I have been reading through some posts and the nightmares that people are having registering older cars in their states and was wondering if any other Marylanders have faced any of problems at the Maryland MVA? I have a 28 Ford Tudor with a good Maryland Title, registered in the previous owner's name. I know the title and car are all good when it was issued a new title in 1993. The title even still shows that the car is a 28 and I have a 7-digit VIN number that starts with the letter "A". The car has not been tagged for about three years and I have just never gotten around to getting the titled transfered to my name. The previous owner is a friend and he left the "date of sale" and "selling price" blank for me to fill out. I will probably put a date sometime this year and a lowball price. I hate going to the MVA and I am just trying to find out everything I need before I head there later this week. I am just getting the vehicle registered in my name; not ready for tags just yet.
I had no problem registering a streetrod in MD. No inspection just go to the counter and pick up a plate plus multiple year registration.
The lowball price to avoid taxes will raise a red flag immediately if they are looking for this form of taxpayer fraud. So be warned.
Well, even what I paid for this car was a lowball price seeing that my neighbor is "well-to-do" and was going to donate it as a tax write-off. I told him to figure out what he would get as a tax deduction and I would pay him $500 on top of that price. I got the car for a song and he said that he would vouch for me if the MVA inquires about the selling price. Two weeks later he flew out to Barrett-Jackson and bought a 56 Chevy. Like I said, he's "well-to-do."
I just got my T plated and titled here in Maryland. The purchase amount was left blank on the PA title for the car. I picked out a nice number that left me with about $500 in tax and I sailed through the Essex MVA. The whole MVA thing is a money scam by the state. If you give them money, they will let just about anything go through. I did Street Rod plates which also means that you do not have to have all the required " safety" equipment on your car.....like wipers ,seat belts , horn Don't try to lowball the purchase price and be nice to the people at the MVA and everything will be fine !
I always put half of what I paid. Last car I paid $6k, put down that I paid 3k. Just a note, in MD, you pay a minimum tax amount based on $675. Even if you buy a car for $100, you pay taxes on $675 (which is only $33.75, but still)! I have used the Westminster DMV for both old cars, and never had an issue.
You are lucky you are close to the Waldorf office. I've always had good luck there. I've driven past 2 offices to get there. Smile and be pleasant. They are people too that get tired of dealing with idiots. The closer to the big cities...the more idiots. The more idiots...the more fed up and defensive clerks. If you have your paper work and are pleasant you'll sail through. Compared to some horror stories I've read about, Maryland is a piece of cake.
<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off"> I have a curious situation with a car I bought in Maryland that had a Maryland title (was registered there as well). The guy I bought the car from bought it several years earlier from a guy in NY. When the title was transferred from NY to Md, apparently Md issued their own ID (VIN) #. The VIN number does not match the VIN # the plate on the car. I have the NY registration and it is correct. I'm baffled about how this could have happened........ Dave </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Years ago Maryland would issue you a new vin# for a car assembled from parts. They would give you a new plate with the new number stamped on it to be mounted on the car. Back then there were a lot of problems because the assembled car need to comply with the laws of the year it was assembled. It had to pass the then current inspection...seat belts etc. etc. I knew of a 1967 Model A Ford coupe. The title said so! In the 70s and 80s some people used to use old NY registration cards to get titles for assembled cars. NY was a non-title state back then. There was a complete song and dance that you had to follow and if all worked out, MD. would issue you a MD. title with the NY # If you have an old NY registration card that matches your # you might check to see if that is all that is necessary to get a new title in your state. I don't know the date that they changed but if it's old enough, it may be the only thing that was used at that time in NY. If so just apply for a title that matches your Vin. plate using the registration card. They can't make you produce something that never existed but you may have to find that old lady in the back that has worked there a while.
I transfered title and registered a 51 Ford back in March, I dont recall the actual cost and I dont have my checkbook here but I believe it was under $200.00. Did the same thing several years ago with a motorcycle titled in Tennesee without any problems (Annapolis MVA).
I am glad to hear that no one has run into the nightmares that I have heard from people in other states. It makes me feel a lot better and I will be heading off to the MVA really soon. Thanks everyone.
Zoomy, you're wise to go ahead as soon as you can and get that new title in your name. There's no guarantees as to when MD. might really crack down on Historical and/or Street Rod registrations. Like Tommy said, MD. is a piece of cake compared to some other states. Get it behind you now, expect the costs and the red tape to only get worse in the future.
I walked my ass into the Frederick MVA, handed them my title with $700 in the price slot, walked out with it registered no questions asked.
I drove by the MVA on my way home today and was surprised to see not too many cars in the parking lot so I went inside. The lady at the counter was really nice and said"Wow, you have the oldest car that I have ever registered!" I think I made her day because she showed three other people my title. I started to get worried like one of them was going to raise a red flag but all was cool. I paid $203 to transfer the title and I was out of there in 15 minutes. And get this... while she was processing my paper work, she asked me what kind of tags that I was going to put on the car later and I answered, "Street Rod tags." She then went on to tell me that if I go with Street Rod tags I will have to renew the tags every two years, but since my car is +60 years old, she can title it as a Historical Vehicle and when I get tags I will only have to pay a one-time $50 fee and the tags will never expire for as long as I own the vehicle. That alone will save me hundreds of dollars over the years. I have to say that this was the very first time that I have had a pleasent visit at the MVA and I thank everyone for there help here.
Here is a picture of when I first bought the car. Since I have purchased a complete frame from Total Performance, new front and rear suspension, the body has been stripped bare and the SBC 350 is on the engine stand awaiting a rebuild. The car was turned into a street rod back in the late 70's and a lot of things on the car were done poorly. The original frame was unboxed and the suspension was a nightmare so I am starting from scratch. I am ditching the Weld Wheels and going with some steelies but plan to keep the fenders. The body is rock solid and I am probably going to leave the car unchopped.
Looks good. Didn't realize it had already been hot rodded once already. Good luck with the build. Sounds like you've got a fine plan. Keep us all posted as it progresses.
This is an old thread but thought I would ask if anyone has experience with the MD issued VIN plates? I called today to get advice if the vin plate on the A pillar was actually issued to a car(not a trailer for instance) and was told I would have to bring it in for inspection so they could look for the "secret" code. Someone else told me the MD inspectors stamped the same number on the frame or somewhere hidden and it was documented in the "file" so only they knew how to verify it was legitimate. All I wanted to know was if there was something to look for in the way the tag looked or if they could look it up in the system and got the run around. The car has been titled in a few states since the MD tag was issued best I can tell so it appears to all be legit.
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