People daily-driving on "Antique Auto" plates

Lots of people here drive every day on "Antique" plates... when I went to register my car, the tag-office lady was totally surprised when I told her I wanted normal plates. She acted like I was stupid.

They don't tell you about the "events and weekends only" driving restrictions. It seems like they would want you to know that stuff.

 

i din't know that there was any restrictions on the antique plates .. I know quite a few people here in Arizona using them on there old rides ... but i hear that insurance rates are way better probably because of the restrictions ...

 

Don't know about your area, but up here the antique plates are a joke. Mileage restrictions, you have to have another vehicle with regular plates, and your old car has no insurance value. PL and PD only, you eat the cost of your ride if it's wrecked. Private insurance costs more than real plates.
OK for a 1913 Hupmobile that's insured for a megabuck and gets driven two miles a year, but a daily driver '52 Chevy? No way.

 

They are.

But if you cram your car on a Tuesday morning on the way to work, expect nothing from your insurance company. Also, expect to be sued by the driver of the car you hit.

Insurance companies don't make money paying claims... they make money denying them.

 

that's insance that the car has no insurance value? what do plates and insurance have to do with each other in terms of value?

In NJ you are not supposed to Daily drive a QQ plated car but a lot of people do it anyhow. I don't think the issue is the tags, but more the insurance, who will deny a claim if they know your using it everyday when you told them you'd only be using it for recreation.

 

My insurance co. never asked what kind of tags I was running. I don't understand the point of the mileage requirement, at least in Missouri, they never ask for beginning mileage, so how can they keep track? It's pretty easy to just put whatever you want in a log book. I'm running historic tags until the car is ready to pass inspection and get regular plates.

 

On my 40 I have restored license plates (done by Daryll's) I also have a regular new plate registered for it, However most of the time I show the car with the old plates on.. "Sometimes I forget to put the regular plate on " But its always ready to put on if I get stooped . (its the type you just hang on and is under the seat..)

 

I'm not 100% on this .. but in N.H. you are required to attend atleast 2 car shows a year with your car if it has antique plates. The DMV doesn't check it, so it's more of an honor system.The only mileage restrictions we have would be if you have insurance on the car. Otherwise, you can drive that thing all year round.

 

Heck I live so far from all the good events that I do have to leave on Tuesday just to make it on time......................

So I tell the officer.

 

Here in Texas, you can run antique or YOM plates as long as vehicle is registered as an antique.

From the DMV website:


Antique Vehicle
Antique license plates are issued for cars, trucks or motorcycles that are at least 25 years old and are a collector’s item. The vehicle must be used exclusively for exhibitions, club activities, parades or other functions of public interest. Vehicles displaying Antique plates may not be used for regular transportation or carry advertising. The vehicle may be driven to and from a location for routine maintenance.

Antique plates are issued for five-year periods. The registration fee for the five-year period is $50.30 ($10 per year, plus an additional 30 cents for the registration insignia) for vehicles manufactured in 1921 and subsequent years and $40.30 ($8 per year, plus an additional 30 cents for the registration insignia) for vehicles manufactured in 1920 and prior years. Fees are reduced $10/$8 for each year of the period that has elapsed at the time the application is filed.

Of course, if I were to get stopped I'd just say I was on my way to meet up with some other club members!

 

Arkansas does not have usage or mileage requirements for antique tags. The only restriction is that the vehicle has to be unmodified from original with the specific exception of modifications to improve safety, such as sealed beam headlights, improved brakes, and seat belts.

 

As far as I know in Iowa here, as long as you have the current "new style" plates with you , you can run the year of make plates no problem. But I'm sure that would also depend alot on your "normal" drive style.

 

There is a difference between YOM registration and Antique and Classic tags in OKlahoma, anyway.

YOM registration is treated the same as personalized plates, cost the same, and is limited to vehicles 25 model years old or older. The fee is $22.50/year, and that is in addition to the normal annual tag fee. You have to have the regular tag stored inside the vehicle, under the seat or in the truck, for example.

Antique AND Classic tags are very limited in terms of vehicle usage. They can be used ONLY for non-dailies. Can ONLY be used on a car for parades, car shows, and other car events. It is cheap to register. You can get a 10 year registration for $89.00, or a one year for $15.00.

 

First, you should be able to insure anything for any value, so long as you can find a company willing to write a policy, and you're willing to pay the required premium.

I have my '56 Ford insured with Grundy; the premium is a bit over 1% per year of the agreed value. It's not my daily driver, I don't have any teens in the house and there are no yearly mileage limits that I know of (except I'm not to drive it to work on a regular basis). I put Michigan YOM plates on it for a one-time fee of $35.

