DMV License Renewal Venting/Rant (Roseville: real estate, rentals, landlords)

[payutenyodagimas]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

I knew that about the ID card. As I said in a previous post, I have no need for one so that doesn't bother me. I was more concerned about my regular license and seeing how I wasn't able to renew online (as I had in previous years) I'm glad I took Matadora's advice.

i have an account too with the DMV but its been 2 years i think that i cant access it

[evening sun]

I am so happy to live in the foothills, last time I was at dmv for my licence, I was in & out in half an hour. We do the car tags at AAA

[ikoolu]

lamo-- we retired to texas in April - my registration for 2 trucks,2008 and 2014 and 1 car 2016 and 5th wheel was lower than just 1 truck in so calif

we just so sick and tired of the high cost of everything, fees for everything and dump ass political ways - governor moon beam won't get any more from us - and this is from a born and raised so cali 64 years old- California is not the same and getting worse

[lostsoul359]

My most recent experience:

I paid my registration renewal online on Aug 27, I printed out the receipt. This is for Sept 2019 tags, which I still have not received. I called the DMV, and was on hold for 40 minutes. When I was able to finally get an agent, he said my tags were in the mail. That was about 1 week ago. I have an office appointment with the DMV (which I scheduled 5 days after no new sticker in the mail before I called the DMV) to resolve this issue next Monday, and I will be going if I do not receive my new 2019 tags by then.
In the meantime, I am driving the vehicle with the DMV receipt stating that I paid for the 2019 tags and registration.
This is the first time that I have not received my new stickers and I have a locking mailbox and have lived in the same house for the past 14 years.

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I'm hundreds of miles away from Southern California.

It must work somewhere otherwise the entire state would be up in arms.

One thing I treasure is my life long AAA membership... if I buy or sell a car... the entire transaction typically takes about 15 minutes from arrival to departure...

Unfortunately, at least here, the AAA DMV office does not take thumb prints or pictures...

Which raises another question... just how many times does a person have to give prints to the DMV?

Thank God for AAA. AAA can handle all types of vehicle paperwork and I've had mine taken care of within 20-25 minutes including waiting time. Unfortunately AAA cannot do drivers license transactions. (They don't have the resources to give written tests, take pictures, or prints.) Just can't. Oh, and if you have roadside trouble just ringy-ding-ding and you can let AAA change your flat. Sure I can change a flat, but why? My main concern is car trouble and towing when I'm traveling, but the free maps and DMV vehicle paperwork are additional benefits.

DMV has a new fingerprint system that uses an electronic scanner. (FWIW) I believe that's to ensure that you are the same person who originally got the license. As I said, AAA does not have that.

I got my CDL late last year, and was frustrated when I got notified of the RealID maybe half a year later. I made an appointment to get the work done and was surprised that it was several weeks away. They had my email, I presumed they'd send me a reminder. Nope. I plum forgot because the friggin' appointment wait was longer than my memory span for such trivia.

BTW last year when I renewed my CDL I got an appointment about 4 weeks away, well within the renewal window, went in and it took maybe 45 minutes total. I don't know if I had a better experience because I'm in SoCal, or whether the system has degraded that badly in the last year.

And of course I'm outraged that the DMV would send you a CDL renewal deadline, have such bad office service that people are lining around the block, and won't give you an appointment until you've driven unlicensed for several weeks, and can't see you unless you're willing to spend a whole day for what should take no more than 45 minutes.

After reading this topic I think I'll wait until next year to get my RealID CDL. At least the provisions don't go into effect for about 2 years.

In contrast, I went to a passport center with an appointment, got processed within 30 minutes (I brought my complete application and documents with me), and I got my passport book and card within 3-4 weeks with no expediting.

Somebody should get on the phone to their state representatives and get DMV to shape up their act. They've been a joke my whole life but this thing that you can't renew your CDL until a month after it expires is just bull. Heads need to roll.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

In contrast, I went to a passport center with an appointment, got processed within 30 minutes (I brought my complete application and documents with me), and I got my passport book and card within 3-4 weeks with no expediting.

Somebody should get on the phone to their state representatives and get DMV to shape up their act. They've been a joke my whole life but this thing that you can't renew your CDL until a month after it expires is just bull. Heads need to roll.

I did and was told it is just the way things are right now...

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by davidt1

I got my smog done on Saturday. Went home and tried to register online a few hours later but the registration was incomplete. They took money out of my CC anyway. They say they will send me new document to fill out to complete. This didn't happen to me last year.

Perhaps the smog paper didn't go through because they don't work on the weekend?

The most intelligent (and effective) way to immediately renew your vehicle registration is to make your payment online even if you need a smog test, so that you cannot be billed for a late fee no matter what happens. Pay online immediately the day you receive your renewal notice.

THEN get your smog test. The paper should go through automatically but you may have to kick it with a written complaint. (I think I've done this before.) In any case, make copies of all documentation and carry it with you until you get your new sticker.

I think most of us hate the DMV so much because they are a monopoly. It doesn't matter how bad their service is, you can't go to a competitor.

At least DMV employees have been civil to me. They didn't design the system and there's no reason to give poor clerks a bad time.

A fish rots from the head, and it's clear that all our DMV problems originate from our elected officials. They are the people to get snotty with, or better, vote them out.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

Somebody should get on the phone to their state representatives and get DMV to shape up their act.

Sounds as if that may not work.

"Why is the DMV stuck in the 20th century, with decades-old technology? What will it take to make renewing a driver’s license or registering a vehicle, if not a pleasant experience, at least not a terribly painful one?

You might think that the crisis at the DMV would be a nonpartisan issue. It’s driving people nuts in every corner of the state, regardless of their political affiliation. You also might think heads would be rolling about now, this close to election day, especially after the recent news that a DMV employee had been sleeping on the job for three years. You’d also think there would be a unified call by Republicans and Democrats for a top-to-bottom examination of DMV practices.

Instead, there’s a political spat over whether it makes sense to ask the state auditor to examine wait times at the DMV."

California’s DMV is broken — and legislators are playing politics instead of fixing it: California

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

I think maybe we’re not supposed to make commercial plugs on the forum ... but: hear hear! Worth every penny every year!

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Isn't AAA a non-profit?

To me it is worth it simply for registration services...

Found it...

1907 was the year that California State Automobile Association officially incorporated in California as Non-Profit Mutual Benefit Corportion

The forum rules as I interpret them state that you cannot post forum spam where you personally benefit when people click the link. These are usually recently joined members who post several links with referrer codes, also called click bait. I've reported many dozens of such spammers and they are always gone within a few hours.

I see nothing at all in forum rules that prevents you from posting product or company recommendations when you have no financial stake and no money to gain.

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

Used to be a time when you could renew registration at a AAA office. I'm not sure if that's still true but if you have AAA maybe you could try them.

What a mess

AAA handles vehicular transactions only. AAA cannot help you with drivers license transactions. As I said earlier, AAA is not equipped to handle the various tests, photos, eye tests, and finger prints because they do not have the equipment. It can also be argues that vehicular transactions are paperwork only, where drivers license transactions involve many complexities such as sight testing, written tests, taking your photograph and finger prints.

You can avoid DMV forever with vehicular transactions via AAA, but AAA simply cannot handle DL transactions.