Clone license plates

[Dave H]

I just tried to license my 66 442 with vintage 1966 MIchigan plates to avoid the $80 annual surcharge that's on all licensed cars in Michigan (except those with antique or vintage plates). I bought a pair of unissued NOS plates at a swap meet a few years back. Procedure is to Zerox the plate and send it in to the State.

Received back a formal letter informing me that 1966 plate was already registered to another person.. WTF?? I have both plates. Can't believe that someone would go to all the trouble to make a clone of a license plate. The letter also requested that I submit a copy of the bill of sale of this plate. (from a swap meet?) or send a copy of another plate.

Easiest way out is to pick up another set off ebay, which I just did. Didn't opt for the new ones on there, and got a set of nice used ones for $.99 plus shipping.

Notice a lot of activity buying these vintage Michigan plates. Word must be spreading that you can either put these on your car for $35 life time, or pay easily that to use a regular plate and an additional $80 each year to help the new Guv make her budget. Do the Math...........:Dou:

[Donny Brass]

Dave, I think there are a bunch of companies that make the plates in any year you want.

[sailbrd]

I wonder if they just look for the number and not the the year? I think I better go get my 70 plate registered!

[Dr Olds]

I wonder if they just look for the number and not the the year

That is correct, if any year plate has that number you are s.o.l.

[IDOXLR8]

Dave, does your state have historic vanity plates like we have in Maryland? AL. :bglasses:

[Mike Wowk]

My 69 Dart GTS had the original vanity plate from 69 on it when I bought it.

[Dave H]

IDOXLR8 said:Dave, does your state have historic vanity plates like we have in Maryland? AL. :bglasses:

We have them, but it's like an extra $130-$150 per year with this $80 assessment. It's hidden in your car insurance bill, not in the plate renewal. You pay the insurance company, they supposedly forward it on to the State of Michigan where it gets pipelined to the big sewer called Detroit (like all our taxes).

If you're with a good collectible insurer (Haggerty's, American Collectors, etc., they'll let you know about this and you can waive the $80/year.

Mike:

Ohio had vanity plates in 1969? I thibnk Michigan started that a lt later on like the 80's (?).

[Donny Brass]

Dave H said:We have them, but it's like an extra $130-$150 per year with this $80 assessment. It's hidden in your car insurance bill, not in the plate renewal. You pay the insurance company, they supposedly forward it on to the State of Michigan where it gets pipelined to the big sewer called Detroit (like all our taxes).

Dave, it goes into the catestrophic claim fund for accident victims who exceed the Insurance Companies Claim Liability. It is part of the no-fault law. Collector cars get a break because they are not driven as much, so are at a lower risk of a Cat-Claim. Plus, because you can't get collector car insurance without a regular policy in the state, you pay into that fund with your regular driver.

[Dave H]

I find it hard to believe that $80 times every licensed car in Michigan ends up going to accident victims that have awards that exceed the Liabilities of the insurance claims. That may be the excuse to raise this tax (cause that's really what it is) but I'll betcha the funds go somewhere else.

How long has this been in effect? I recall at least a few years I had to pay this "assessment" on my 68 and 66 before it was possible to waive it with historic/authentic year plates. This is the first yer for that, I think.

[Mike Wowk]

The Dart was from Texas.

[Donny Brass]

It is state law that the funds only go toward the fund.

In fact, if you remember back a few years, a refund was issued for every car insured to the tune of $250.00 because the fund had grown far beyond what the law would allow as a surplus.

[12secbee]

In minnesota, you pay $25.00 for a perminent collector plate and if you add $100.00 to it for a total of $125.00 you can get a personalized collector plate for life. It does not go with the car when you sell it. 7 or 8 years ago I had a 1970 six pak Bee and when I sold it I just kept the plates and a few years ago I transfered the plates to my 69 Bee. Just had to pay $9.00 for the transfer fee. I have about 10 cool personalized collectors plates that I keep on the wall in my garage and if I get a different car all I have to do is Transfer it to the new car and I wont have to buy plates for my lifetime:Brow: Thanks Jim

[Tom Miller]

I bet your personalized plate's would look kind of funny on a GM
or Ford product, huh??:grin:

[8587GN]

I know that in 70 you could get vanity plates. My dad was into ham radio,and he still has his plate from 1970 with his ham radio call numbers on it

[Dave H]

I think Michigan also permitted ham radio personalized plates way back before they got into the other types.

