2 years. Plates for Antique cars are $50.

[Ephekx]

i have a problem, i bought a car from a seller and then he signs the title of the car over to me and so i go to register the car but i couldnt register it because the seller never registered the car in his name but had the persons who sold him the car name on the tile and now im having problems registering the car what should i do?

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by Ephekx

i have a problem, i bought a car from a seller and then he signs the title of the car over to me and so i go to register the car but i couldnt register it because the seller never registered the car in his name but had the persons who sold him the car name on the tile and now im having problems registering the car what should i do?

You bought a stolen car. Go to your local police station for advice on what to do next.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by Atomicdoug

Second car is a vintage car (1971 Datsun 240z). I am assuming for the Datsun I can get antique auto plates and avoid annual inspections etc?

Not necessarily. You still need annual safety inspection at $35/yearly. Emmissions isn't tested but still required to have all the emmissions equipment if originally equipped. (or an inspector that doesn't know any better)


The rules for antique plate may not be desirable as well. Basically you are restricted to driving on the weekends or holidays or in parades or car shows. Hopping in the car and commuting to work with it isn't really the right thing to do with antique plates, but I know of a few people who do it and haven't had issues. You are still subject to full vehicle safety inspection though.


Look into collector car insurance rather than standard insurance. There are rules (must be garaged, max miles, have another daily driver to use, etc) but the rates are cheaper. I insured an older Mustang this way and the difference was $300/year for collector car insurance vs $1800/year for standard.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by Atomicdoug

Second car is a vintage car (1971 Datsun 240z). I am assuming for the Datsun I can get antique auto plates and avoid annual inspections etc?

Nice! That was my dad's last car before he had me. Although I never saw it in person I have many pictures of it back when my parents were roadtripping as DINKs.

Whether you get antique plates depends on how you plan to drive it.

[raveabouttoast]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

Not necessarily. You still need annual safety inspection at $35/yearly. Emmissions isn't tested but still required to have all the emmissions equipment if originally equipped. (or an inspector that doesn't know any better)


The rules for antique plate may not be desirable as well. Basically you are restricted to driving on the weekends or holidays or in parades or car shows. Hopping in the car and commuting to work with it isn't really the right thing to do with antique plates, but I know of a few people who do it and haven't had issues. You are still subject to full vehicle safety inspection though.


Look into collector car insurance rather than standard insurance. There are rules (must be garaged, max miles, have another daily driver to use, etc) but the rates are cheaper. I insured an older Mustang this way and the difference was $300/year for collector car insurance vs $1800/year for standard.

2001 is the cut off year for emissions whether or not it's registered as an antique. It just can't be visibly smoking.

[SalamanderSmile]

Originally Posted by Dm84

You bought a stolen car. Go to your local police station for advice on what to do next.

That's not necessarily true, there can be car flips where it is legitimately signed over to X who never gets the title in his name ($$$) and then X signs it over to Y. I think you have a certain number of days you can hold it, although the sales tax is another thing entirely.