Is it vintage, or a replica? The DMV wants to know

[chiph]

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/cri...ry/725492.html

The state of North Carolina has started criminal proceedings against an Alabama company that issued vintage titles for vehicles that were actually replicas of vintage cars.

The DMV is also possibly reclassifying nearly 1000 vehicles which may have been registered as vintage cars, when they were in fact modern reproductions.

The reason the state cares, is of course, money. A vintage car (over 35 years old) is much cheaper to register than a replica. Vintage cars also have yearly mileage limits.

Chip H.

[Disco Man]

Chip,

Interesting I was not aware of NC doing this.

Here in Virginia they now require anyone who has a classic car to fill out a form (have it notarized) to attest to the fact that their registered classic/vintage/antique car is not used as a primary vehicle by the owner (it must only be used as a low mileage, collector car), if the form is not filled out and sent back by the end of the year, the owner's classic car plates will be terminated by the state of Virginia.

Also when I purchased three years ago, antique/vintage license plates from the Virginia DMV, the cost (one time only) - $12. When I purchased plates for another classic car back in July of this year the cost was $50 (one time only). I don't expect it to stay at $50, since fees and taxes always go up. We as citizens must tighten our belts but government never does. It's always a one way street.

[D_E_Davis]

Aren't there also property tax issues as well? Here, the property tax on a car decreases to a set, small figure after 10 years - vintage or not.

[Disco Man]

D_E_Davis,

Excellent point, yes older cars are accessed at next to nothing. For instance if you own a 1979 Trans Am it could be a rust bucket worth $500 or a mint conditioned one worth $30,000, they have no way of telling so there's no accessment.

[DonTom]

"The reason the state cares, is of course, money. A vintage car (over 35 years old) is much cheaper to register than a replica. Vintage cars also have yearly mileage limits."

I don't understand the problem. If one owns a 2008 Model T, doesn't that prove it's a new vehicle?

-Don-

[D_E_Davis]

I don't understand the problem. If one owns a 2008 Model T, doesn't that prove it's a new vehicle?

Simple. "Model T" and "2008" don't fit together. The last Model T was built in 1927. A replica needs to be identified and titled as such.

[mrblanche]

I have a lot of friends in this quandry.

SEMA has promulgated a "Model Registration Law" which has been adopted by a number of states to solve this problem. Essentially, it allows a builder to title a car as the car it most resembles; if it were in place in Texas, it would be easy for me to title my car as a 1923 Ford Model T Touring Car.

What some owners have done is buy an old title, stamp the numbers on their car, and use it to obtain a new title for their vehicle.

What the Alabama company was doing was essentially "laundering" titles. You sold them your car (on paper), and through several "flips" they converted the title to whatever you wanted. Not hard, when you consider there WEREN'T titles for Model T's, and many states (Alabama being one) doesn't issue a title for cars before a certain date.

What all this came from was an investigation in California. Cobra replica car builders were building their kit, then laundering the title in Alabama, then titling it and registering it as if they had just bought it for $300. Our slimy friend Boyd Coddington got caught up in this, and paid many thousands of dollars of fines for it.