Nearly seven months in, and it all comes down to today’s expiration of the old tags.
11 a.m. Terrible’s smog check, $19.95. Free glazed donut and bottle of Terrible’s-brand water.
12:45 p.m. Obtain in-state vehicle liability insurance, $86.98 down, $60 a month hereafter. Must call old company to remove name from dad’s policy, ask them to fax over “Letter of Experience.”
2 p.m. DMV Identification Number Inspection station, free. “Well, your car’s not stolen!”
2:10 p.m. Forty-five minutes home and back. Seems it takes a wrench or pliers to remove old license plates, not one of two types of screwdrivers, as had been stashed on the passenger side with, at the time, what seemed like an impressive amount of foresight.
3 p.m. DMV. Much waiting, pulling of hair, gnashing of teeth. Psychic cost: still compounding.
4:30 p.m. Desk No. 4. Registration fee (including whopping late fine), $173.00. Switching title over from dad’s name, $28.25. Hmm, wasn’t planning on it all costing this much. Good thing the DMV accepts checks; job “pays” on Friday.
5:15 p.m. Make phone call. “What’s a ‘Letter of Experience’?” Still no idea.
11 p.m., three days later. Bank overdraft fee, $35. Non-sufficient funds fee, $35.
Not getting pulled over for expired plates only to have the fuzz discover four out-of-state speeding tickets (paid) and a one-month license suspension (completely and thoroughly disregarded): priceless.
–Julie Seabaugh