Ben B

Well, I finally went to the Secretary of State's office today to apply for new plates for my 1985 928S, since I just received my proof of insurance. So far, I've gotten off easy, since the title fee was $15 and it was sales tax exempt since I bought it from a family member. I also bought collector insurance from J.C. Taylor for around $120/year, which I thought was very cheap.

My first disappointment was when I found out my 20-year-old car wasn't elligible for historic plates. Apparently it should have been a 1980 model! BTW, historic plates in Michigan are a steal - $30 for 10 years!

O.k., so I guess I'll get regular plates, I thought. How much could they possibly be? When the clerk couldn't find the cost on her desk chart, I knew I was in trouble! Finally, they pulled out a 10" thick book & found the answer... $212 per year! Seems they base the cost on the car's ORIGINAL value instead of it's current value. So, my $4,000 Porsche costs the same to license as a new $50,000 Cadillac!

I ended up buying a two month temp tag for $50. At least that will get me to the end of the season & I won't be driving it all winter. Next summer, I'll just do the same thing - three 2 month tags should get me through the year!

Totally crazy!! Why does the state think a 1980 Chrysler K-car should qualify as a "historic automobile" and my 1985 928 shouldn't? Should "historic" be defined simply by any auto 25-years-old? Which is more historically significant: a 1979 Corvette or a 1989 Corvette ZR1? To enthusiests, the answer is obvious!

And even worse, why do I have to pay the same rate as a new $50,000 car? Heck, I know of many cars that cost $25,000 new in the 1980's & 1990's that are worth a heck of a lot more today than my 928!

Anybody interested in starting a petiton to get the state(s) to re-define a "historic" automobile? There are many newer autos that are historic than the GM junk from the 1970s. I think our 928s are pretty darn significant cars, and therefore "historic".

m21sniper

Here in Pa we have Classic plates(20yo) and Antique plates(25yo).

Mine is eligible for Classic tags, but i'm just gonna wait 2 more years until i can get Antique tags. No inspection, no emmisions, dirt cheap insurance, and no registration renewals.

YEAH baby.

AFARR

Hey, Sniper--I looked into the plates also. Make sure to read the fine print--I thought it said something about only driving it once a week, and only during daylight hours?

Classic gets you out of Emissions, if I recall properly, the Antique gets you out of Safety also. However, don't you have to justify the Antique (car must be in good shape, and pics a help to let them decide)?

AFARR

Oldtee

Maryland Historic. 20 years if the car is no longer in producton. My historic plates are vanity plates 85 928S.

Big Dave

Ben, I feel your pain. However, I recall hearing recently that Michigan was considering a graduated system to allow cars to get less expensive plates, although technically not the cheap historic plates. I'm not sure if it went anywhere, although I doubt the state would allow anything to pass that would reduce its income.

m21sniper

"Hey, Sniper--I looked into the plates also. Make sure to read the fine print--I thought it said something about only driving it once a week, and only during daylight hours?"

Yeah, we have a mileage provision, but no one enforces it at all(probably because it's unenforcable to begin with).

The driving at night part only applies to vehicles that were not factory equipped with headlights.

"Classic gets you out of Emissions, if I recall properly, the Antique gets you out of Safety also."

Yep.

"However, don't you have to justify the Antique (car must be in good shape, and pics a help to let them decide)?"

You just have to send in pix of the car to show that it's not a beat to death rust bucket. If your car looks good, and original(ie no flashy 20" rims on a 66 Impala, lol), it will be approved.

Randy V

Hey, Ben - welcome to the forum!

Only one post and already a Member - very impressive! Thanks for your support.

Ben B

I get a lot from this forum & want to see it continue. IMHO, my membership here is a better investment than $300 for a set of factory service manuals!

Now all I need is a cool avatar & more 928'ers in Michigan's Upper Penninsula!!

Randy V

Where in the UP are you? I'm from Sault St. Marie (the Canuck side).

Airflite40

I was thinking about getting antique plates for my shark in illinois. No emissions and plates are good for 5 years! It says though that you can only drive the car to and from demonstrations, shows, and the shop. Does anyone know how well enforced that is? My odo doesn't work, so would they require me to fix mine to keep track of my mileage? I want to drive my car to work and around without any worries.

Ben B

I'm from Sault Ste. Marie (U.S. side).
Moved here from San Diego two years ago.

Randy V

Hah! - You moved from SD to the Soo, I moved from the Soo to SD!

69gaugeman

Hey, I was a member BEFORE my first post. Although it still shows registered user.

Randy V

Send me a PM, Gauge and I'll get ya set up. Sorry for the delay!

Ben B

Randy, although I miss the 360 days/year of sunny 73' weather, I love it here!
The difference in the cost-of-living more than makes up for 5-6 months of snow!!
At least I can afford more toys!

AIRFLIGHT 40: They can't enforce it! Nobody is going to chart your driving habits or inspect your odometer. All you have to do is try to avoid putting yourself in a situation where you have to explain what U R doing or where U R going (i.e., don't get pulled over). If you do get stopped, explain that you were (A) headed to a carshow, (B) taking the car to a garage for repair, (C) driving to evaluate a recent repair.
"Heck officer, I just replaced my muffler bearings & needed to get the car up to 88 MPH to see if the flux capacitor still works."