could be worse, you could live in virginia and have to pay personal property tax on you bike, car, truck, trailer, rv, boat, and camper every year. oh and its based on what you paid for it regardless of when you bought it. oh and if you think you can get away with not paying it they make you put a sticker on your windshield so the po-po can pull you over and cite you for it and then they get made at you when you call them tax collectors. oh and they encourage your nieghbours to be snitches about it.
so you live here, right?
reg on all our vehicles plus "property" taxes for owning still came out to a lot less than what we paid in CA.
I got pulled over a week or so ago for 2 of my three brake lights out. no sticker on windshield for county, my annual inspection sticker was there ($16 per year, a bargain for all that they do!). the cop didn't cite me or look for things he could cite me on, he helped me check bulb connections and fuses
such a nice southern gentleman! :love
two months before that a rear brake bulb was out on the truck. lit up, pulled over, and the very nice officer brought it to my attention (I went immediately to WalMart down the road afterwards to get it replaced). turns out CA had done some goofy computer shit to my old license there and it was returning my VA license as "ineligible". not suspended, "ineligible". officer took my number, gave me his, and helped me on his own time figure out wth CA did to screw up! the friendly folks an VA DMV were nothing but wonderful getting it handled and returning my status to licensed driver- in minutes. CA has YET to send me a letter showing that an old citation was cleared- and that there was never a hold on my license at all for it. they said 3-4 weeks on a letter. it's been nearly three months, and nothing yet! thankfully, our VA DMV know what they're doing.
is that worth the separate reg fees and state prop tax fees, which are still lower than CA? you bet! :thumbup
also, I called VDOT recently about problems with our road. they had someone out the same day for a temp fix and repaired it completely within three weeks
the actual process out here is, if you haven't paid your county personal prop taxes (and there's a first year exemption for new residents too
) they just take it off your state refund- they give you notice first so they don't take money without a chance for you to say "yes, I paid this". know how I know this? we moved from Richmond to sw VA and Henrico County erroneously still had us on their books. I got an email notification. I called, gave them the date of our move, the nice lady thanked me and wiped out the fees
took, oh I don't know, 4 minutes? and I had an electronic refund on our state taxes in under a week from filing
I :love this state
ps- my personalized plates cost me ten bucks! one time fee
I can log into the online services too and get a complete license record, change address, pay registrations, pretty much everything from the comfort of my home. need a new license or renewal? no problem- they'll mail it within five days. how long's the wait there n ow? two, three months?
enjoy your mobile no-notice-no-exit-lane-you're-stuck smog check stops out there! :thumbup I'm gonna go bake some cookies for the sheriff's office as thanks for helping me with my car
