Arizona vin and registration

[2Torqued]

Newbie question. I’m getting a new SPF cobra and will be receiving it in about 2 weeks. How do I go about getting the VIN number and get it registered? Any hints to make this process as smooth as possible would be greatly appreciated. Hope to see all of you on the road. Thanks

[mikiec]

It's been 8 years since I went through the process. There should be many that will respond with more recent experience. By the way it was painless for me.

You might consider giving Gordon Levy or John at Anthem a call.


Mike

[Danr55]

Take the car to the AZ DMV in Scottsdale early on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning and they will take care of everything. All you do it fill in the info and pay the money. THey will assign an AZ VIN if necessary. I thought SPF came with a VIN already assigned?

Perhaps Mr. Broburg can answer that question.

[Spoooky]

Really pretty simple if you have all the right paperwork. You'll need your cert. of origin for the car that has the spf# and that vin is stamped on the cross frame to match, right behind your radiator towards the left front tire. You'll also need proof of insurance with that spf#. Once they assign you a Az vin # you can call your insurance company to give them the new one. They will also have to see a final sales receipt showing tax paid. Having all that your tags will be about 35 to 40 bucks if you have a personal plate or so. You will not need to have the car emissions, it will be exempt. Because it is a 65'. That keeps the cost of the yearly tags cheap too. They hate it but that's the system. Tuesday or Wednesdays are quiet there. The one in Scottsdale is best. It's just east of Scottsdale rd. and South of Bell. Kind of behind Fox Sports grill. Good luck and it will take a bout an hour in a half.

[AZ Pete]

Like Spoooky said. It's on Paradise Road. Drive to the back (east side) and get in the inspection line. When I did my FFR in May I was told the only inspector who does these cars is "Larry". Larry started out grumpy but after I schmoozed him (You sure know a lot about cars, etc.) he checked off the form without checking the frame or engine numbers.
Pete

[Bob Broberg SPF667 460BB]

The VIN number will include your SPF build number stamped on your front cross member. Unless you open your mouth you shoud have no problem. Speak when spoken to. It's that simple. Don't P.O. anyone.

AZ Bob

[2Torqued]

Because I bought it new out of state and had it delivered there was no tax. Will they hit me up for tax?

[Y-NOT]

Like all things with ADOT, #1 Don't ask & don't tell. #2 It depends on which side of the bed the person got out of. I just got my 3rd AZ VIN tag, no tax, and about $25.00 total with 6 mo. of tags. Don't show anything with a $ value on it, unless forced.
Bill

[pfalk]

Great timing, I was just about to post something similar.

In my situation, the car has been titled out of MN as a 2002 midstates.

Do I understand this correctly that I'm better off having the title in AZ issued as a 65' or 67' midstates? (I think midstates is usually a 67'?)

Doing it as a 65' gets me out of emissions headaches as well?

[mikiec]

They may or may not register it as a 65. Generally they will. Ask them if they try to stick you with a 2002. Tell them that in the book it shows as a 65.

If not you are still in luck. If you have collector car type insurance, ie Hagarty, Grundy etc, you will be exempt from emissions testing.

Mike

[SandyC]

I got my then-new SPF titled last summer and for awhile they were going to charge me $1200 per year for registration before they changed their mind and charged me $40 per year instead. This is making a long story short. The process took tact, diplomacy and humility but it worked.

The problem was the person behind the counter was going to register it as a '65 but a supervisor who just happened to overhear said no, it had to be registered as a new car, hence the $1200. Confusion reigned for awhile until it got straightened out and was finally registered as a '65 so I got the $40 rate. Whew.

During the negotiations if things didn't work out my plan was to say I couldn't afford that right now and will title later, then go to a different office and try again and keep repeating that process until I found the right person behind the counter or ran out of offices.

Look at it as an adventure.

[2Torqued]

Thanks for the great responses. I plan to get it done next week. Can’t wait.

[pfalk]

Just an FYI -

If anyone buys one of these off an estate, make sure you bring in the original certified copy of the court order naming the estate trustee. I had to make a second trip back to the DMV since I had everything but that. (And my copy of it wasn't enough, they wanted to make their own copy of the original.)

