I have a pair of restored(appear to be powdercoated) 1929 CA black plates that are currently registered for 2016 with the little tags on the top left and right. Anyone have any idea what these are worth and whether the registration needs to go with the plates if I were to sell them. Thanks
if any other vehicle registered in California already has that letter / number combination they cannot be used , whether Car ,motorcycle etc. it doesn't matter if the plates with the same combination are from a different year . there is a page on the California DMV website that allows you to check if they can be used or not .the value will depend on the plate being useable as well as condition of the paint finish. prices vary from about $100 and up for passenger plates and double that for commercial plates which have a small "PC" before the numbers ( PC = Public Carrier )
I can only guess at the rest of the story. Did you buy a car with California year of manufacture (YOM) plates? There is something in the fine print that will let you keep the plates when you sell the car. You need to pay an annual fee on the plates even if you don’t have the car to go with them. I can only imagine that you could easily get the plates registered in your name by the California DMV now that you have your own states registration for the vehicle (since you live in New York I assume you registered the car in New York) . You could then sell the plates with a DMV “release” form and the new owner could have them assigned to their vehicle. When it comes to checking numbers to see if they are clear I have been told that it is best to call the DMV in Sacramento. As far as the value goes for a set of properly restored Model A era plates I would say $400 with the commercial plates bringing almost twice that amount. (check EBAY). The price is based on supply and demand and there a lot of restored Model A’s competing with plate collectors for the Model A years. I don’t know about other years but I have heard of several cases where the 1932-34 plates were used shingle the roofs on barns (or maybe just one very big barn), thus depressing the price for those years. The good news is that you can now use passenger car plates on commercial vehicles. More good news is that you can also register restored plates. See: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/c...41dd-b475-0e9b740c7dad/reg352.pdf?MOD=AJPERES One small correction to Dave’s Post #2. The PC stands for “pneumatic commercial” (meaning it had air in the tires). The country was just getting out of an era that also had commercial vehicles with solid rubber tires (these vehicles had small letters “SC” standing for “Solid Commercial”). How did I get this trivia? I have a ’31 RDPU and I have been looking for a set of “PC” plates for the last 5 years. PM me if you have a pair. Charlie Stephens
sounds to me like those plates were just removed from a car registered in California. I used to sell plates on Ebay so I tried to keep up on what was what. I remember reading somewhere that if they were already registered to a car they will not be able to be transferred to another owner. even the old black and yellow plates (used form 1963-1969) that are still in use on many old California cars, if you junk the car and keep the plates from a currently registered car they will not be available for the YOM program. """You could then sell the plates with a DMV “release” form and the new owner could have them assigned to their vehicle.""" never heard of that one, I hope you are right that would be better. if they are not "DMV clear" they are worth considerably less. maybe $100.00 for real nice ones.
Yes but a set that is out of the system can be registered. So hold on to the recently junked and check in a year.
With todays new license plates in CA, you can order any plate you want and have them registered to your car. I had a real nice set of 41 commercial plates that they would not register so I just had them reproduced by the state on one of their new black plates. I would guess the plates would be valuable to a restorer or hot rodder if he could get them registered through the DMV. I paid $150 bucks for mine at the Long Beach Swap Meet a few years ago…now wall hangers. Put them on here and see what they bring. Good luck!
I held onto a set of '34 plates for 15 years waiting for the motorcycle with the same license number to be junked. It finally happened and I was able to get mine on the '34 registered as YOM (see avatar). Technically, you can't restore them and DMV inspects them prior to letting you use them. If they are obviously restored, it may create a problem depending on the DMV nazi you work with.
I think they will now let you restore the plates but you might get fight with a DMV employee insisting your restored places were of new manufacture (which is not permitted). I think I would keep pictures of the unrestored plates and maybe even talk to someone at the DMV (get their name) before restoring the plates with the intent of using them for YOM registration. I was reading the California YOM plate application (see https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/co...df?MOD=AJPERES) and noticed a couple of things that I don’t think were there before: From item 1. there was “Plates may be restored but not replicated.” From Item 6. there was “1963 and newer YOM plates must be compatible to the vehicle they are being assigned to (auto plates to autos, commercial plates to commercial vehicles, trailer plates to trailers, motorcycle plates to motorcycles).” They don't come out and say it but this says to me that you can YOM register a 1962 and earlier commercial vehicle using passenger plates. Charlie Stephens
I've heard that if they're in the YOM program and you sell the car without the plates they can be sold with a release BUT can only be used for that same year ONLY (year of the plate or tab/sticker). So say a '56 plate with a '60 sticker could only be used as a '60 plate AFTER put into the YOM program. As for the price of the plates look on ebay, they're around $300 or so if they can be used again (check with the DMV). Also on the restored part, it doesn't really matter, I've had DMV employees tell me to restore mine before they register them and I've also registered restored plates (good restored ones and poorly restored ones). On a side note, if you don't get satisfaction at a DMV don't settle....pack up your stuff and try another DMV. The average DMV employee knows very little about the YOM program, so you might need to walk them through it or ask for a manager. Watch them fill out the paperwork so you will know what it needs next time (I had one not completed by the DMV employee correctly and it bounced back and fourth for 3 months). Do your own research about plate number/letter combos that are rarely re used. Never, NEVER give them your plates, they might take ONE to photocopy but watch them and get it back.
