It's time for another episode of "SMITTY GOES TO THE RMV!"

Good God ... I can think of a million things I'd rather do than go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles in the not-so-great state of MA .... Dentist ... for a quadrouple root canal comes to mind ....

MA finally got their head halfway out of their ass & decided to stop forcing people to pay a Mass Pike toll to use it, & built a new registry back where it belonged in the first place - in Southbridge. Thank God. Much better parking. Easier access, not to long of a wait -- big improvement! I can't believe I said something positive about the Registry!

I figured it was time to put a couple things on the road before winter, since it would be much easier to do so now. SO I go to register a nearly 30 year old motorcycle & a 21 year old SUV. I bring about $320 with me, thinking that should be PLENTY to cover this deal. But I always seem to forget that I LIVE IN MASSACHUSETTS!!! The guy rings me up $420!!!! Never a smooth transaction a the RMV. So now I just waited 30 minutes, & don't have enough dough to do the deal!! I was starting to lose my mind, but the guy behind the counter was actually HELPFUL for a change! Imagine that!! First time for everything I guess. He pointed me to the packie across the street that had an ATM (which charged me $1.50 ... but I didn't have to drive all the way home, I guess) behind the vagrants hanging out there, & told me to come right back to the counter - no waiting. That was a shocker. I can remember the Worcester registry back in the early 90's .... was like dealing with the Gestapo! Rude, arrogant ... knew they had you by the balls & treated you accordingly, even after you waited 1.5 hrs average for service! Things have gotten somewhat better - took 'em 20 years ... but what do we expect for our Billions of tax dollars?

Maybe some other state officials will read this & actually try to be helpful as well! ( I can hope, right? ) That diffused an explosive situation, let me tell ya!

So be aware fellow MASSholes ... when you try to save money by driving a beater, they will value a $300 car at $3,000 & you'll pay $180 sales tax on it ... so bring that roll of hundreds with you!

Just praying for that lotto ticket .....

We usually have the same problems here in NY, always a trip to go there...but haven't been there in a while, but friends say it has gotten better, at least we live in a small town, so they are usually not too busy!

It took MA a long time, but they finally adopted the electronic ticket system that states out west have been using for the last 20 years or so. Makes things go soooo much smoother .... unless you walk by the machine & sit down for an hour, before asking where you get the number from.

Makes you wonder where the hell all this money goes!!

REMEMBER THIS, TUESDAY.

Damn dude, that sucks! I can't believe you had to pay that much! I just bought an '08 GMC Crew Cab and got it registered Wednesday. I paid just under $500 for the excise tax and fees to register it. I thought that was a lot until I read your post. I used to pay under $100 per year for my '96 Ford F-150. You Mass folks really get reamed hard!

You got that right!

That's why both my trailers are registered in ME.

$1800 to register my '07 .....

SMITTY wrote:That's why both my trailers are registered in ME.

Now that's the ticket!!!

SMITTY wrote:$1800 to register my '07 .....

What a rip-off!!!

just had to register the 90 chev truck--4x4--went commercial--went from wifeys name to mine--in & out 15 min.--they wrote it up as a gift--$175.00 total--$75.00 new title--2 yr. registration--taxes--blah,blah.blah--after readin you Smitty--I feel like I made out like a bandit

You did Fred!

My breakdown was: $75 title, $50 for 2 yr registration, & 178 & change for sales tax. So $303 & change for a 21 year old beater. Unreal.

IF you need a reason to vote Tuesday, this is it!

SMITTY wrote:My breakdown was: $75 title, $50 for 2 yr registration, & 178 & change for sales tax. So $303 & change for a 21 year old beater. Unreal.

So, your saying that you only have to pay $50 to register it for 2 years? I think that's pretty good. The title and and sales tax was a 1 time thing because of the purchase. Like I said in my post above, I had to pay just under $100 per year to register my '96 Ford. If I would have kept it forever, it would have been that price every year. Now, with my GMC, I will be paying about $400 next year......then $300 the next and so on until lower limit is met. My wife's '07 Trailblazer cost about $300 this year.

