Auto tag procrastination

[SG15Z]

So I'm in the cash office today when the phone rings. Normally the uscan picks it up once the courtesy booth closes but he was busy so I answered.

ATL: Auto Tag Lady
Me:

Me: <spiel>
ATL: Um yes when does Customer Service close?
Me: They closed at 8 pm (it is now 9 something)
ATL: Oh. When does it open again?
Me: 8am.
ATL: Well is there anyone who could help me tonight. I have to renew my auto tags. See... (she then gives this dramatic story about how her tag is expired and she needs to get it done because she has to leave early in the morning to go see some relavtiva who has cancer.)
Me: I'm sorry ma'am but we've already pulled our reports and shut down our Auto Tag system there's nothing we can do for you tonight.
ATL:
Me:...

Um sorry I normally would feel bad for people like this but 99 time outta 100 your renewal paper comes in a whole month before your tags expire. Which means that if you really need to get it done today or risk the renewal expiring itself and having to go to the tax office to get it taken care, then you've your too late sorry. You've been putting off renewing you vehicle registration for over a month and tomorrow is the very last day but you don't have time tomorrow. Sorry but you sob story won't impel me to help you. In order to do yours I have to reboot the computer and activate the program (which I don't know how), get the booth till out of the safe and take your money and put it up again (it's buried under tills from other registers), then after you leave I have to void the money order we make out to the tax office every night and do another one and rerun my reports for money orders and auto tags for the night. Sorry but that's too much work and will take a long time, and I want to go home on time tonight. You should of taken care of it you know before it was too late. Sorry ma'am but you fail!

Sorry for the rant but procrastinators (especially the ones with sob stories) annoy me. And I'm a procrastinator myself! At least she didn't pull the Hurrican-Ike-ruined-my-life card. I would have gone nuts if she did!

[PepperElf]

and hell... i dont know about other states but with NY you can just order them online. And if you need it quickly, you can call them up and order the tags over the phone and ask for them to be mailed priority or overnight... tho you'll pay extra for the postage.

then again in ny along with the tags they have window stickers, so every time you go to the car you see when it's due. but i think some other states don't do that.

[Bright_Star]

and hell... i dont know about other states but with NY you can just order them online. And if you need it quickly, you can call them up and order the tags over the phone and ask for them to be mailed priority or overnight... tho you'll pay extra for the postage.

then again in ny along with the tags they have window stickers, so every time you go to the car you see when it's due. but i think some other states don't do that.

Not only can you order them online in Pa but you can print out a temporary one to use till your regular one gets mailed to you. It's good for 2 weeks.

[BookstoreEscapee]

You can do it online in NJ, too. I got my registration renewal at least 6 weeks in advance. It expires the end of September and I think I got the form in the beginning of August. I just wrote a check and sent it back (last time I did it online because I procrastinated, but I still did it a couple weeks before my registration expired). My car insurance comes due about the same time (convenient). Now my license expires the end of October but that will have to wait until next week when I am on vacation. That also doesn't require mailing anything in, just getting my butt down to the DMV (sorry, MVC*) office and waiting (last time I think it took an hour).

*Motor Vehicle Commission

[KiaKat]

Wow...I think in NH you have to actually *go* to the DMV...you have to give them the inspection results and they have to confirm the car still exists.

Then again, it's a state with 1.1 million people. Not exactly huge.

[freeatlast]

In Indiana you get a $5 discount if you renew online. I did my renewal a couple of days late (mine expired 8-15 so it should have been done by 7-31 to allow time to receive it by mail) and still received it with a few days to spare.

[simplyanother]

In my state, they've started to charge people extra if they come in to renew tags and other shit they'd rather we did at home.

Like your Drivers License. Yeah.

We also have inspections, every year...

[jerkface11]

Here in Arkansas you can get your tags at Walmart (there's a little computer terminal for it in automotive) or get them online.

[smileyeagle1021]

seriously, y'all suck... for me to get my car renewed (ok, so technically it's my mother's car even though I pay for it... stupid banks)... sense it is in my mother's name it must remain registered in Nevada... so every year I need to get my vehicle inspected and have the inspector sign off that I meet Utah requirements... then I mail that form to my mother who has to go to the main DMV in washoe county (she can't go to any branches, only the main one... at least to her knowledge she can only do it at the main one), speak to a desk person there who then looks up that I am a full time college student (which makes it so much easier sense most states have a system in place for college students), they call the Utah DMV to verify what their requirements are, then they print off a replacement tag that my mother then has to mail back to me... oh and this is if I'm lucky and we get someone at the washoe county DMV who knows how to do that... otherwise I have to make an 8 hour drive to have my vehicle inspected in washoe county (that sucks)

[reimero]

In Indiana you get a $5 discount if you renew online. I did my renewal a couple of days late (mine expired 8-15 so it should have been done by 7-31 to allow time to receive it by mail) and still received it with a few days to spare.

I'm absolutely amazed at the transformation of Indiana's Bureau of Motor Vehicles in the past couple of years. Online renewal is fast and easy and they offer a discount. When you do have to go into a branch office, you're usually in and out with only a minimal wait. And not only do they accept appointments, the system actually works.

[PepperElf]

ny inspection stickers are kinda odd... if you're using the car out of state only. they don't demand you prove the car passed inspection to get the tags renewed... but if you come back in the state you have to request a temporary inspection sticker a couple of weeks before you show up, & it has to be inspected within a few days of crossing the border.

the only issue with this is... some of the car inspection stations in virginia (at least Firestone...grrr) can't tell the difference between an Inspection Sticker and a Registration Sticker. last time i went to firestone I was omg-furious cos they SCRAPED my REGISTRATION sticker and claimed it was the law (they are idiots). thankfully it was almost due anyway, but yeah i was pissed.... after that i always checked first to make sure they understood not to scrape the wrong sticker... (and every other inspection station said it was illegal to scrape a registration sticker...so obviously firestone was breaking the law).

[edible_hat]

I renew mine at the post office, then drive around with the expired sticker and the receipt in my car until the new sticker turns up in the mail. It's usually 2 days.

[EmiOfBrie]

I remember when I got my MA-registered car's windshield replaced in NY....

In MA, if you got your windshield replaced, the glass company had special "windshield replacement" decals to put over the otherwise-voided inspection sticker (therefore keeping it from voiding). However, such decals were not available in NY. Not to mention, the NY glass company put my MA inspection sticker on the wrong side of the new windshield.

Basically, when Spring Break came around, I was worried about getting pulled over after I re-crossed the MA border (I had the glass receipt in the glovebox just in case, but still...) i decided to get my car re-inspected 2 months early (during spring break) so I'd have a valid sticker again.

[protege]

Not only can you order them online in Pa but you can print out a temporary one to use till your regular one gets mailed to you. It's good for 2 weeks.

Yep, it's awesome. No more waiting in line...and the paperwork shows up faster.