 

In Washington YOM and the various classic plates appear to have the same or similar restrictions and they do legally limit how you are supposed to use the car or truck. That does not keep some people with those plates from driving them daily.

I respect using the car daily but feel they are cheating on the plates. My own approach is to run regular plates and insurance and be sure I'm covered. Someday I might go with vanity plates but that does not bring restrictions just more cost.

 

No restrictions on Antique Auto plates here. It's so ridiculously easy to run YOM plates here though that I just do that.

 

I truned my a-hole uncle for this. He's a scumbag...bigtime...the law says I can't shoot him, so I turned his ass in for this! I don't know if they ever got him on it. He drove a '77 LTD 4-door crapped out rust bucket turd he never intended to restore or fix up. He just didn't want to pay for yearly re-registration. As for insurance...he didn't have any, so that didn't matter.

see...scumbag...he deserved to get ratted out.

 

Illiniois has restrictions on Antique plates but they are widely ignored.......for now.....but I expect that to change too, as has everything else related to our hobby. Personally, I think it's 'cheating' to buy antique plates (here) and run them like regular plates and provides more ammo for the "authorities" to come down on us.

I have all my old cars (several) insured through State Farm for "Agreed Value" but the rates are based on "less than 7500 miles annually"........which is no problem for me.

Ray

 

i talked to a guy in a T-bucket, ratrod at home depot who was sporting antique plates. he said he NEVER gets questioned about them.

 

is it really worth having your claim denied on your 20,ooo dollar car just to save a few bucks ? or having someone sue you for not enough insurance?

 

Here in God's little joke on the rest of us, Rhode Island, they have antique plates. But when you go to the register of motor vehicles they have a list called Vehicles of Special interest. Pretty much meaning anything without a catalytic convertor. They charge extra if your car is on the list. They called my 1966 Fury a VoSI, i asked the lady, you every try to get parts for this thing. Not too many people interested in it.

 

illinois law is repair shop or car show only! so the fuzz that got me 3 weeks ago said. luckily i work at a body shop since my daily blew up.

 

I think the answer is no of course not. On the other hand I worked through the process of suing someone over an insurance claim a few years ago and ended up agreeing with my lawyer that the only winning move was not to play.

Unless the target has deep pockets its never likely to turn into anything. If they have deep pockets they are likely either well insured or lawyer-ed-up.

In my case it was a young girl with nothing. I could make her life miserable but to no gain and likely making mine unpleasant also. Odds of coming out ahead financially were near zero.

Part of me still feels that idiots should be punished, but I'm not in that business.

 

Out here in the Detroit suburbs we have a lot of the young super cops who are known for pulling guys over for running the vintage tags. They do tow cars here if they get a wild hair up their ass. Plates for my car are $43 a year. I can piss that away on any given day and have no ideal on what. It's worth it to not have to worry about it.

 

I run 1955 plates on my 55 Chevy here in Oregon. The good is you only pay a one time registration, and no renewal fee. Driving is limited to parades or car related events. If an cop asked why I was driving the car, I am sure I could come up with some legit reasons

 

I have antique plates on my 56 Pontiac. I don't drive it daily but I drive it when I want to.

My daily would qualify for antique plates but I run regular plates on it.

 

Maybe but I got nailed a few years ago by some little storm trooper from another district who was here just to write tickets. I had my '62 Impala out for a Sunday drive and he pulled me over for supposedly no brake lights but they worked. When he couldn't get me on that he mentioned the antique plates and asked if I was going to or from a parade or car show. When I said "No" he went off like I had just driven 100 MPH through a school yard full of kids. After 20 minutes of hassling me and trying to nail me for something else and failing he "let me off" with a warning for improper use of registration.

 

In my state the yearly tax rate is reduced significantly if you run antique tags. I also run YOM tags which is aproved by the state, coordinated with the antique tags.

 

In Nebraska, you can get two different types of plates. "Vintage" which are issued to you by the DMV and are very restricted. You basically only see vintage plates on Original Model Ts and As. Then there is the "Historical" plates which are just the year of plate corisponding with the car as long as it is 30 years old. The state statute for the Historical plates says they are to be used for car shows, parades, tuning purposes and "other hobby related activities". I run Historical plates on my car and drive it often. I figured my hobby is driving it so I was still covered under the state statute.

 

You're right, but 90% of the cops don't know the difference on modified vs. nonmodified. I've never known any of the officers I've worked with to write a ticket on using an antique plate inappropriately.