Sounds good on paper .....until you get your yearly EXCISE tax. MA has all the angles covered.

I will be taxed $25 per $1,000 of the vehicles value, EVERY year that it is registered. So I'll be paying nearly $75 a year for a $300 beater ... PLUS $50 every 2 years ... so that comes out to $100 every single year the vehicle is on the road. And the value of old vehicles seems to never go down ...

My '07 I paid $325 the first year in addition to the $1,800 to put it on the road. It still costs me close to $200.

You won't get taxed if it's not registered, BUT ... most towns have ordinances that allow no more than 2 unreg'ed vehicles at a time. See how they bag the little guy? A rich guy only needs 1 vehicle. Us poor saps need one for summer, & one for winter, for EACH family member, so one of them will at least last more than 5 years.

Wow SMITTY! In Pennsylvania when I have bought or sold a used vehicle we just go to the nearest car dealer, new or used, and someone there can do all the paperwork. It may take about half an hour to do everything. You pay sales tax based on the sales price you give them but it must be reasonable. $300 for a 20 year old beater would probably be reasonable but $3 would not, you get the picture. Transfers between immediate family are not taxed. When you leave you have your plate and a temporary certificate to post in the window until your sticker and owners card come in the mail. Other than the sales tax and registration fees there may be an additional processing fee I don’t remember. Our yearly registration runs $36 for a car and I pay $81 for a pickup. Truck rates are based on registered gross weight. I used to hear Howie Carr rant all the time about the RMV in Massachusetts but in Pennsylvania I can’t complain much. PennDOT is pretty easy to deal with and much can be done on line these days.

Recently I added HAZMAT endorsement to a CDL and the process was like this; I downloaded the application from the PennDOT website, filled it out and mailed it off with a check to PennDOT.
Received a test card through the mail, this is the form you take to the license center to take your written test. (actually done on a touch screen computer)
Download and complete a background check form. Take this form and a check to the license center. Take and pass the written test. Give them the background check form and the check for $60. They do something on the computer and give me a form to take to the State Police.
Go to the State Police. Get fingerprinted and they ask a bunch of questions and type answers into the computer. Thank you very much, have a nice day, don’t do anything bad because your fingerprints are now on file.
4 weeks later a new photo license comes in the mail, just like the old but with the updated endorsement.

Total time spent was about 30 minutes at the license center and 15 to 20 minutes with the State Police.

SMITTY wrote:Sounds good on paper .....until you get your yearly EXCISE tax. MA has all the angles covered.

I will be taxed $25 per $1,000 of the vehicles value, EVERY year that it is registered. So I'll be paying nearly $75 a year for a $300 beater ... PLUS $50 every 2 years ... so that comes out to $100 every single year the vehicle is on the road. And the value of old vehicles seems to never go down ...

My '07 I paid $325 the first year in addition to the $1,800 to put it on the road. It still costs me close to $200.

You won't get taxed if it's not registered, BUT ... most towns have ordinances that allow no more than 2 unreg'ed vehicles at a time. See how they bag the little guy? A rich guy only needs 1 vehicle. Us poor saps need one for summer, & one for winter, for EACH family member, so one of them will at least last more than 5 years.

Damn! I thought for once Maine had you beat! Like I said above, you guys are getting reamed hard!

Smitty:
Here is a link to 'Proctology Today" journal, and a "special invitation from Johnson and Johnson
for a 'personal aid' for your next visit to the RMV.
Also a link for a free sample of 'Preparation H, RMV formula', for a 'particularly robust' visit to the folks who 'allow' you to drive in your state.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-Y_Jelly
http://www.american-journal-of-proctolo ... proctology
http://www.preparationh.com

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.....and I suggest you stay off the bike for a couple weeks......

When using KY be sure to read the directions first before using.