Yesterday I received an interesting letter from the DMV regarding my
Cobra. According to their records I may be entitled to a refund for
overpayment of past license fees and be eligible for registration
reclassification which might reduce future fees. This is the result of
a class action suit, Woosley v. State of California, brought against
the DMV. It seems the DMV classifies cars that were registered
out-of-state at some point differently from cars purchased new and
continuously registered in California. The result, apparently, is that
owners of these cars, or at least some of them, pay higher registration
fees. It seems some party named Woosley doesn't think this is quite
fair.
As it happens my car was purchased new in California by the original
owner in 1964 and I purchased it from him in 1966, also in California.
However, in 1967 I moved to Virginia and re-registered the car there. I
moved back to California in 1968, but didn't re-register the car again
until 1970 because it was off of the road until then. The out-of-state
registration is what makes my car potentially eligible.
For about as long as I can recall I've been paying what I thought was
the minimum rate of $45/year, but now I'm wondering. Do any of you pay
a lower rate on an older car? If $45 isn't the minimum rate, it has to
be close- still, a few extra bucks for each of the past 29 years...
The letter has an attached form that allows me to file a claim for a
refund and to request that my car's registration be re-classified. I'm
trying to think of a down side to filling out this form and sending it
in. I have to admit to being a bit suspicious when the DMV says it
wants to give ME money instead of the other way around.
In the letter the DMV claims it is sending a copy of the form to
everyone who owns a car potentially eligible, but that some may have
been overlooked. Anyone interested in finding out if their car might be
eligible can check the following web site:
www.dmv.ca.gov/refund-notice
The car must have been purchased before August 1, 1991, it must have
been purchased in, or at least registered in another state and you must
have paid the California fees since the car was registered here. If you
have a DMV Registration form, check the vehicle type (TYPE VEH). It's a
three digit code. If the center digit is 3, 6 or 7, then the car is
potentially eligible. Or check for the presence of an "asterisk year"
(*YR). If it is present, the car is potentially eligible.
Start checking those pink slips.
Roland
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