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DMV question.. buying a non op vehicle.

Ryan B.

Ryan B.

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Got a question here:
Suppose i go look at a vehicle and contemplate buying it.. It has been NON OP for about 10 years..
The dude said that he thinks he paid the non op fee like 10 years ago, but hasn't since..
So that means if i bought the vehicle, I will be stuck with the non op fees for the last 9 years plus any additional late fees, etc... :confused:
How can i research this!!!??? Can i grab the vin# and then go on DMV website or call DMV on monday and ask them how much the fees added up to on this thing for the registration over the last 9 years!? Will they let a random person do a vin registration background check?
I need to figure out how much is owed on the registration before i would think about buying it!
A good deal always has a catch right?

Thanks for any help or tips!
 
sorry this is not helpful, you have to pay a fee if you own a car and don't drive it in CA? One more reason I will never live in that state.
 
yes non op fee is like $10 or $15 a year so its still legit.

did a little more searching..
over 2 years, a registration late fee will be added of 160% of the registration!
I wonder if that is per year.. so registration x 160% x 10 years...
Yah thats why its cheap huh?:mad:
 
but that gives the buyer the upper hand to lowball the seller...

"Well since your asking price is the same amount as all the back fees, how about you give me $200 and i'll come haul this thing away for you." :grin:
 
I'd get the VIN, call the dept. of motor vehicles and tell them you are consittering buying it. They will tell you if there are fee's and how much. I'd tell the seller I'd off "X" amount for the vehicle, but the sell will have too take care of the fee's or knock that much off the price.
 
Ryan, i'm not sure how long ago DMV changed the rules but it used to cost $5.00 a year for a non-op, then they up'ed it to $10.00 a year, then they changed the rule to a one time $10.00 fee for non-op status and i'm not sure when that change took place but if he non-op'ed it after that change then all you would need to pay for is current year reg. and transfer fee. :thumb:
 
I just went through this ... twice!

Get the VIN and call the DMV. They will tell you what will be owed to register it(approx.). Call twice, talk to 2 different people, you'd be surprised how 2 people researching the same info over there can come up with 2 different answers ... I was told to get a smog for my 73 (go figure!). Also, ask who the last owner was and if anyone has tried to register it unsuccesfully (see below).

If the truck has been dropped from their system (records), you will need to get a brake inspection, light inspection and bring the truck to the DMV or CHP for an inspection before you can register it. I'm not sure what all this costs or how difficult it is, I've always steered clear of a truck that needs all this .... but, if the price is right and you're sure it hasn't been re-VIN-ed (like in stolen or wrecked and a numbers reused), the work might be worth it.

I did a 73 truck that was still in the DMVs system after 10 years of non registration, it cost me about $450 to register. The other was an 87 that hadn't been registered in 2 years and it was $900.

Lastly, check to make sure the name on the pink matches the name of the guy you are buying it from and the name on record at the DMV. Often, a vehicle will change hands several times with out being registered because of the high cost of back fees. The DMV keeps records of who the last person was trying to register the vehicle and will want to see paper trails (bills of sales) from all the buyers leading to you. I think they just want to collect sales tax on all the sales. They will send you away and tell you to come back with bills of sales from all parties leading to you. Both trucks I did had about 2 or 3 owners between me and the last registered owner who tried to reregister but never paid the full amout (too expensive, they just sold truck again).

If you find there are several previous owners on file with the DMV and you don't have the paperwork from them, drop me a PM and I'll tell you what I did.

Good Luck,

Eric M.
 
I had put my truck on a "planned non-op" way back when I parked it. About 2 years ago. About 6 months ago I got a thing from the DMV saying it would be $56 if I wanted to re-op/register it, But I didn't want to, so I didnt worry about it. I never got any yearly bills for a non-op fee. I'm pretty sure it's just a one time fee when you do it, then you have to pay a one time fee when you want to re-register it. You should check out the DMV website, lots of info there.
 
Planned Non-Op is a one time $10 fee and is good indefinitely. If he did pay the $10 and Non-Op it he should get yearly reminder notices from the DMV that the vehicle is Non-Op’ed and instructions and fees due if he wants to put it back in service. If you buy a Non-Op vehicle and want to keep it that way you do not have to pay the $10 again or SALES TAX! You will have to pay for the transfer of title though. If you buy it and want to put it back in service, you will have to pay sales tax, registration fees and get a smog certificate. If it was not Non-Op’ed, back registration fees and penalties will be due.
 
The vehicle is dropped from the system after 7 years of no registration activity.So it will work out cheaper if he has done nothing the past 10 years.I bought my Mustang and the shaggin wagon both not registered for 20+ years with no titles and I think reg and fees and junk were $120 or so .Ya gotta get the VIN verified and kinda start from scratch if it is not in the system any longer.At least thats how it worked last time I had to do it :grin:

Whacha buyin wanker?:D
 
Heck at those prices I would sell it to my friend in AZ, Nev or somthing let him register it and then buy it back from him, got to cost less. I bought a car in CA while I still lived in AZ and registered it to me with my AZ address in CA how that worked I do not know but my registation is in CA with my AZ address. AZ wanted blood and more to register it cause there was not a title and CA would do it with a bill of sale. So the guy who I bought it from in CA registered it for me in my name with my AZ address.
 
Yeah, when I bought my blazer it was kind of the same deal. The current tags had jsut run out, when i switched it into my name, there were years it wasnt registered, and I had to pay hundreds of dollars in fees. Called the dude, HA, he was such a jerk. What are you buying?
 
Welp, not buying nothing. Always got my eye out though.
Found a '72 K/5 been sitting for 10 years, just some rust in the rockers and 10 years of tree sap... Needing everything. Dude needed to sell it by today, and i was only looking to spend around $1K. I was second in line and i guess it turned out to be a good deal afterall because the guy before me bought it.

I don't know what i'm thinking anyways, I've already got two endless money pits.
Jeez.. I've been hanging around this place and reading too many of mountainexplorer's posts about his 372 vehicles... Thinkin maybe i don't have enough.. :rotfl:
 
lol

i do the same thing, dont worry.. im always out eyeing out anything els ei can eye, theres very litle to eye out around here anymore, virtualyl everything had been taken to shredder yard, given to towing yards or had drivetrains yanked and rest scrapped, that goes for cars, vans, everything, 80s and older,

non op fee crap sounds odd
id be pissed

here in IL 7 years of inactivity usually causes vin number history to not be kept any longer(past registered owners, etc) but even that inbfo goes back only 7 years

so youre screwed either way here

i turned in for a title history on a rusty beater abanonded 72 K5 i got in a trade a few years back and the state had no record on it, even though i had a registration(thats license plate sticker card to us IL'ers) with owners name and all
but there was no title, it had been lost and i couldnt find the person on the card, so i was SOL

so i parted and scrapped the rig(had to sneak scrap it without a title, IE cut it into pieces, but since it was so severely rotted out it just fell apart when i cut the very few body mounts that were still intact and flipped th e tub off the chassis)(i have pics somewhere of it and doing that), had no choice

every state has some really screwy fees/rules somewhere regarding registration, fees, etc,

im glad here its just 25 for tax for like 6 years and older vehicles, and 65 for title and 78 for plates a year,

i find that to be expensive(compared to 25 and 13 and 48 it used to be)
but alot of places are way higher,,

good luck
 
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