Quote:
Originally Posted by Redfish
Figure I'll provided a bit of an update, and always open to suggestions and advice:
Registration / titling: I think I'm close with getting the car retitled as a 1965. It's been a lot of conversations / communications with forum members, one of the inspectors and the title department. All have been helpful. I'll leave out a lot of the details that got me to this point, but DMV agrees that the title can be corrected to 1965 Composite Cobra, and the registration updated as well.
However, they are saying that composite vehicles do not qualify for Classic plates. This concerns me, since the classic plate is what firmly caps the tax assessment at $500 (vs. the $50,000 they are currently [incorrectly] assessing it at). Without the classic plate, I think the assessors will continue to abuse me, even with a 1965 title. Also, my car is currently registered as a 2004, so would be 20 years old in 2024 (which should then be eligible for classic plates), so should I stick with it as 2004? If I go to a 1965 registration w/o the classic plates, not sure that that means for an assessment. I think they will still use their 'google search' and pick high value, non-representive replicas for the assessment.
Another forum member was titled in CT as a 1965 Cobra Roadster and got classic plates, but I'm told they won't title it like that for me.
Assessment: I appealed the 2020 assessment earlier this week. TBD is approved or declined. I will say that at least this year, the 1-person panel member seems knowledgeable in these cars to an extend, and hopefully I made the case very clear on a 18 year old factory five kit vs. other high end kits. We'll see the result after he reviews it with the other panel members for a decision.
If these paths don't work, not sure what I'm going to do, but I cannot sustain an additional $5000 in vehicle property tax over the next 3 years (or longer!). |
I'm just going to add my two cents here as someone who has been guiding people for years on how to title (originally) in their state.
Time have changed, as have the rules and regulations for each state when it comes to these component/kit cars/replicas of the originals. As such, what one person has accomplished in the past, does not always roll over to what can be done with these cars today. "Vintage" titled cars are mostly grandfathered and the title will carry over with the car from state to state (unless you are in California, in which they change the rules on a per car basis it appears). In the case of the OP (no offense to the OP), an attempt to "RETITLE" the car as a 1965 is like reinventing the wheel, the same goes for his attempt at getting classic/historic plates for the same. Someone had done the same in California many, many, many years ago in an attempt to reduce the taxes and emissions on their car, and we all watched the failed attempt, and the schit storm that ensued which brought a multi year, state wide audit of almost all "self made" vehicles. Regulations were re-written, stricter guidelines for building, titling, emissions, safety etc where put in place. Tax audits were done, and in a few cases, cars were impounded and those owners made example of, and not in a positive way. Will the OP's insistence on "RETITLING" his car do the same for the CT DMV/MVS, we will see.......The bottom line, sometimes things are better left as they are, forget about reading how much easier the car will be to sell, or how much more valuable the car will be with a vintage title, as that, especially these days, is baloney. While the OP is hard set on getting this done the way he wants it to, he is not looking at the bigger picture, and while what I am writing here may not sit well with others, it is based on years of experience and years of observations, and is done more as an FYI than to put the OP down (which is not the case at all)......
I wish you all well.
Stay safe, have fun, enjoy life while you can.
Bill S.