Needless to say, I was just happy to make it out the door with my midstates titled as a 1965.

Also, the folks up at the DMV on 59th and Thunderbird were pretty decent about doing it as a 65. No issues at either the inspection or the counter.

Now that I'm street legal, I'm really looking forward to getting some miles on her.

[double ugly]

MAKE SURE YOU GO to the MVD on Paradise lane in N Scottsdale. Ask for Larry like suggested. If it looks like a cobra he will register it as a '65 Cobra Spc Const.

[Daryl]

I just hauled home my new B&B '66 Cobra turnkey purchased from the manufacturer out of state. I am aware of the AZ "Collectible Vehicle Emissions Testing Exemption" law passed back in 2007 and have the car covered under the required collector car insurance to meet the emisson exemption.

However, I want to make sure that the car gets registered as a '66, and thus want to make sure the MSO reads correctly. It currently reads "2009" as "YEAR" (i.e., year built) and "'66 Cobra Replica" as the "MODEL."

I will go to the Scottsdale MVD on Paradise and see Larry as recommended. Given the current MSO, will MVD register it as a '66? I have read other forums that say AZ MVD registers these cars for the year they represent and not the year they were built.

Also, with respect to the Title and Registration Application, what goes in the "Year" box? And does the "Specially Constructed" box get checked? I can also leave these boxes all blank and let the MVD agent fill them in.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[Daryl]

Well, I had my new B&B Roadster (aka Cobra) registered yesterday at the Scottsdale MVD location on Paradise Lane. Larry was there and he made the transaction a breeze given that he knows what AZ requires with respect to kit cars and has handled so many. Not all MVD personnel are familiar, so it's worthwhile to seek out an experienced person.

Go to him first in the Level 1 Inspection Lane and he will inspect the car and will enter all of the information into the computer, then send you inside to complete the registration. Again, mine was a turn-key from the manufacturer and I only had an MSO (i.e., the car had not already been previously registered in any state).

Ultimately I had to go back out to see Larry so that he could affix a new VIN lable inside the driver's side door jam given that the manufacturer's VIN did not fit the national VIN numbering scheme. I already had the car insured, so I had to let the insurance company know about the VIN change.

The car was ultimately titled as a 1966 Cobra / Special Construction resulting in low registration fees and is exempt from emission testing. Arizona is definitely "kit-car friendly!"

By the way, contrary to my previous post, the AZ "Collectible Vehicle Emissions Testing Exemption" law does not apply given that the '66 registration exempts the car from emisson testing anyway.

[SP01715]

What cars have to be tested for emissions in AZ? I have two vehicles registered to my house there (a 1990 Miata and a 2007 Yamaha Rhino) and I have never had to have either of them tested. Is it by county? After getting my Rhino registered in about 15 minutes for street use (would never happen in most states) I would think a cobra would be easy.

[Karl Bebout]

1715, emissions testing in AZ is by county. Last I heard it was for Maricopa (Phx. ,metro) and Pima (Tucson metro). I think I'd heard that the part of Pinal county, that includes Apache Junction, may have to have the testing. Don't know for sure.

[JCoop]

I love the AZ DMV. They understand the spirit of the law with regards to the registration of replicas. AZ-based replicas are registered to the year of the model it most closely resembles; which makes it much easier to ID in case of accident, theft, or traffic infraction. They ought to teach these NY legislators and DMV big shots a thing or two. My SPF, originally registered as a '65 Ford Convertible, had to be titled and re-registered as a '99 Custom. What the heck is that?

[SP01715]

Originally Posted by Karl Bebout

1715, emissions testing in AZ is by county. Last I heard it was for Maricopa (Phx. ,metro) and Pima (Tucson metro). I think I'd heard that the part of Pinal county, that includes Apache Junction, may have to have the testing. Don't know for sure.

Thanks, I have had a house in Mohave county for 10 years and have never heard anything about teasting. I guess I am lucky.