The city I live in has been hounding me about my 2 broken cars parked in my driveway because neither has license plates.
Car 1 is a 91 Dodge Stealth with a hole in the transmission, and several smaller problems, so I put the repairs on that one on hold (I got sick of the high repair costs of that car, and wanted to get something cheaper to drive around while I could tinker with it useing junkyard parts).
Car 2 is a 1969 vw beetle converted to a dune buggy. Cheap, good gas mileage, no need for emissions or catalytic converters, and it’s fun. Problem is the car I bought is a dune buggy, and the title is a 1969 vw bug, so NOT the same car (even though the vin number matches). Got to love red tape. Compounding the problem is that I sent in a court order (went to court and got the judge to demand that the state dmv issue me a title for my car so I could get it inspected-5 months ago…)
So… now I’ve got 2 cars in my driveway, plus a rental that’s keeping me from being able to afford to get either fixed, and the city is threatoning me with fines for abandoned vehicles.
Any ideas on how to tag theese cars so the city has to shut up?
I do not have a garage. can’t simply push them into the back yard, the inspector jerk already said that wouldn’t work. I don’t have the money to get the transmission fixed, or a title that the state will accept to get the dune buggy licensed.
Car covers dont please them ? Might you be able to rent starage space away from your home ? Either a garage type or open air like people use for thier boats & RVs. If stored in an open air lot use a car cover tarp to avoid the ‘abandoned vehicle’ claim.
If the 91 is essentially dead due to finances and the future prospects look bleak , it may be time to cut your looses and sell it off for parts.
In the city where I live, they have the same ordinance. Any vehicle that is parked in a driveway that is not being driven must have up-to-date license plates. This indicates that the vehicle can be driven at any time, and is not a derelict vehicle.
Tester
My town says an unlicensed car has to be covered. So you might see if just putting a car cover on them would solve the problem for now. As for the title, I don’t see why it’s a problem. It’s got the VIN, why does DMV even care that it’s been converted to a dune buggy, provided it meets whatever safety equipment and such for that year?
I suggest asking about the cover thing. If your inspector is a jerk, he might not have mentioned the easy fix . . .
I don’t see the problem they have with the VW either. I know vehicles that the VIN was the only original part to the car and were able to be licensed.
Even the car the the old Johnny Cash song was able to be titled, even though the title weighed sixty pounds.
Investigate getting an Alabama registration for the buggy. They don’t require a title and brokers will handle the whole thing by mail. Then you can apply for a new correct title from YOUR state on the strength of the Alabama registration, which they must accept as Alabama does not issue titles on old cars.
Car covers usually work, but since a neighbor has complained, it might be to late for that…(and yes, someone has complained, inspectors don’t just show up out of the blue).
The problem with the buggy is that I wasn’t the one who did the conversion. The person who did the mod was the one who was supposed to update the title. Why it takes 5 months to get a reply from the missouri DMV is beyond me.
As to the neighbor complaining, yep.
Thanks for the responces and the tip on Alabama registration.
Our city does not allow anything in the driveway or sticking out in front of the house anywhere on the lot without plates. Even RVs WITH plates are only allowed to be there 48 hours. A fellow down the street was willed a 1974 Volvo by his aunt. I don’t know what was in her will, but it has been sitting there since 1984 when we moved here. He has kept the plates up to date, even though the car’s engine must be completely seized up by now.
I would strongly recommend you find a place out of town to park your vehicles, to avoid ongoing problems with the city and your neighbors. Where I live you can park your RV at lots on the city outskirts for a whole year for a few hundred dollars in a secure and supervised lot.
Face facts at this point your cars are abondoned as far as the city is concerned. Don’t be too surprised if they just disappear and end up in an impound lot someday.
You are spending your money and emotional effort fighting city hall. Perhaps if you put some money and effort into the cars they would be fixed.
The '91, either fix the transmission or sell it as is. The dune buggy, get it running put it in the backyard and cover it. If you can fix the '91 then you can save money on the rental car.
You never said how long the cars have been sitting without plates in your driveway, days, months, years?
First junk the car with the transmission problem you don’t want to fix (or fix it). That should help. Second, you may need to contact a local attorney. We can’t know what laws you are under (we don’t even know what country you may be in, although we can guess it is US.)
Renting a car is expensive for everyday use and you have two other cars. Trim down to one car.
It may be time to sell the VW. You should be able to get it licensed. I doubt if you go in and ask nicely about registering it and if you have some paperwork to prove you own it, you should be able to get that one settled. It may take some time and you may need to run around from one office to another, but asking nicely usually will get you good answers.Car covers usually work, but since a neighbor has complained, it might be to late for that…(and yes, someone has complained, inspectors don’t just show up out of the blue).
Around here they do! Seriously, they have some guy on the town payroll who’s job is to walk around town looking for things to bug homeowners about. It’s bad enough that most of the subdivisions have covenants and homeowners associations, but the town decided the rest of us without those things needed the benefit of a professional neighborhood busybody.