[John248]

Well I started the process of registering my car with California DMV. After visiting the registration forum here I gathered all my paperwork and receipts, made copies of everything, added 214 construction photos, organized it all in a binder and mentally prepared myself for the quest. First thing Monday morning (Jan 4th) I drove down to DMV with the car and got my place in line. They don’t take appointments anymore so I was roughly #85 or so in line. After a 2 hour wait I was finally inside and at a counter.

Told the guy why I was there and I immediately got a blank stare. He gathered all my papers and walked over to the manager, repeatedly pointing in my direction. At this point my headache began. He returned, smiled and said this was the first time he had done one of these type of registrations......as it was only his 3rd week working at DMV ! My head began to throb. I smiled and said that I researched the process, and I would need a CHP vin assignment, a sequence number from Sacramento, a brake/headlight inspection and a SB100 smog certificate from a referee.......I ended with a smile. He nodded his head and oh ok thanks. He then got up again, went to his manager and began another conversation. She nodded, said something and he returned. At this point he told me that the ONLY person that has done one of these type of registrations was the manager......and that was 14 years ago. I looked blankly at the clerk and said “please tell me you have a manual on how to do it”. He said he had the manual up on his computer and was following it thru each step.

After about 20 minutes of standing (I was briefly entertained by an older gentleman calling his clerk “a f-ing moron” because she wouldn’t accept his incomplete paperwork. He was escorted out by the not so understanding CHP officer), my clerk grabbed a clip board and asked if I drove the car to DMV. I said yes, and he said that was great and to pull it into the VIN inspection stall. He looked under the hood and verified the manufacturer plates on the frame and firewall had the same 9 digit serial number that was stamped on the right front frame horn. He said everything look good and we went back inside.

15 minutes later he said that I would need to get brake/headlight and smog inspection and return to get my tags issued. I asked about CHP inspection and he said that he had verified the serial number and that was the new vin, per the DMV procedure manual. I was hesitant but he cleared everything with his manager before sending me on my way.

Oh, yea.....the fees. Well....California charges a “use tax” based on the value of your car. This is their version of sales tax. I expected a big number and had already used their website to calculate it. What I didn’t count on was the $900 plus in late fees that they added. Hold onto your ass on this one.

1. Car was purchased in Nov 2019. Late fee because I didn’t pay the sales tax at the time.
2. I took possession of the kit in Feb 2020. Late fee on the late fee because I still didn’t pay the sales tax from the original purchase.
3. Car was completed and first test drive Dec 2020. By my own admission on the paperwork, I drove an unregistered vehicle on a public roadway......penalty fee !
4. Drove car to DMV per their instructions on the website to begin registration process Jan 2021. Guess what.....unregistered vehicle driven on roadway......penalty fee !

Keeping my cool, I smiled, paid the fees because arguing would have been pointless, and went home.

Now once home, I immediately made the brake/headlight inspection for Jan 18. I called the smog referee station to schedule that appointment. Got one for Jan 27. Happy days ? Not so fast.......smog ref asked for my sequence #, it should be right at the top of the paperwork......nope, no number. No number...no appointment ! The lady was polite enough that she let me keep my appointment date, as long as I called back 24 hours prior to it with the sequence number.

Raced back to DMV, walked past the long line and fortunately ran into the guy who did my paperwork walking out on a break. I explained everything to him, and took my paperwork inside to consult with the manager.

Longer story a tad shorter........manager called Sacramento.....and as of Jan 1, 2021....the procedure to register a kit car had changed. Sacramento hadn’t updated their online manual yet.........

The manager redid all my paperwork, adding a CHP inspection (now mandatory regardless if a DMV employee verified a vin). She said that once I had that inspection, then DMV would issue the sequence number. She was very apologetic. I told her I understood and apologized for causing the issues (this tactic played into my favor). She thanked me for understanding and said that once I got all the certificates, come back to DMV, ask for her and she would personally finish the process and get me my plates.

That’s where it rests for now and I will update thru each step.

John