TheSamba.com :: View topic - Taking car off non-op in CA

Mon May 02, 2011 12:28 pm

Hi guys. Coming around the final bend of my restoration. My car has been registered as non op for the last two years, wanted to know how annoying is it going to be to get it registered again? I didn't make any big changes except for a brand new engine. Still the same pan, body, and transmission, still has all the same numbers where they should be (minus door jamb sticker). Anyone gone through this process that can impart some information to make this go smoothly?

Mon May 02, 2011 12:48 pm

It should go smoothly. Two years is short enough that you should still be in the system. Just bring any paperwork you have, including expired older registrations.

Mine was out for about 7-9 years and it was out of the system, causing me a much longer delay in getting it re-registered.

If you are in Simi, drive west to the Santa Paul office; they are much nicer and patient there than in the Van Nuys or Newhall offices. They went the extra mile to allow me to re-use my old blue/yellow plates.

Mon May 02, 2011 5:08 pm

pay the current years registration in full and proof of insurance. that's it. no hoops to jump through or verifications. easy

Mon May 02, 2011 6:51 pm

PNO-planned non operational status is good forever. no back fees or penalties.

Mon May 02, 2011 10:48 pm

Oh, awesome! For some reason I thought this would be a lengthy painful process.

Tue May 03, 2011 7:52 am

You should be able to do this on-line. I haven't seen the inside of the dreaded dmv for years! Quick, easy, and other than the wallet "hurt", is mostly painless. AND I even have triple A which I could do all my dmv transactions with them. Googool dmv for registration and be done with it. 8)

Tue May 03, 2011 10:23 am

B Ramsey wrote: PNO-planned non operational status is good forever. no back fees or penalties.

This is the correct theory, but in practice cars older than 7-8 years are likely to be completely out of the data system the DMV uses.

I paid for PNO on my '71, and let it sit for that long. When I came back, they had no record whatsoever of my car! They said something about a computer update, and that old records were not moved to the new system. I'm not sure about that, but the fact was, if not for the original pink (from back when it WAS actually pink) and my last registration, I would have had real problems getting it back. Fortunately, the small office was much more helpful, and by designating me a collector, I was even able to keep my original plates.

Moral: Go to small town office, be patient and nice, and let them be the boss.

Tue May 03, 2011 12:04 pm

AAA is the way to go. No lines at all!

Tue May 03, 2011 12:22 pm

busded wrote: AAA is the way to go. No lines at all!

I've used them only a couple of times for dmv purpose and there have been lines some times! Though not that long. But again, most of the time I do my restration and driver's license renewals on-line with a quickness. 8)

Also FWIW, when you do a new registration or a renewal at triple A, you get a printed BIG sheet type of registration whereas if you do it through the dmv on-line you get the smaller type "card" in the mail. Much easier to carry! :wink:

Mon May 09, 2011 10:07 pm

Like you, I have PNO vehicle ('63 VW) that I have not registered since 2006. I get an annual DMV notice in the mail that says:
"NONOPERATED VEHICLE NOTICE
Before operating, parking, or towing this vehicle on the streets or highways during the registration period of 01/16/2011 to 01/16/2012, renew the registration by mailing the fees and documents indicated below, with the bottom portion of this form."

I don't think you can pay a prorated fee; you probably have to pay the entire fee no matter what month in the 12 month period you re-register.

So the notice is saying that you can register by mail. You have to provide evidence of liability insurance before you can register the vehicle. Most insurance companies will automatically send the information to the DMV.

You might even be able to renew via the DMV website.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/online/vrir/vr_sb1500anu.htm
The second bulleted statement: "If you want to remove an Affidavit of Non-Use (ANU) ...", at the link above may apply to you.

Tue May 10, 2011 9:25 pm

Re-registering was TOO EASY,
I sent in my latest "Non-Op notice" with a note telling them I wanted to put the car back on the road.
DMV sent me a Registration Form with the required payment due.
I sent them back the Registration Form with a check,
and two weeks later I had my sticker.
No trip to the DMV required, I did it all by Mail.

Wed May 11, 2011 8:26 pm

my car was non-op for 18 years and it was "easy" to change status. AAA however, sent me on a chase saying that my 74 needed to be smogged :?

Keep in mind that even if you pay now, you will have to pay again when it is due even if it hasn't been a full year.

Fri Jan 06, 2012 5:13 pm

I know this is kind of an old thread, but for what it's worth...

