Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Car buyers may get
slapped with old
registration feesQuestion: I recently purchased a 1966 Lincoln convertible from a gentleman in Hawaii Kai. It had been just sitting on the road. I got the title and took in to be registered, only to be told I owed in excess of $1,000 to have it registered. I don't think I should be penalized for someone else not registering a vehicle. Instead of the state having to remove cars like it from the road, I am spending my own time and work to have it restored. There was nothing on the title that said I had to pay back registration. Is there any recourse that I have?
Answer: Because the payment of motor vehicle taxes is set by state law, you have no right to a waiver of the delinquent registration fees, according to Dennis Kamimura, the city's motor vehicle and licensing administrator.
"The statutes say that unless you surrender your license plates, take the vehicle off the road and complete the appropriate form to officially store the vehicle, taxes continue to accumulate on the vehicle," he said.
In fact, "All delinquent taxes become a lien on the vehicle," Kamimura said.
He noted that the Legislature has rejected proposals for "self-storage certification," in which an owner would swear that a vehicle has not been on the road from a certain date to whenever and thereby avoid paying taxes.
That all said, you have had an expensive lesson in "buyer beware."
When a seller says he has not driven a car for several years, it would behoove the purchaser to check with the Division of Motor Vehicles to find out how much it would cost to re-register the car, Kamimura said.
"And people do that," he said. "We tell them (the registration) has expired and this is the approximate amount of money they have to pay. We also try to find out if there's any stoppers on the vehicle, too, because there could be traffic violation stoppers or other kinds of stoppers."
In addition to having to make up the payment of taxes for every year missed, you were assessed a penalty of $16 each year.
Q: For weeks, turning into Pacific Palisades from Waimano Home Road, there is a long line of cars waiting. They need to adjust the timing of the traffic signal there. I was told private construction messed up the sensor. Are they going to fix that?
A: The city Department of Transportation Services has "programmed" the sensor there for repair, but exactly when that will happen has not yet been determined, said Director Cheryl Soon.
The problem is, DTS doesn't know who damaged it, although "we believe it was one of the contractors.
"We are trying to find the responsible party so we can bill them."
In the meantime, DTS inspectors were to visit the site to see what they need to do to make interim improvements to the timing of the lights, but "the ultimate solution is that the vehicle sensor needs to be repaired," Soon said.
Mahalo
To the person who turned in my tool bucket to the office of Diamond Head Memorial Park. On Sunday, Jan. 13, we went to put flowers on my parents' graves. Going home, I forgot the bucket and grass clipper. Next Sunday, I went to the office and they had it. We are very grateful. -- Yoshi
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