Difficulties At The Motor Vehicle Division (Las Cruces, Santa Fe: sales, apartment, rental)

[newmex]

Just a note to all that if you live in the Clovis / Portales area, AVOID the Portales MVD if you are looking to title or register your vehicles. I had a very difficult time registering my vehicles there.

They seem to lack the knowledge to make life easier, tying you up with ridiculous red tape.

Everyone complains about that office and suggest that I go to Clovis to register.
No problem, only had to go to the Clovis MVD once and its done.

[Rothbard]

Hi,
I'm just a little curious because hating the Dept. of Motor Vehicles has been a hobby of mine for many years. What was the nature of the trouble you had? I found the MVD in Gallup to be the most user-friendly I have ever encountered (no safety inspection, no emissions inspection, no automobile property tax, just in & out). I just assumed it was the same in all small NM towns.

[newmex]

Problems include but not limited to:
We need 2 proofs of residency (utility bill, rental contract), needing original bill of sale docs from the previous owner, he only had copies..the originals are maybe with the original seller 2 states away. Title had Middle initial of seller typed on the back, while the bill of sale did not have his middle initial written or signed. Little piddly crap like that. My wife kept her maiden name so we produced on our own accord the "Abstract of Marriage" doc to show that we were married and to tie it into the rental contract to show my residency was at the apartment. It seemed they felt power to pick and choose what they needed from you.

At Clovis MVD they felt the excess proof was irrelevant. Show us a utility bill for residency, the title to be transferred, bill of sale...poof! here is your new title and plates, have a great day!!!

[Rothbard]

Wow!
That sounds like what I encountered in NV. Hopefully your warning will ensure that most will steer clear of the Portales location. As lenient as NM is, the petty government bureaucrats (failures at actual jobs) will always think of ways to disrupt our lives for their own amusement (in between their 2 hour breaks of course).

[clairz]

Originally Posted by newmex

Problems include but not limited to:
We need 2 proofs of residency (utility bill, rental contract), needing original bill of sale docs from the previous owner, he only had copies..the originals are maybe with the original seller 2 states away. Title had Middle initial of seller typed on the back, while the bill of sale did not have his middle initial written or signed. Little piddly crap like that. My wife kept her maiden name so we produced on our own accord the "Abstract of Marriage" doc to show that we were married and to tie it into the rental contract to show my residency was at the apartment. It seemed they felt power to pick and choose what they needed from you.

At Clovis MVD they felt the excess proof was irrelevant. Show us a utility bill for residency, the title to be transferred, bill of sale...poof! here is your new title and plates, have a great day!!!

Ha! My experience at the Clovis DMV was a little different. My husband went to that office three times before convincing them that he was worthy of a license. I was determined to be successful the first time, but here is what happened to me. I brought an insurance statement that was sent to my home address. They rejected it as proof of residence even though I had received it in the mail at my residence, because it was a statement indicating that my New Hampshire insurance coverage was cancelled. I explained that this was because I now had New Mexico insurance coverage, but they didn’t care.

I thought I had the proof of residency further covered with the complete documentation for our new mortgage, but they insisted on seeing our purchase and sales agreement (which was out in the car). When I brought it in, and my place in line came up again , they complained that the agreement was only signed by the purchasers (us) and not the sellers (we hadn't received that copy yet, as the sellers were far away by the time our many-times-rescheduled closing finally took place--that's another story about which Clovis bank NOT to use).

After toying around with me a bit longer to see if they could make me cry or yell, my “service representative” took my personal papers off to another part of the office and made me wait a while longer. When she finally returned, everything suddenly went smoothly. I got my license.

Once I had the license in hand I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Weeks later I noticed that they made a mistake—the license indicated that I must wear corrective lenses, even though I passed the eye test with no glasses on. What the heck, I’ll buy some clear lens glasses and keep them handy. In any event, I am never going back to that office. By paying a bit extra, I got my license for 8 years, rather than for 4 years. By that time I’ll probably just stop driving.

So, here is my advice: To change your driver’s license from another state to a New Mexican driver’s license, which must be done within 30 days after your arrival (but I doubt they are checking) have a good night’s sleep the night before and a nutritious breakfast, give yourself plenty of time, arrive early (45 minutes before opening time—I’m not kidding about this) and line up outside the door. Do not sit down, or you will lose your place in line. Take deep calming breaths, and bring something along to occupy yourself—but stay aware of your surroundings. Do not lose your place in line.

