Registering ST in California (Commercial Vehicle? Really???)

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A1cntrler

A1cntrler

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:soap:

It never crossed my mind that every day when my family climbs into our Sport Trac that I was lugging them around in a commercial vehicle. Until today that is. Recently moved to CA and today went to register my Sport Trac. The nice lady at the DMV totaled up my fees and said $400 for today... We had recently taken my wife's car in and it was $168 for plates/title and everything else, so I questioned about the $400 they required from me. She informed me that I have a commercial vehicle, and the title says so (VA title said Pick Up on it). I argued with her for a few minutes that it is an Explorer and in no way resembles a commercial vehicle. She asked me how many doors it had. I answered 4. She asked me how many people I taxi around in it, I replied none, but it will seat 5. It go to the point that I asked her and her supervisor to come out into the parking lot to see this commercial vehicle. So they came out to look. It so happened I was parked next to a Gen 1 Sport Trac with a camper shell on it. They said if I had a camper shell on it and not the factory installed Tonneau I could get a waiver to not have it shown as a commercial vehicle. Oy! Turns out the CHP will stop you if you do not have commercial plates on a pickup. In CA the commercial plates are identifiable by have all numbers except the second character. In doing a little google searching I saw that some said they have gotten pulled over by taking the shell off for a day to haul a load of gravel/wood etc...



The nice lady then told me that if I did in fact use the vehicle for a commercial purpose the fee would be higher, but since I only had the capability to haul cargo, it has to be classified as commercial. Then she said I could haul tools under the cover on my truck..



I looked up the CA code to see what it said about pick up trucks, and this is all I could find about commercial vehicles:



An "automobile" is a passenger vehicle that does not transport persons for hire. This includes station wagons, sedans, vans, and sport utility vehicles. Vehicle Code Section 465.



A "commercial vehicle" is a vehicle which is used or maintained for the transportation of persons for hire, compensation, or profit or designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property (for example, trucks and pickups). Vehicle Code Section 260.



Section 260 reads:



Commercial Vehicle



260. (a) A "commercial vehicle" is a motor vehicle of a type required to be registered under this code used or maintained for the transportation of persons for hire, compensation, or profit or designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property.



(b) Passenger vehicles and house cars that are not used for the transportation of persons for hire, compensation, or profit are not commercial vehicles. This subdivision shall not apply to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 3.



(c) Any vanpool vehicle is not a commercial vehicle.



(d) The definition of a commercial vehicle in this section does not apply to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 15200) of Division 6.







And that is as far as I can find any information.. I supposed since it is designed with a bed, the possibility is there, but come on... Seriously? How about you just ask me if I use it for commercial use, have me sign something saying I won't and let it be? I wonder if DMV lady is right though, as she wanted to fight me to take my personalized VA plates before she would give me my CA plates. I won when another DMV employee said I get to keep my old VA plates since I paid for them to have the logo and personalization on them...



Anyone get around this "Commercial" thing in CA? Do I have to get a cap to classify it as a "House Car"? I asked her if the Ridgeline, Avalanche, Escalade EXT and Subaru Baja were also commercial vehicles. She said it would be based on whatever was on the title...



Rant over....



Begin inserting comments starting with "That's another reason not to live in CA".....
 
Learned that back in 1987 when I bought my first truck in that wonderful state. It was the same then, if you had a camper shell, you could get a waiver.



When I moved to UT and then down here to TX, both just registered my ST as a personal vehicle.



You just have to love that state.



Chris
 
Welcome to Taxifornia. Unfortunately, it the title says 'truck', you pay commercial plate fees.



BTW, you can still put personalized plates on a truck so if you did have a waiver, it couldn't be identified by the license number/letter sequence.



 
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Totally off topic but I find it a little weird that in 6 weeks I will be approx the same distance as I was from you when we lived in VA.
 
No surprise coming from the state with the highest excise tax in the country. (8.25%)

A $20 billion state budget deficit, 12% unemployment. (The hits keep coming)

Rent, food, gas, and utilitiy prices among the highest in the nation.

And the "big one" hasn't hit, yet. I loved living in SoCal 25 years ago.

Can't say I'll be going back anytime soon.

 
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Several years ago (late 80's), FL had a "special assessment" you had to pay when you went to register/title your out of state vehicle with FL title/tags IF you had not bought the vehicle in FL. FL missed out on the sales tax @ time of purchase so they hit you with the "special assessment, about $400/vehicle at the time. Luckily, my employer paid the "special assessment", later it was declared illegal, and I got the $$ even after I had moved from FL. Never did remit the $$ back to former employer.
 
Had a local guy here in Wisconsin who somehow was able to sneek car plates onto his ST by failing to check "truck" on the application. I told him it's illegal and that if the right cop saw it he'd be in trouble. That was a little over a year ago.



Well, while on my way out of town on Monday, I saw that a state trooper had stopped him. He was pointing at the license plate as I drove by. I smiled. The annual price difference between car plates and minimal-weight truck plates is about $10. Now he's got a $200 ticket to pay for AND he has to reregister his truck for about $100.
 
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In PA, the ST is actually considered a...get this...STATION WAGON. No need for special tags, and the insurance premiums reflect the designation (i.e. insurance is inexpensive on the ST).
 
When I bought my Trac in '06, the dealer marked it like an SUV. Received a letter from the state in '08 saying CA considers this a truck, therefore commercial, therefore additonal registration $$$ for me to pay. I went thru the same runaround. DMV showed me the 'law' on this -- basically, if it has a bed, it's commercial.



I told the DMV that I have a tonneau cover currently on it, and, what if I put a shell/cap on it. I don't use it for commercial purposes. DMV said the only way it could be waived from additional commercial charges is if the shell were welded to the bed. I pointed at the bed and said it's plastic/composite -- duh. DMV just shrugged. Taxifornia just wants more $$$ out of me and all. SUX. :angry:
 
My ex's '01 escape was a car. Her '08 escape is a truck, in Texas..go figure..

My trac is a truck.
 
Larry,

Look at it this way...



In the Communistwealth of Virginia you (we) paid about

$100 for registration

$25 for city licensing

$300 Personal Property Tax



In Cali the Personal Property Tax is included in the $400 DMV registration fee

So you save $25 bucks

 
When I bought my '03 ST the dealer screwed up and put car plates on it because it's an Explorer. Got a letter two weeks later saying they needed me to come back to put a truck plate on it since it has a bed. In Pa. an El Camino is titled as a truck same as the VW Rampage, Subaru Brat but an Explorer, Blazer, SUV type truck is plated as a car.
 
It costs me about $100.00 to have personalized plates on my vehicle. That's right, $100 per year. That is the whole cost. On top of that, I can carry a pistol in each pocket and I have the right to do so.



Why anyone would move to Commiefornia is beyond me...





Tom
 

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