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Old 01-09-2014, 11:15 AM
 
Location: Vermont
11,754 posts, read 14,576,504 times
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I don't know if I would consider any charge for vanity plates outrageous. Nobody needs one, so why shouldn't it be a pure moneymaker for the state? Don't want to pay the fee, don't get your name on your license plate. Or be like the guy that Marge Gunderson referred to in Fargo.

Quote:
Did you hear the one about the fella that couldn't afford personalized plates so he went and changed his name to J3L2404?
When I moved to Vermont about thirty years ago I was told that Vermont had one of the cheapest vanity plate fees, like $15.00 a year, so there were a lot of people with them. It's crept up to $45.00, but we still seem to have a lot.

There's an alternative to vanity plates. I don't know if this is still the case, but when I lived in Michigan the alphanumeric combinations were distributed to different Secretary of State offices around the state, so you could find out where any particular three-letter combo was being issued. At that time the dominant telephone company was Michigan Bell, so they registered all their vehicles in the office that was given MBT - ###.
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Old 01-09-2014, 11:19 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,553,227 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jackmccullough View Post
I don't know if I would consider any charge for vanity plates outrageous. Nobody needs one, so why shouldn't it be a pure moneymaker for the state? Don't want to pay the fee, don't get your name on your license plate. Or be like the guy that Marge Gunderson referred to in Fargo.
That's true that nobody needs one. But since vanity plates bring in extra money for the state, there should be some thought given to the pricing to maximize revenue. If MA cut the $75/year fee to $25/year, would there be more than 3x as many takers? Quite possibly. I think PA is leaving money on the table charging $20 only once, but I also think MA is leaving money on the table by setting the rate so high.


Quote:
Originally Posted by jackmccullough View Post
When I moved to Vermont about thirty years ago I was told that Vermont had one of the cheapest vanity plate fees, like $15.00 a year, so there were a lot of people with them. It's crept up to $45.00, but we still seem to have a lot.
Back in the day (around that time frame, 30 years ago) we always assumed they were pretty cheap in VA because we saw lots of vanity plates from there.
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Old 01-09-2014, 11:20 AM
 
15,707 posts, read 20,229,697 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greg42 View Post
I always find the disparity in vanity plates amazing. In PA, you pay a $20 one-time additional fee the first year, which covers making the plate. That's it. After that, still just $36 each year to renew.

I paid more than $20 additional per year in WV when I had a vanity plate for a short time, and that was over 20 years ago!

$75/year is outrageous. Vanity indeed.

I think what some states realized is that if they have more reasonable fees for all types of special issue plates as well as vanity, they can more than make it up in volume.

I agree. It's probably one of the most expensive vanity plates I know of. If another state is greater than$75/year, please chime in.

It's also the most expensive MA plate you can get. Most MA plate registrations are for 2 years, The standard plate is only $50/biannual, but some of the special "causes" plates are $90-100 every 2 years. (causes such as cancer, child care, environment, etc where a portion of the fees is donated to that cause). It's the standard $50 fee plus $40-50 donation

The Vanity plate is the only annually renewed plate, and it's $75/year...or $150 for 2 years.

So basically I pay $150 every 2 years to spell a word on my plate...vs paying $50-$100 or so and donating to a good cause? Now i feel like a jerk
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Old 01-09-2014, 11:22 AM
 
Location: Oceania
8,610 posts, read 7,849,991 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soviet View Post
"OBD2"? What's that?
Obiwan hooked up with the lil robot.
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Old 01-09-2014, 11:35 AM
 
Location: Oceania
8,610 posts, read 7,849,991 times
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Re-upping my registration for my truck is $156 every two years here in Maryland - home of the highest fees/taxes any state can levy against you. I live close to DC so my insurance is sky high as well.
We don't have safety inspections but emission testing is $14 every 2 years. The funny aspect of that? The busiest interstate in the nation, I-95, runs through the state and none of those are subject to testing. When the amount of out of state vehicles is polluting more than in state where is the sense?
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Old 01-09-2014, 01:44 PM
 
15,707 posts, read 20,229,697 times
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Kinda surprised at the amount of states that don't do any sort of safety inspection.

I'm not saying i want more gov't regulation, and I complain about it here, as for me personally, it's a waste of time since i keep my cars in tip top shape, like new at all times. But i've definitely encounted my share of cars that simply should not be on the road because of unsafe items such as bald tires, with metal showing, or a bad balljoint. The owner is simply clueless...or doesn't care.

Worst i've ever seen was a coworker at my work years ago that had a Celica he put together from 3 cars. It should not have been on the road so he just never had it inspected. The rear brakes were inoperable because he mated the front of one car, to the rear of another and the brake line routing was different. He simply crimped off the line with a pair of vicegrips and proceeded to drive with front brakes only....for 3 years.
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Old 01-09-2014, 02:16 PM
 
Location: Vermont
11,754 posts, read 14,576,504 times
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I don't know if this is true, but New Jersey used to exempt cars purchased new for the first two or three years. that seemed pretty sane to me.

Of course, when I lived in Jersey you had to go to a state inspection site to do it. I don't know if that's still true.
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Old 01-09-2014, 05:14 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,602 posts, read 57,568,971 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonMike7 View Post
Kinda surprised at the amount of states that don't do any sort of safety inspection. ....
Yeah, pretty scary when you realize what is on the road, approaching you at 60 mph

The NE USA and rust belt (salt) states do add some extra need for safety inspections. Fortunately we don't have those issues in the LEFT coast... Just CARB ,

I am pretty put out that TX requires safety inspection, so my cars that I keep in TX seasonal home are registered at 'Vehicle Boarding House' (A Cheaper state). I don't think I have had a horn that works for 30 yrs. Brakes,... take a higher priority.

Be Interesting to know which states have highest and lowest cost of vehicle ownership.

$4k GA and $2k OR, AK, SD, MT($2.6k).
Car-Ownership Costs By State | Bankrate.com
AK is too tough to get to to use as a potential 'Vehicle Boarding House')

So... very interesting, and why OR and MT plates are subject to tough scrutiny in may states (RV / custom car owner escaping sales tax states). I.E. In WA, there is an 'incentive program' to rat on your WA neighbors who are wearing OR plates. The WSP takes license plate photos during commute to Portland, OR, and run them through the local utility company data base to see if registered OR car owner has registered for home utility services in WA. If so... Busted
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Old 01-09-2014, 05:30 PM
 
Location: Wooster, Ohio
4,038 posts, read 2,951,237 times
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Ohio rarely pulls cars over for random safety inspections anymore. I am guessing that it is because few accidents are caused by mechanical failures. When a driver claims mechanical failure for an accident, they check to see if that is true.

You have to sign that you have insurance, and carry proof of insurance in your vehicle, but they have not asked to see my proof of insurance at the license bureau.
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Old 01-09-2014, 05:34 PM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,579 posts, read 86,631,990 times
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Michigan is currently $79. No statewide inspection required.

Historically, my dad used to have to pay $16 a year in Wisconsin, back in the 1950s, which in terms of today's dollar, was about twice as high as it is now. In the '50s, it was $1.50 in Mississippi, and Louisiana plated cars for two years, for $2.50 as I recall. And that included a new physical plate every time.

Last edited by jtur88; 01-09-2014 at 05:43 PM..
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