So, half of my day was taken up by tomfoolery at the DMV that I thought I could take care of at AAA during my lunch hour. The first indication that something might be amiss is when AAA said there was conflicting info in the DMV database regarding my car's status. The woman that was helping me profusely apologized, but said I'd have to go to a DMV in-person. I could have put it off another day, but I was too far in to throw in the towel, so I was determined to get it done. I drove down to the San Clemente DMV, which is further away, but usually less busy that the one I live closer to. So I went down and stood in line for about an hour to be given a number to wait again. Those of you that live in less densely populated states that don't have to deal with this joy, be glad.
Anyway, my number finally got called, and I went to a desk staffed by an East Indian gentleman probably in his early 50s. If any of you have seen the movie "Office Space" his personality reminded me of Milton, in that he was very "by-the-book." But beyond his incompetence was his surly attitude. I placed my California Title and PNO notice (both issued by the California DMV, more on that in a moment). On the title was a license plate number. I started out and said, "I need to have the car registered. It's on PNO currently." He very curtly asked, "Where are the plates?" I told him, "It has no plates." He replied, "The title has a plate number." I told him, "The car has been on PNO since it's gotten back to California." "Where did it come from?" he asked. "It was originally purchased in California, but has spent most of its life in Tennessee."
At this point, I think his head was about to explode from information overload, and not fitting with his standard operational procedure. He then said, "You need to bring in a note from the State of Tennessee saying it was titled in that state." I was fuming at this point. A clear, up-to-date California title was directly in front of him, in addition to the PNO declaration. I told him, "Then why do I have these?" referring to the California-issued title & PNO. "These are from Sacramento" he said dismissively. I was absolutely beside myself at this point. "So are you saying I need to go all the way to Sacramento (approximately 600 miles north) to take care of this?!?!" "No," he said, "Go to the manager's window over there." So I dutifully walked over to the manager's window and waited a minute. The woman asked what the problem was. I showed her the documentation, and I said, "For whatever reason, they're not able to take care of this." "Who was helping you?" she asked. "The Indian gentleman at window 11." Something tells me this wasn't the first time she had problems with him. She sighed a little and said, "I'll meet you over there."
By now, the guy that was originally helping me was helping someone else. When my time came back up, she was mercifully sitting next to him, and showing him the tricks of the trade for processing my application. Several times, he said, "But, but..." because my case didn't fit his strict protocol. She told him, "Don't worry about it" and gave him the correct codes to override whatever flags the system was throwing. So FINALLY I walked out with a temporary operating permit, and a registration pending it passing smog.
I guess what threw a monkey wrench into the works is that the "plate number" that was on the title was the original plate number that was issued back in the '80s when the car was purchased new in California. When I originally brought it out to CA last year and took care of the preliminary paperwork at AAA, they said, "It's not in the system, they don't keep stuff that old." Well...Maybe they do. I guess the plate number was linked to the VIN, and it still pulled the plate number all these years later. As is usually the case, when you change a vehicle's registration from one state to another, you typically surrender the old plates to get the new ones, so for all intents and purposes, they're long gone. Anyway...That's my rant for the day. I'm hoping smog goes smoother, and I can finally get this thing out on the road! 😛
Anyway, my number finally got called, and I went to a desk staffed by an East Indian gentleman probably in his early 50s. If any of you have seen the movie "Office Space" his personality reminded me of Milton, in that he was very "by-the-book." But beyond his incompetence was his surly attitude. I placed my California Title and PNO notice (both issued by the California DMV, more on that in a moment). On the title was a license plate number. I started out and said, "I need to have the car registered. It's on PNO currently." He very curtly asked, "Where are the plates?" I told him, "It has no plates." He replied, "The title has a plate number." I told him, "The car has been on PNO since it's gotten back to California." "Where did it come from?" he asked. "It was originally purchased in California, but has spent most of its life in Tennessee."
At this point, I think his head was about to explode from information overload, and not fitting with his standard operational procedure. He then said, "You need to bring in a note from the State of Tennessee saying it was titled in that state." I was fuming at this point. A clear, up-to-date California title was directly in front of him, in addition to the PNO declaration. I told him, "Then why do I have these?" referring to the California-issued title & PNO. "These are from Sacramento" he said dismissively. I was absolutely beside myself at this point. "So are you saying I need to go all the way to Sacramento (approximately 600 miles north) to take care of this?!?!" "No," he said, "Go to the manager's window over there." So I dutifully walked over to the manager's window and waited a minute. The woman asked what the problem was. I showed her the documentation, and I said, "For whatever reason, they're not able to take care of this." "Who was helping you?" she asked. "The Indian gentleman at window 11." Something tells me this wasn't the first time she had problems with him. She sighed a little and said, "I'll meet you over there."
By now, the guy that was originally helping me was helping someone else. When my time came back up, she was mercifully sitting next to him, and showing him the tricks of the trade for processing my application. Several times, he said, "But, but..." because my case didn't fit his strict protocol. She told him, "Don't worry about it" and gave him the correct codes to override whatever flags the system was throwing. So FINALLY I walked out with a temporary operating permit, and a registration pending it passing smog.
I guess what threw a monkey wrench into the works is that the "plate number" that was on the title was the original plate number that was issued back in the '80s when the car was purchased new in California. When I originally brought it out to CA last year and took care of the preliminary paperwork at AAA, they said, "It's not in the system, they don't keep stuff that old." Well...Maybe they do. I guess the plate number was linked to the VIN, and it still pulled the plate number all these years later. As is usually the case, when you change a vehicle's registration from one state to another, you typically surrender the old plates to get the new ones, so for all intents and purposes, they're long gone. Anyway...That's my rant for the day. I'm hoping smog goes smoother, and I can finally get this thing out on the road! 😛
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