The people inside that you will be dealing with are angry and unhappy. We do not know why. They are probably not angry with you, but it will seem like it to you. See why I told you to be well rested and well fed before going?

Bring several examples of identity and address documentation. Be prepared for rejection. Have a whole file folder of papers with you. Don’t leave anything out in the car, thinking that you have all eventualities covered. You might have, but they will still reject everything you brought inside and you will lose your place in line when you go back outside to bring in the rest of the file folders.

But first…Long before you go to the DMV, study the Dept. of Motor Vehicles web site carefully at DMV - Department of Motor Vehicles - Online directory of state DMV web sites with comprehensive guide to Department of Motor Vehicle services including driving records, vin numbers, registration, licenses, and forms. and print out the list of documents that you will need. The DMV’s official site is kind of clunky and hard to use. There is an “unofficial guide” at NEW MEXICO - DMV.ORG - The Unofficial Guide to the DMV. It has a casual and jokey tone to it. Do not let this lull you into a false sense of security.

At least I have this good news for you. To register your vehicles, do not go through the horror of the Clovis DMV. Simply drive up Prince St. to
Complete Compliance Services. Bring along your vehicle, your check book, your old registration, and your proof of insurance that includes coverage in case a non-insured driver hits you. You might give them a call ahead of time to be sure your insurance has any other required coverage. As long as you don’t arrive during the lunch hour when they are closed from 12:30-1:30, you will have a pleasant and restful experience registering your car. They are lovely people and every bit as friendly as everyone else in Clovis (except for those angry and unhappy DMV employees).

~clairz

[TigerLily24]

I just had to report that I had THE ABSOLUTE BEST experience I've ever had at a motor vehicles office. I went to the MVD express office on Lohman in Las Cruces and upon signing in was immediately told that the registration sticker printer was down but that they could still do licenses. Given the trying circumstances, I have to say that the staff was extremely friendly and professional - they took phone numbers for everyone who wanted to do registrations and promised to call as soon as the printer was up and running. The office was clean, there was lovely art work on the wall, the chairs were comfortable and the service was extremely efficient. One gentleman forgot his SS card, went home to get it and immediately upon return was attended to by the same person that had started to process his paperwork.
As I was changing my NJ license for a NM one, just to be on the safe side I checked the DMV website AND made a point of stopping in yesterday to confirm exactly what I needed to bring for documentation. Miracle of miracles, I got the same information from both sources. The lovely woman I spoke to yesterday also told me exactly what info I needed to get from my lien-holder so I could change my registration. Armed with my utility bill from the city, my electric bill, old license and SS card as well as current registration and insurance card (I had already switched my insurance from NJ to NM, learned that lesson when I moved from NY to NJ) and contact info so MVD could request my car's title, and taking into account that there were five people signed in before me, I was done, new license and temporary registration in-hand in no more than an hour and fifteen minutes, record time based on past personal experience.

[songinthewind7]

I'm hoping the one in Cloudcroft is a good one.

[Bear's Mom]

Originally Posted by songinthewind7

I'm hoping the one in Cloudcroft is a good one.

You'll have to let us know how it goes - so we'll be prepared - when we get there in a year or so. Good luck!

[Devin Bent]

North of Santa Fe, the choice is Los Alamos over Espanola. Both can be sticklers over documentation, but the lines are much shorter in Los Alamos.

Maybe we should sympathize a little with the employees. The new documentation requirements have resulted from 9/11. Yet many of the citizens still come in with nothing near the required documents. I have seen (heard?) very abusive language directed at the employees.

[mtncat]

Originally Posted by songinthewind7

I'm hoping the one in Cloudcroft is a good one.

Don't hold your breath, you will get pretty blue in the face LOL
On some things they are GREAT, on others they lack the common sense of a 5 year old.
Went to renew my drivers license.
She tells me that she can't renew it because of outstanding tickets in California and outstanding warrants in California.
The Chief of Police is standing looking over her shoulder (I've known him for years) and laughing his tail off.
I've never been to california.
SHe prints out and hands me the paper work and tells me I have to get it cleared up before she will issue the license.
I and the chief both point out to her that the guy in Ca has the same name and date of birth BUT he is a BLACK male and I am a WHITE male
She still refused.
Only good thing is that I called the number in Ca. It was answered by a real person who took care of the problem in about 30 seconds