Donny:

This surcharge was only added on the insurance on my 66 and 68 a coupla years ago. This year was the first one I can recall that informed me that I could get it waived with the special plate. I think I only paid that premium (that more than doubled my total annual bill) for 2 or 3 yers max. When was the refund?

[Donny Brass]

you have always paid it, it just shot up by close to a hundred bucks a couple of years ago because the claims outpaced the revenues, plus the claim pool wasn't doing as well in it's investments.

the refund was in 97, or 98. I got lucky because I had just changed insurance companies and got the refund twice on each car.

[Dave H]

I recall it was $1.00 per car on the plates themselves back when it first started. I heard the fund grew initially because nobody could get a claim through the red tape. I also thought the governor at that time (MIlliken or Blanchard) did a massive $$$ grab and rolled a lot of those funds into the general treasury. The Michigan Lottery started off to support education, or was it senior citizens, or was it mass transit, etc. etc. Probably all went into the People Mover. :grin:

Anyhow, glad we can waive it on the old ones. I'm licensing all my cars that are insured but not driven. Only way to insure them and you're money ahead. Not sure if I like having the government knowing what I've got and where. Never know when they'll come take them away some day.

Just heard about a house fire in Farmington Hills (Drake and Grand River area) that went up and took out an old Vette roadster and an early Mustang convertible. Guy's name was Mike, don't know last name. BIG house. Total loss. Chinese fire department (or so it seems), first couldn't get the hydrant open, then blew out a hose. Couldn't protect the houses on either side and mucho damage there, too. You never know.

[Andy Tantes]

BLOME is available:Brow:

[SmallHurst]

Badd Andy said: BLOME is available

Hey Andy,

They had on the Fox News in KC this morning that Columbus PD had caught a man that took pictures of women while he exposed himself. They blocked out the man's face, could not tell if it was you or not. I knew it wasn't Wowk since there was not visable back hair!:gt: :laugh:

[Donny Brass]

nope, the uninsured motorist is another part of your policy, this is strictly the catestrophic claims fund.

[Dave H]

Donny Brass said:nope, the uninsured motorist is another part of your policy, this is strictly the catestrophic claims fund.

Donny:

$80-$100 for every licensed vehicle in Michigan surcharge? each year? :confused:

You don't really think all that goes to the victims (and their lawyers :gt: ).

Something smelly there...........

BlackGold: You have any input on this? Where's the money going?

[BlackGold]

Man, I'm not even a member yet and I'm being called out -- by none other than Dave H himself!!!
OK, you win. I've been lurking here for about a year, but now you gone and got me to register, Dave.

As Donny said, the big surcharge goes into the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association, or something like that. Some insurance companies break it out as a separate charge, others seem to spread it across your itemized coverages.

This fee is what provides us here in Michigan with UNLIMITED medical coverage for injuries related to auto accidents. We are the only state to offer this (ahem) essential coverage. Personally, if it costs more than a half-million to keep me alive, there's probably a beter way to spend the money. Anyway, the idea is that no single insurance company could ever afford to pay an unlimited claim, so the government set up this fund that all the insurance companies pay into (with our premiums, of course).

The state is completely incompetent in setting the fees for this fund in any manner which would resemble a stable, closed-loop control system, so we get the situation where several years ago we all get a big refund, then we pay nothing for several years, now this year they sock it to us again. Sheesh.

To make a long story longer, my high-up political connection would insist that these funds are not misappropriated. I can believe this; I would expect UNLIMITED coverate to cost a lot. That's why every other state is smart enough not to do it.

Dave, I'm looking forward to testing your theory about cars with collector plates not having to pay the surcharge. I hadn't heard this before, but I'll be sure to give it a try when I pull my W-30 out of storage next spring.

[Dave H]

Michigan seems to always have some very innovative ways to get monies from the working people in the state (especially the outstate people).

With the latest exposure of the new Guv's strategy to hold back a planned tax decrease to fund the schools (which have 1.8 billion in their rainy day fund) I know there's some very creative politics and budgeting going on. If the last 2 years haven't been "rainy" days in Michigan, I don't know what would constitute one. Seems like they always have these big funds that appear and disappear every so often. :grin:

Not a theory on the plates, I already got mine reduced $80 per car. That was over half the annual premium.