DeTomaso Mailing List: April 1997, Message #50
     



From: MikeLDrew@aol.com

Subject: Re: Welcome to NJ

Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 07:05:07 -0400 (EDT)



Capt Mike Drew

150 Westgate Dr.

San Francisco, CA  94127



(415) 334-7860



All,



I'm a California resident, with a CA driver's licence, and living in CA.



All my cars carry Oklahoma licence plates.



Why?  Well, I lived there for one year.  I found out that Oklahoma runs their

system differently from most states.



Most places, the vehicle registration is run by a state bureaucracy.

Oklahoma decided to get out of the vehicle registration business, and

subcontracted to civilian franchises.  In every city and town, usually in a

strip mall between the 7-11 and a dry cleaner, is the local tag agency.



This agency is staffed by civilians, and they handle all registration and

title issues.  They act as an interface between the state and the customer,

and they get a cut out of the registration fees.



You see?  There's a profit motive at work here.  To them, a licence plate is

simply a commodity.  They're in the business to sell licence plates.



Anyone can simply pick up the phone and call them and order one.  No need for

a fake address in the state; they're more than happy to sell you a plate with

your local out-of-state address listed.  Panteras cost $22.50 per year!  I

only had one vehicle when I was living in Oklahoma; since then I've phoned

them from California several times, and registered several more cars and

motorcycles.



Besides the fact that I've never seen the inside of a smog inspection

station, as an added bennie, somehow I managed to not have to pay any state

sales tax when I purchased my GT-350 (nobody asked, and I sure wasn't about

to offer!)  Almost got away again when I bought the Cobra, but they came back

several months later.  Even so, I paid only about 30% of what I would have

paid had I registered/paid tax in California.



So what happens if you get pulled over by the cops?  Well, I've got the whole

"I'm in the military" angle working for me, but I haven't been pulled over

since 1990.  If your local smokies give you grief about your out-of-state

tag, well, THEN you worry about registering locally.



Here's a super point-of-contact:



Altus Tag Agency

Attn: Kim

510 E. Broadway

Altus, OK  73521



(405) 482-3551



You have to send them a check, proof of insurance, and a copy of your

existing registration or title.



She's always been terrific to me.  If you're having problems in your own

state, it's always worth a shot!



Mike