Not that any former citizens of NY/NJ on C-D would do this... (lease, vehicle registration)

[RedZin]

But have any of you met people who came down, bought houses, and didn't transfer their vehicle registrations to NC in order to get new plates and such?

Just curious.

[twingles]

No....it took us awhile to get to it (like we pushed it to the limit, think you have 30 days). After getting our licenses, and seeing how you couldn't even get in the door at DMV without proper documentation (for anything), I really didn't want to mess around with the DMV!

Honestly can't see why anyone would not do it, as my car insurance was cut in half here.

I know someone who maintains a home in NH, and it's to their tax advantage to keep that as their "home state" but that certainly wouldn't apply to NY/NJ.

I HAVE seen people keep their NY plate on the front of their car, which I find hard to believe is legal and besides that to me it screams "deep down inside I really don't wanna be here!".

[gunni]

I know people at work who kept their Michigan license plates for more than a year, not sure why. Maybe they wanted to postpone paying the vehicle taxes ?!

[CHTransplant]

This really isn't a NY/NJ to NC phenomenon. It happens all over. Re-registering vehicles is often not people's priority when moving.

I once got pulled over in NY several years ago (for speeding) after having moved to that area from the southeast, and my car still had plates and registration from my former state. I'd lived there almost a year at that point. The cop gave me a warning for both my speeding and registration and let me go.

[lovebrentwood]

Yes! I knew someone who didn't register or get plates for TWELVE YEARS. He said local law enforcement looked the other way!

[brocco]

i lived in NC for a year after college (and also while in college but i don't think that counts since my permanent address was still my parents') and kept my VA plates. i got pulled over a few times and they didnt say anything. i didn't bother changing the plates bc i knew i was going to move back to VA eventually. i dont think this is something very heavily enforced.

[MI-Roger]

Yes! I knew someone who didn't register or get plates for TWELVE YEARS. He said local law enforcement looked the other way!

I think there is a black market in out of state license plates based on the knowledge that Law Enforcement doesn't know what other state's license plates look like. There is a family that has lived around the corner from us for 3 years or so. I noticed both of their vehicles have California plates on them. When I mentioned this to my wife she said, "So they have changed them. Their cars previously carried Alaskan plates."

While walking the dog last week I noticed one vehicle was parked close enough to the street for me to read the expiration tag. The plates had expired in California in January of 2011 and were now being used on a car in Michigan in 2012! They have owned this particular car the entire time they have lived in our neighborhood.

I admit I don't love paying $200+ per year to register two automobiles. But the risks associated with being stopped and fined (in my mind) makes the cost palatable.

[knagy389us]

Yikes - I needed to get my NJ plates off everything ASAP for fears of getting ran off the roads

Seriously, it wasn't about the money, per say, with us. We just waited until our NJ registrations were up, then went through the NC process. I think 4 months was the longest we waited on vehicles owned by us. My wife's car however was a lease, which she was returning, so that one never got transferred, waited the 10 months and returned it.

[adlnc07]

People probably do it to avoid paying property tax. My neighbors have had FL tags on their car for at least 4 years (and they've been my neighbors for that long).

[PDD]

Driving in NC with NY, NJ plates on your car says to the state police,"Please give me a ticket" so as soon as I moved here I transferred my drivers license and registration.