i dont think those people have any interest in classic cars.

 

If you have the option to register your classic car as a regular car...because you want to use it regularly... then clearly no one is trying to take your classic car off the road.

What if they just did away with classic car registrations altogether? You either register your classic car or you don't. No cheap alternative.

As far as I understand, you can still reach out to Hagerty, or other classic car insurance specialists and insure your car at whatever value you want, right? So I'm not sure I understand any issues, other than people angry that they have to pay a little more to register a car. Does anyone even know what it would cost to register their classic car?

 

I think there are a couple of issues here.

Yes, MN (like others) already have a Classic Car system, and correct, no one forces you to use it. All that is fair enough.

And yes, there has been reporting on this specific change to the law that, shall we say, over-hyped things?

That said, this specific case was a solution looking for a problem. And this solution was specifically overly restrictive. So it was still-born.

The real issue issue becomes "What next?" When will the next legislator propose that old cars are just too inefficient to be on the road at all? Or can't meet today's emission requirements, and should only be museum specimens? California cannot pass "Leno's Law", the simple idea that a car beyond a certain age not be subject to emission testing.

I agree that this proposal is going nowhere, and agree that it has been mis-reported. But I promise you there will come a time when this is not an outlier.

 

Hard to get clicks without clickbait headlines.... and a touch of drama :-)



I have my TR6 and my older Jag with Hagerty. Very reasonable.

Well, the MN proposal added some new wrinkles over and above the normal stuff.

In Oregon the savings is huge. Classic plates for $113 and you pay only once; it's lifetime registration; no annual renewal fee. Regular registration is $126 every year.

Cheers
DD

 

Hard to tell just how slippery some slopes are. For a rough indicator a person could do some research, going state-by-state, to determine how much legislative activity there has been, and how recently it has occurred, on the subject of old cars. I'm guessing very little, overall. I've heard no rumblings in Oregon nor Washington and, as mentioned earlier, Washington discontinued the emissions testing program entirely....which is a boon to old car owners. California is worth watching. And maybe New York?


California is a special case :-).

As it stands 1975 vehicles and older are exempt. I think the push is to have a rolling age exemption. Anything more than 25 years old (or whatever) is exempt. Something like that. I could, but won't, spend a long time talking about California emissions testing. I lived there for 30 years.

Cheers
DD

 

Arkansas' Classic /Antique plates are a $7.00 one time deal, which was originally set at 25 years. Back around 2019 a guy named Jack Fostner introduced legislation and they raised the age requirement to 45 Years! So when it passed only cars made in 1974 and back were eligible. I've got my 1989 XJS and always intended to get an Classic/ Antique plate, so it would be grandfathered in. I just somehow never did. Now I won't be able to until 2034 that's another 8 years. All I can say is Thanks Alot ------------------ (enter your favorite superlative). Oh Well "Life's tough get a Helmet!

Jack

PS. I did license my 86 Honda 450 Rebel (Antique) while it was eligible.

 

Next could also be a repeal of this law? Who knows. Why jump to only negative conclusions?

I agree that this seems to be a solution looking for a problem, but to speculate that it can only get worse is one-sided. If this gets pushback, it's unlikely to get worse, and if it gets enough pushback it can be walked back.

 

That is relatively huge, but when you consider the amount of money we put into our cars annually, this doesn't seem like all that much to get alarmed about. At today's prices we're talking a little more than an extra tank of gas per year.

 

Well, when you consider how much stricter laws are becoming with new cars, and the push to force manufacturers into phasing out the ICE, I find it difficult to believe things will become less restrictive in the future. I prefer to avoid the triumph of hope over experience.

 

No alarm. In fact I hadn't even thought about registering as a classic until this thread came along and prompted me to spend two minutes researching the actual costs.

But you're right. When I look at the inches-thick folders of invoices on my hobby cars the $126 annual registration is relatively insignificant. :-)

Cheers
DD

 

If we looked at every state the number proposed bills that go nowhere is probably in the thousands.

We have to keep our eyes and ears open while at the same time not let the media get us too excited.

Cheers
DD

 

Every classic car I've owned has been marked odometer exempt on the title, this makes it pretty much impossible for the DMV to know how much you drive it. Even on non-exempt cars I've never been asked for the mileage when renewing my registration..
For instance Colorado has a law restricting classic cars to 5,000 miles per year but in practice something like that is completely unenforceable!

"If a law is unjust a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so." — Thomas Jefferson