Vehicle registration in MA (Lincoln: sales, car insurance, buying)

[lorilou]

hello again! Does anyone how long new MA residents (coming from other states) have to register their vehicles? How about license plates? I'm guessing the new Texas stickers I just paid $70 for aren't worth a dime in MA? Oh well, it's only money... )<: Any info on this topic would be appreciated. thanks, lorilou

[katzenfreund]

Same thing here, I just paid $140 (!) for mine in MD and I also have to get a new license because my MD license is expiring 1 month before we move to MA the end of March... another $30 down the drain!

[smarty]

Yes. It is only money. Welcome to MA, where money will fix everything.

Also, if you do not have registration done within 30 days after you become a MA ressident. They can give you a ticket ($50?).

Check mass.gov/rmv for the website.

[Cosmic]

Originally Posted by smarty

Yes. It is only money. Welcome to MA, where money will fix everything.

Also, if you do not have registration done within 30 days after you become a MA ressident. They can give you a ticket ($50?).

Check mass.gov/rmv for the website.

Congrats on moving to MA. You will quickly learn your car is a first class way for the state to skin you out of many, many dollars.

Also know you may have to be able to prove you paid sales tax on it in the old state. Paperwork as a mindless game.

Plus if you ever move from MA, (Anyone doing that is declared Insane automatically) you will have lots of fun with your car again. You must return the plates to MA.

[Na16v]

I moved from MA to Texas, and I miss the MA DMV. One stop shopping. The TX DOT is a joke. Have to take a week off of work to register and insure a car here. Get the friggin run around every where we go.

[scarletfire]

You also have to get an inspection sticker on your car here in MA. (I don't know if they have that in TX. When we lived in California they didn't have those.) The inspection is pretty basic: check safety items like tires and check the emissions from your car. It's only about $20-30 to do, but you have to do it every year.

[Torrey]

$20-30 for Inspection? Man you all are getting the shaft! It's $15 here in Texas.

I figure if a state wants you to keep your car up and pass their inspections, they should inspect it for free.

Paying for inspection is just another form of tax. Just like speeding tickets - another form of tax. We spend almost half of our income we all make on taxes. What a rip off. The government is ripping all of us off, no matter where we live.

[Na16v]

Originally Posted by Torrey

$20-30 for Inspection? Man you all are getting the shaft! It's $15 here in Texas.

I figure if a state wants you to keep your car up and pass their inspections, they should inspect it for free.

Paying for inspection is just another form of tax. Just like speeding tickets - another form of tax. We spend almost half of our income we all make on taxes. What a rip off. The government is ripping all of us off, no matter where we live.

Where are you getting your TX inspection for $15? The cheapest I've seen is $29.

[puffle]

Originally Posted by lorilou

hello again! Does anyone how long new MA residents (coming from other states) have to register their vehicles? How about license plates? I'm guessing the new Texas stickers I just paid $70 for aren't worth a dime in MA? Oh well, it's only money... )<: Any info on this topic would be appreciated. thanks, lorilou

Hi Lori,
You are suppose to register within 30 days, but I did it after six months. No one knows how long you have lived there and if you are stopped, you are visiting or just moved there. Unless you have car insurance that covers Ma. and Texas, you have to register your vehicle first to get new car insurance which is a monopoly in Ma. Most agencies that are cheaper nationwide cannot do business in Ma. like Geiko, Mercury, Century 21. We used Amica. Registering is easy and cost less than other states and goes for two years instead of one. Guess what! We will be moving back after all! Yeah!!!!!!! We don't want to live as far out as Lincoln, but any other places you have heard or seen that you would recommend since being there? What have you guys done on the weekends since living there? I can't believe I have to start the whole process again! Refilling the Xanax as we speak.

[LovelyBoston]

Originally Posted by Cosmic

Also know you may have to be able to prove you paid sales tax on it in the old state.

I am fairly certain this is really, really not true, unless you lived in Mass when you bought your car, but bought it out of state. But living elsewhere, and buying elsewhere, and later moving to Mass with your car would not generally subject you to having to prove you've paid your sales tax on a purchase made well before you lived here.