When I first registered my Packard (and several other cars that were out of the system) and told the DMV that it was an old family car and had been sitting in the back of the garage for the last 25 years. They said no problem, I filled out a lost title, and 80 bucks later I was on my way with new plates and a sticker.

On the other hand, when I registered my Bug, which was on a PNO (even had the papers in hand), they told me it had some back reg. and that because it was a month from when the next registration was due, I had to pay for two years even though it would only be on the road for 13 months til next year. Ended up being over 200 just to get it registered.

So, my conclusion is that unless you do it online or by mail, how easy it goes really just depends on which person you get at the window.

Sun Jan 08, 2012 5:20 am

fory wrote: I know this is kind of an old thread, but for what it's worth...

When I first registered my Packard (and several other cars that were out of the system) and told the DMV that it was an old family car and had been sitting in the back of the garage for the last 25 years. They said no problem, I filled out a lost title, and 80 bucks later I was on my way with new plates and a sticker.

On the other hand, when I registered my Bug, which was on a PNO (even had the papers in hand), they told me it had some back reg. and that because it was a month from when the next registration was due, I had to pay for two years even though it would only be on the road for 13 months til next year. Ended up being over 200 just to get it registered.

So, my conclusion is that unless you do it online or by mail, how easy it goes really just depends on which person you get at the window.

My last trip to the DMV was quite interesting (Nice word for "WTF are you kidding me")
But that's just the way the DMV is.
The women spent (wasted 20 minutes) trying to figure out why the first print out said I owed $7 more than the 1 year old print out I brought in.
Who cares, it's just $7, take my money and freaking move on.
But that's just the way the DMV is.
Or how come once I paid up, she couldn't give me the stickers, I had to go wait in another line.
But that's just the way the DMV is.
Try not to insult the DMV workers, would you want to do that job?

Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:43 pm

(Yet again this thread is resurrected. :-) )

I'm considering putting my 67 DC on PNO when the registration comes due next month. I just haven't had time to work on the brakes, and money is scarce too.

My concern is that I currently have blue commercial plates on it. (Yes, they're not black. But blue is better than white!!).

If I put the vehicle on PNO, is a new renewal generated at that time, reclassifying it as a non-commercial vehicle, and causing new plates to be required? I've never PNO'd a vehicle so this is new territory for me.

Also, what's the issue with insurance? I know you're supposed to not need insurance when it's PNO. However, I'm only saving $5/mth by dropping insurance, so it's not worth the hassle with Liberty Mutual to make the change.

Has anyone had issues with their insurance company if they have a vehicle on PNO with California?

Thanks!

Robert

Mon Jan 19, 2015 6:29 pm

You dont "need" insurance, but what happens if its stolen/damaged? I keep insurance on my non-op DC to protect ME :)
I believe the DMV is charging me $10/year for my (special plate fee) black plates on my ghia. Looking at my DMV paperwork on the DC i dont see that mine is a commercial vehicle. My blue plate is 3XYZ123 I dont know if thats a commercial series or not. Im waiting to assign black commercial plates til its ready to roll. I dont think they would re'classify you from comm. They may charge you to keep a specialty plate active.

Mon Jan 19, 2015 6:39 pm

3XYZ123 would be a non-commercial plate.

Commercial plates would be 1X12345, 12345X1, or 12234X

The plates I have are the ones issued in 72/73, when the reclassified all pickups as commercial vehicles.

Understand your point about the insurance. I was just thinking out loud is all.

Robert

c21darrel wrote: You dont "need" insurance, but what happens if its stolen/damaged? I keep insurance on my non-op DC to protect ME :)
I believe the DMV is charging me $10/year for my (special plate fee) black plates on my ghia. Looking at my DMV paperwork on the DC i dont see that mine is a commercial vehicle. My blue plate is 3XYZ123 I dont know if thats a commercial series or not. Im waiting to assign black commercial plates til its ready to roll. I dont think they would re'classify you from comm. They may charge you to keep a specialty plate active.

Mon Jan 19, 2015 9:15 pm

You need insurance, but they don't check as much as they should.

If you go PNO, they wont give you new plates if unless you change the title to something else.

But yea, worse case is you have to pay to renew your old plates. Which you shouldn't have to. CA is just money hungry.

Wed Jan 28, 2015 1:09 pm

Since your car was non opped, every year you receive a renewal notice from the DMV. You have the choice to renew, or maintain the non op status. Hopefully you have that notice.
It has the info that you need to re register the vehicle.
As stated previously, it almost too simple. Hooray!

Cool that your getting it back on the road! Enjoy