Author Topic: Is it a microcar?  (Read 7574 times)

Jim Janecek

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Re: Is it a microcar?
« Reply #15 on: April 12, 2010, 02:36:34 PM »
I don't think Steven is going to have any problems getting legal TITLE to the vehicle right now.
The vehicle is in the US and sold to him by the US Marshall's Service.

The problem is that the car cannot be LEGALLY allowed to be driven on the road.
To find an individual that will somehow grant you the status to do this is beyond their legal capacity and amounts to nothing more than falsified paperwork.
Someone at the DMV might feel sorry for you and agree to let you register the car but in reality this is no different than if you had slipped them a $100 to "help" the paperwork along.
Either method results in License Plates and Registration, both in spite of the law.
There are many people driving around on faked Registration and really the ONLY problem with this is liability in case of an accident.
As I mentioned earlier, THAT is when you will discover that your paperwork will not help you.
I am pretty sure that all the cars and things IAN mentioned are ALREADY legal for road use, they are just obscure vehicles that the DMV is clueless about.

regarding finding someone in the NHTSA - why should someone there stick their neck out to allow your car in despite rules against it?
also- note that I mentioned that going this route WILL result in your vehicle being documented and monitored. (rather heavily from what I have heard)

another thought to get around the liability issue is to start a corporation that owns the vehicle.
this may help to shield your personal assets in the case of some sort of problem that insurance will not cover.


steven mandell

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Re: Is it a microcar?
« Reply #16 on: April 12, 2010, 10:20:25 PM »
Ian,
Were all your cars 25 or more years old at the time of your presenting papers to your DMV?  If they were they were exempt from regulation and nobody needed to twist any rules.  If they were less than that many years old i would be interested in at least hearing the details.

Jim,
So far I have found out that Nick England who is somehow associated with the NHTSA is not the sympathetic ear to talk to.  You are right that they want to know who they are talking to and with regards to what automoile right from the first word.  I got another referral from him but am not going to even give the make of the car untill and unless somebody convinces me for good reason that this would be in my better interest.  Avery difficult tight rope to walk.

cuscus47

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Re: Is it a microcar?
« Reply #17 on: April 13, 2010, 09:30:13 AM »
Yes, they were all over the magical 25 years rule.  The point that I was trying to make is that I think that problem is really obtaining the Title, and then the registration flows easier.  The insurance companies, or at least mine, do not question whether the car is legal or not, they assume that if it does have valid plates, then it is ok.  My insurance company even wants four pictures.  One from both sides front quarter looking back, an interior shot and a picture of the engine.  All my three wheelers are registered and titled and insured as Sedans or Convertables, not tricycle or motor cycle.  A chief inspector of the Secretary of State, who lives in town here, many years ago told me to register them as sedans, for they are enclosed, and the convertables, to register as convertables, not to mention the number of wheels.  The insurance has never picked up on this either, and they have never questioned RH drive.  Even if the US Customs waiver for EPA and Safety requirements is sort of automatic, and common knowledge, this new person at the SoS office read the Illinois Handbook on titleing and registering imported vehicles, where it states that ALL vehicles must conform to the current EPA and NHSA (the national road safety board or whatever the correct achronym is) unless waived by Federal entities.  She construed this to mean that the owner must present the waiver at titleing, which is not possible, for US Customs keeps all the forms they approve and will not make copies for anyone. So her overseer advised her to issue titles (at least in my case) that if the Customs Entry document is presented, then all the waivers are in order and that they do not need to see them.  I don't know the legalities of Law Enforcement questioning the registration if issued by their State DMV. This could open up a bag of worms, or the proverbial Pandora's Box.  Jim would know more of this aspect than me.   Would driving an illegally imported vehicle, which obviously fits in the surroundings of many types of road legal vehicles, put up warning flags to warrant a stop and questioning the validity of a legitimate Title and registration.  I really do not think that many officers would be able to make this call..  Even so, it is far better to do the things correctly and by the book, so a particular possible future event may not occur.  One other point to mention could be, that in my town and county, there are no safety, pollution or road-worthy checks done on a passenger vehicle at any time,  but if you reside in an area where an annual inspection is required, then this may put up the "red flags" on the vehicle, if it is not in their data base.  I don't know how that works.   So just more confusion with no easy solution to problem at hand.  It is your judgement call..............Ian   :P
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