Hi Dan--
I'm from SW Washington, and of course face the same registration issues.
For the rest of you, one of our tax repeal advocates, before he got busted
for paying himself out of donaqtions, put an initiative on the ballot to
repeal Washington's yearly tab by value and enact a flat $30 per year tab
fee. Needless to say it passed with flying colors.* Even though it was set
aside by the state Supreme Court, the legislature saw the handwriting on
that wall and enacted a $30 per year tab fee.
So the Department of Licensing has stayed up nights thinking of ways to
stick us for revenue. The weight surcharge Dan mentioned is but one.
Dan, one way around it is to license your cars as classics. Costs about $36
the first year and there is never another renewal. The is a weight
surcharge the first year, but it's still a bargain. On my '56 F brand
pickup, they accepted sales literature for the weight. Most anything
official-looking will do.
For example, I have the Hemmings Book of Dodges and of Plymouths and they
list the following:
'56 Plymouth- Plaza 6 business coupe 3,030#
Fury 8 sport coupe 3,650#
'59 Plymouth- Sport Fury convertible 3,670#
'60 Chrysler Valiant V200 four door sedan 2,655#
Sorry, no '64 Dodge Polara, but almost every Hemmings Classic Car article
lists weights.
Failing that, if your car runs you can take it to a commercial scales and
get a gross weight for only a few bucks.
The restriction is no more than 2,500 miles per year and for recreational
driving only, but most everyone concerned says those provisions are not
enforceable.
My local DOL says some of the cars registered as classic are just old
clunkers, but there's no requirement that the car be restored.
Sorry for the long post, hope it helps.
--Roger van Hoy, Washougal, WA, '55 DeSoto, '58 DeSoto, '56 Plymouth, '66
Plymouth, '41 Dodge
----- Original Message -----
From: "Daniel Davids" <ddavids@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 1:41 PM
Subject: [FWDLK] Mopar Weight Dilemma in WA
Hello FWDLOOKers.
I'm from Washington state and I have twenty or so Mopars in the 57-65 year
range.
Recently, our legislature decided to impose a "weight-based fee" on top of
the basic vehicle
licensing fee (here referred to as a tab fee). The problem is that the
state's Dept of
Licensing computers don't have any weight information in them for vehicles
pre-1981.
So, for each of the cars that I keep licensed, the state is now sending me
a Special
Notice that, since they don't have any weight data, I must provide proof
of my car's
weight before they'll renew my tabs. Acceptable to them are data from:
* Owner's manual for the vehicle
* Value guide like NADA or Kelley Blue Book
* Vehicle manufacturer's website showing weight for vehicle
* Weight obtained by taking the car to a certified scale (costs money, of
course)
The first of my renewals has come in, and it's for a 64 Dodge Polara w/
slant six.
The owner's manual has no weight information. There's no weight placard
anywhere
to be found on the car itself. For the instant car, can someone on the
list point me
to a bonafide source of weight info? I Google'd and this is about the best
I could
come up with:
http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z9592/Dodge_Polara/default.aspx
Since the lack of weight data in the state's computer is going to cause
literally
thousands of us in Washington with old cars to face the same problem, does
anyone have a better idea of how to attack this problem, rather than
having to
tediously spend time and money, car by individual car. The break point in
the
fees, by the way is at 4,000 pounds.
Thanks for any help you can provide,
Dan Davids
Woodinville, WA
*************************************************************
To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1
*************************************************************
To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1
|
|
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network