Nope, I ran into this a few times with different DMVs. ALL trucks (no matter what age) with open beds MUST be registered as commercial unless you have a shell on the bed that will NEVER be taken off (you will be open to a ticket if the shell is off and you have a stickler officer). Panel trucks/vans MUST be registered as commercial as they don't have a second row of seats for passengers, but Suburbans/regular vans have seats so can be registered as a passenger vehicle. It's funny that it says "1963 and newer" because it's the same rules for 1962 and older.
Just went out to the garage and checked my '31 RDPU. It carries current passenger car plates issued by the California DMV. When I bought it in 1972 it had passenger car plates. At a point in about 1985 they contacted me and told me I had to turn in my passenger car plates for a set of commercial plates. A year later the law flip flopped and I found there was a newly passed exemption in the law and I could run passenger car plates which I did. The only reason I knew anything about his is that my girlfriend worked for AAA and read everything that came out. I could never get an answer about carrying something in the bed. The nearest I could find is CVC 9401 that says pre 1936 commercial vehicles are exempt from weight fees but is silent about carrying something in the bed. It goes on to say you can register a pre 1936 commercial vehicle if you want, maybe this is a entry into whether or not you can carry things in the bed. I actually went to the CHP and asked. They had no answer. I didn't make up the information I posted, it came from the DMV site I referenced. Charlie Stephens
I should say that they currently won't let you run a passenger plate on a truck (so I was told), I didn't know they ever let you. I wasn't commenting on your post of the regulations, just the fact that the laws are open to so much interpretation and leaves everyone with more questions then answers. No offense was meant.
Thanks for all the help, I haven't a clue regarding CA DMV, it's a big problem just keeping up with NY. A special thank you to Charlie Stephens, you are correct. I had a car delivered here from CA, a gorgeous 29 RP, that is worth nowhere near what I thought it was and it appears I will be losing my ass on this one. Live and learn. I do understand that the plates are of no value on the car unless it goes back to CA so selling them may soften the loss a little. It's amazing what a great source of no bull info this site is. Thanks again to all.
Is there any chance you have commercial plates? Either passenger or commercial could have been used when registering your RDPU. The commercial plates can be identified by the small letters "PC" (standing for "pneumatic commercial", meaning they have air in the tires instead of being solid rubber). Commercial plates are worth almost twice as much as passenger car plates. Above is a picture of a 1931 California commercial plate showing the letters PC. Of course it is a different color from your plate. If you haven't already transferred your registration you should probably contact the California DMV and see what you will need to do to keep the plates and sell them to someone to transfer to their vehicle. Charlie Stephens
When I sold my '34 I had to fill out a form for DMV specifying that I was transferring the YOM plates to the new owner. Transfer of Vehicle Displaying YOM Plates YOM license plates can remain on the vehicle when ownership is transferred if the seller releases interest in the plates to the new buyer on a Statement of Facts (REG 256). The buyer completes a new Application for Year of Manufacture Plates (REG 352). Retention: YOM license plates may be retained when the registration is not renewed if the plate owner pays the annual retention fee. If the registration was not renewed in Ca, the plates may now be clear. If so, they would be very saleable. CONTACTING THE DMV. The procedure is to simply phone the DMV (1-800-777-0133) to ask the status of the plate number. Sample conversation: "DMV, may I help you?" "I'd like to find out the status of a California license plate number, shall I give you the number?" "Go ahead." "OK, it is ABC123". Now, if you are lucky, they will say, "We have no record of that number on our system." Then you say, "Thank you very much" and hang up. They are currently clear. If you are not as lucky, they will say, "They are currently registered", or "they are currently inactive", or something (anything) other than "we have no record of that number on our system". In that case, they are not clear, and you can't use them.
Thanks again for the help with this one. The CA plates I have are not PC, that's funny, never would have guessed that. So if I understand it correctly, if the car goes back to CA the plates can be used on it. If not, I turn in the reg to CA DMV and when it is "cleared" someone can purchase the plates for use on another car? Either is fine as long as we are compensated for them, otherwise they will look nice on the wall.
Sounds right, but I would suggest calling the California DMV in Sacramento and confirming it. Charlie Stephens
Re: carrying something in the bed, call your local CHP, ask to speak to the Commercial Man. In the 80's/early 90's I had a Jeep PU with passenger plates on it, I had gone down to Fresno to see family, and was hauling a couch or chair back. Pulled over by CHP and got a ticket for it, Officer told me if the bed was covered with a tarp or shell, I could haul anything in it, but uncovered, I couldn't take folded up lawn chairs in it-legally-even if not visible
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