----- Original Message -----
> In Minnesota, the title transfer sales tax is fixed at $90 for a collector
> car. Modern cars are 6% sales tax. So a $10,000 modern car is $600. If you
> already own the vehicle, to register it as a collector is a one-time fee
of
> $25, no annual renewals. You can even use the original year plates.
> Requirements are the car must be 25+ years old, have insurance, and you
have
> a regular licensed car to drive. Limitations are it should only be used
for
> shows and club events, but I have never heard of anybody getting in
trouble
> for other uses. I drive my cars frequently for all kinds of uses, even to
> work occasionally.
>
> Dave Homstad
> 56 Dodge D500
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I had a BAD experience with this concept in the early 90's.
Washington adopted the law allowing use of an excellent condition,
matching set of plates that also matched the year of the car on vehicles
over (25?) years old. The cost was a one-time fee of $35. Licensing at the
time for an old car was about that per year, so it made dollar sense on top
of putting original plates on your car.
58 was the first year for sticker tabs in the State, and in 1963 the
State issued a total recall for a new plate color / type, making the 58 - 62
plates fairly hard to come by.
A license plate collector friend found me a set and restored them for
what was then about five times what a 57 and earlier plate might cost. In
other words, I invested a fair sum to do this. I put them on the DeSoto and
immediately the trouble started. I got pulled over a good dozen times in
the course of the first summer, culminating in a drive where I ended up
cuffed and taken to jail. The cop was a real blowhard, and even though I
carried papers in the car outlining the plate usage and authorization, this
guy was bent on running me through the system. He insisted the car was
somehow "stolen" as it had not been "licensed" (in the normal way) for
several years. By the time they stripped me out, took my prints, gave me
jail clothes, etc., a knock came on the cell door informing me "everything
had been cleared up" and my property was waiting down the hall. I got
dressed and asked for a ride back to my car (which inexplicably they had not
impounded). I was told that they do not do that, and after some argument
over their THEIR mistake and MY imposition, I hoofed it the some eight miles
back to my car and went home.
I made one stop en route. The licensing agency.
I knew the girls in there very well, and had been back numerous times
over getting pulled over with these "legal" plates.
They had made copies of all the necessary paperwork for me to carry to
prove the plates were in fact legitimate, but it all had become too much of
a hassle. I put my old plates back on the car and chalked one up for lack
of professionalism.
Having since gone into law enforcement, I am appalled at how so many
different officers were oblivious to this very law they were specifically
tasked with overseeing. Afterall, in the bigger scheme of things, how many
pre-1960 cars were there on the road ? These cars stuck out like a sore
thumb and should have easily sent up flags that the licensing might be a
little out of the norm. Besides reusing vintage plates, there were several
other "collector vehicle" licensing options at the time.
I might try them again, but I now live in an area where old cars and
streetrods are a very big culture and you see them on the road all the time.
The cops here seem to be genuinely interested in dealing with crime and not
just hassling the local citizenry. Besides, now I have an "in". This
experience had a profound effect on how I treat my contacts.
B.
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