Urgent need of help! registration renewal (home, safe area, inspection)

[dannnnny29]

Ok, so I went there at 10.30am during lunch...I was expecting a very long "lunch". To my surprise there were 3 people there. Even better I was told I could pay and receive the sticker on the spot, I told them I had moved to unincorporated Cordova and the lady said fine, what are the license plate numbers: I told her, showed her my ED and she looked them up and the system and told me: you cannot pay for them because the last name of the owner is the the same as yours. Indeed, both cars were in my wife's name because she can get more than great discounts through the company she works for, and she has not changed her last name. This started a 30 minute conversation between me and 3 employees that could not understand that people in the 21st century do not always change their names after marriage. I have documents with both our names on them, checks with both names...after a while they did me the favor and allowed me to pay. Why would I want to pay for a stranger, and even so, why would I be forbidden to pay for a stranger? Their problem was not the address change but the fact that my wife and I do not share a last name. This is the most idiotic thing I have heard in a long time. I know you can say that my wife should have gone and I should be happy that I paid, but with rules like this and with people that follow the rules blindly I feel like we are all headed to the future described in the movie "Idiocracy". The lady kept saying "they will not allow you / permit it" Who is "they" because she was the one looking at the papers and returning them to me without making any copies. I just wanted pay with the same check my wife would've used. A stranger with my wife's last name could've paid, but not me, her husband.

To sum it up: no line, no traffic on my way there at 10.30am, $2 for parking, an hour of my life I will never get back because of the retards that make some rules. If the car is in your name, you'll be in and out in 2 minutes.

[rsgillmd]

I have a question related to registration renewal, but didn't want to start a new thread.

The sticker on my license plate says July 2010, so I assume I have until the end of July.

I live in Memphis (Mud Island) so I know I would have to get my car inspected. But what happens after that? Do they give me the new sticker, or do I need to stand in line at the Shelby County Clerk's office again to get it?

I have a tight schedule at work in June and July, so I was thinking of getting it inspected on Monday morning after work. But I haven't received a notice yet that the original poster was referring to. Do I need that notice? I'm assuming not because he didn't get one either.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Pearlbob]

Yes, it's the end of the month.

You get it inspected, they give you certificate if you pass, and you take that certificate to the renewal office along with the renewal invoice the city sends you in the mail about a month beforehand. Yes, you need that notice....I'm not sure what you'd do without one if you are renewing (instead of brand new to the city, in which case you wouldn't have an invoice). If it's due in July, you should have gotten the invoice around the beginning of June. Maybe go online and check their website to see what it says about renewal without an invoice.

[hex_haight]

Originally Posted by dannnnny29

I feel like we are all headed to the future described in the movie "Idiocracy"..

I love that movie!


now back to the subject...
I didn't want to start a new thread, so please forgive me if this doesn't go here....

Last night on the local news I heard that they are changing the way the inspections work. If you have a car that is less than four years old you will not be required to get it inspected. However, looking over the MVIB site, I can't find anything. (http://www.memphistn.gov/framework.aspx?page=604 I am a bit of a technotard, tho.) Is this a definate or is it still bogged down in legislation where six or seven different committees review the tps reports and then form more committees to discuss if the correct size stable was used in said reports? I bought my car new last summer. Will I need to get it inspected when I renew next month? Or do I just need to pay for the tags? Also, I moved in the last year so I'll be required to bring 'proof of address". I know I can use my MLGW bill, but am I also going to have to go get a new driver's license since my old addy is on my current TN license??

This whole mess of understanding what I need to do and pay to keep my car legal is yet another area where DeSoto County seems to have the system working much better. Plus, what is the point of the emission test anyway?? I am often driving behind a car that I can SMELL. I'm guessing they pass the emissions test the way a lot of people do..discontecting something or another just for the test.

[Tigertate]

I believe they have to approve the minutes from this week’s Council meeting at the next meeting before the resolution becomes final. I also think they have to get the approval of the Memphis MPO to omit newer vehicles from emission tests. It may be a couple months, maybe more, before you can bank on getting out of the inspection line with your new car.

[Pearlbob]

I have to say, I have never had a problem with the inspection lines. I've never waited an ungodly amount of time like some people seem to. Go downtown, go at a slow time, and it's simple.

[Tigertate]

I just went yesterday to the downtown location and waited maybe 10 minutes max. It all depends on when you go. If you try to go at the beginning of the month or the end of the month the lines will be crazy long.

[JoeCartpath]

You can also check their webcams before you go to get an idea of how busy the stations are...

City of Memphis - MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION BUREAU

[rsgillmd]

I finally got my renewal notice, and went in the afternoon day before yesterday. There was only one car ahead of me in my lane and it was already being inspected, so I did not have a long wait. But it was a strange inspection in several ways:

1) They never asked to see anything -- renewal notice, insurance, etc.

2) They had me put my emergency brake on, put the car into drive, and then ease down on the gas. The lady looked surprised when my car started to move forward. I have no clue what she was expecting, much less the point of such a test. Has she never put a car into gear before realizing the emergency brake is on?

3) I bought my car in June 2009 in NJ. NJ gives new cars a 4 year pass (subsequent inspections are every 2 years). So the sticker, which I never bothered to take off, says 13. The inspector looked at the sticker and asked, "You bought this car in 2003?"

Either way I passed and I intend to mail in my renewal this afternoon. The notice lists a $2 charge for postage as part of the fee, but figure I'd likely be paying $2 for parking anyway in addition to wasting my time standing in line.

[JoeCartpath]

Originally Posted by rsgillmd

1) They never asked to see anything -- renewal notice, insurance, etc..

I suppose they assume that no one would want to bother to take their car through inspection if they didn't have to do it! I've thought about taking my '78 MGB through just to see how it does on the emissions test. It should be fun watching the operator look for the bar code on the door jamb

Originally Posted by rsgillmd

2) They had me put my emergency brake on, put the car into drive, and then ease down on the gas. The lady looked surprised when my car started to move forward. I have no clue what she was expecting, much less the point of such a test. Has she never put a car into gear before realizing the emergency brake is on?.

If you just give it a little gas, your car should not move forward if the emergency brake is fully on, properly adjusted and your brakes in good condition. It'll try to move forward, but the brake should hold it. If it doesn't, your emergency brake cable is likely too slack and needs to be adjusted.

Originally Posted by rsgillmd

Either way I passed and I intend to mail in my renewal this afternoon. The notice lists a $2 charge for postage as part of the fee, but figure I'd likely be paying $2 for parking anyway in addition to wasting my time standing in line.

If you prefer, you can go to one of the suburban offices (such as the one at Poplar Plaza) and renew on the spot - where parking is free. Just like the inspection station, sometimes they are busy....sometimes not...