New Owner Need Some Advice With Registration Fee.

[JokeDog]

Hi all,

I live in NY, but bought my es300 2 weeks ago from a Lexus dealer in NJ. Paid tax and registration fee of $250. Drove away w/o plates or registration papers except for the papers below.

1. bill of sales

2. a copy of the insurance paper faxed to the dealer from Geico

3. National Safe Driver paper with my name, address, car vin and the price I paid for. No clue that that is.

4. Privacy Notice

5. Motor Vehicle Purchase Stimpulation Form (nothing was checked off)

6. Contact Authorization (in case they need to contact me for recalls)

7. Odometer Disclosure Statement

8. a "20 days temporary non-resident permit" on my rear window

9. A NJ inspection sticker on my windshield.

Two weeks later and I still have no plates, nothing mailed to me yet. I'm driving my Lexus around with a "20 days temporary non-resident permit" which expires this Friday, 8/31 taped to the back of my rear window and on the windshield is the NJ inspection sticker which expires in 2009. I called up the dealer this morning, but he said he'll check with his office.

I don't know about other states, but NYS requires that a registration sticker on the windshield next to the inspection sticker. A friend of mine also lives in NY and bought his WRX from a NJ dealer said that he got his registration within a week, his plates 3 days after he got the car and the inspection was done by the dealer so he doesn't need to do it. On DMV.org, it said if I purchase from the dealer, everything is done for me and I don't need to lift a finger, literally. And it said if I purchased from a private party, then I need to do all the paper work myself.

My questions are:

1. Does anyone knows the real deal on the sequence?

2. What does this "registration fee" really includes?

3. How do you suppose to get the plate without the registration paper? Or is the registration paper even required to get a plate? I know the Title paper is different which you get later on.

4. Can I drive a NY car around with a NJ inspection sticker? I'm assuming different state has different "emission" law. Like NYS requires we paid $37 for inspection while NJ is free. I don't want to get a parking ticket an invalid inspection sticker.

5. but how can I get my car inspected w/o a license plate right?

6. Are they suppose me mail me a NYS plates?

7. If I don't get it in time, I'll have to do everything myself, then why pay the dealer an extra $250 for registration?

I'm in limbo. Any help is appreciated. Thanks ahead.

-Nick

[tcisine]

Did you ever get it straightened out?

[JokeDog]

Did you ever get it straightened out?

Thanks for your concern Sine. I called the dealer back and after checking with their sales department, they said they'll FedEx me the plates, registration and a 10 days temporary inspection sticker until I get the car inspected in NYS. So I guess the $250 I paid them did cover everything after all. Didn't have to step into the DMV.

All I'm missing now is the title which I heard can take a bit. Just 2 days ago, I received a $90 refund check from the Lexus dealer. An actual check from the dealership made payable to me. It said "DMVrefund". I guess they're pretty honest people. I wasn't expecting anything. I did noticed on my registration paper said the fee is $140. I'm assuming that $90 refund is the difference, but thought these "stealership" would've pocketed them.