I fought the law.....and I won!

[Mstng93SSP]

The other SSP I bought in September had been off the road since 2004. After I got it I checked with DMV about switching the title to my name etc. and man did I get a shock! The DMV lady tells me "There are back taxes to 2004 and you owe $6309.24". Holy crap! In Hawaii, if you stop driving your car (which the previous owner did) and you don't surrender the plates (which the previous owner did not do) the taxes pile up, year after year, and the DMV will not let you register or transfer title until you pay all the past tax. Well, I decided I was not gonna just fork over 6k for absolutely nothing, so I filed a motion in court against the city director of finance disputing the tax. I showed through previous recorded mileage in 2002 compared to the odometer now that almost no miles were put on. Since the car was not using city or state roads, it should not have been subject to taxation. I also showed pictures of the car with no engine etc. Today was my hearing and the Judge was very understanding of the situation and he ruled in my favor waving ALL past tax. What a relief.

 

[rednotch]

Nice, thank god every state doesn't do that with taxes, I sure wouldn't be buying older cars that sat for a while.

 

[TOOLOW91]

That’s awesome

 

[Mstng93SSP]

That’s awesome

Thanks. The other cool thing is I was preparing for the worst, which means I sold a TON of parts I had but didn't need to start saving up for the possibility that I would have to pay. Well....you know where that money is going now right?

 

[TOOLOW91]

Thanks. The other cool thing is I was preparing for the worst, which means I sold a TON of parts I had but didn't need to start saving up for the possibility that I would have to pay. Well....you know where that money is going now right?

Hellll yeah right back into it

 

[KZGUNS]

Is there a way to check that before you buy? Like a title search on a house?
Great job on getting it waved!!!

 

[Mustang5L5]

Judge must have been a fox body guy.

How much are the yearly taxes? It's amazing how each state does this all completely differently.

 

[Mstng93SSP]

It's a weight based tax. I just registered one of my convertibles and it was $460 for the year. Yes, you can check for back taxes prior to buying, I honestly would have bought it no matter what...kinda what I did.

 

[limp]

Very nice to hear that " common sense" ruled in our Court of laws.... Doesn't seem to happen like that much anymore.....

 

[Mstng93SSP]

I agree @limp I was kinda shocked but knew I had presented a pretty good case proving the car hadn't been on the road. I do give huge credit to the Judge. Watching the cases before mine I could see this man had integrity and common sense.

 

[limp]

I agree @limp I was kinda shocked but knew I had presented a pretty good case proving the car hadn't been on the road. I do give huge credit to the Judge. Watching the cases before mine I could see this man had integrity and common sense.

Should have heard the Woman judge I got on a phone hearing about ending my oldest son's child support when he NO LONGER met the criteria... Not sure why its called child support when the mom can spend it however she wants, but I digress
This WOMAN judge chewed me out and when I presented my case to the law pertaining to it, she told me " do not quote the law" to her..... A real doozy coming after a " deadbeat" dad....... Pretty sure her picture is next to KRUNT in the Dictionary...
I won........

 

[rednotch]

Is there a way to check that before you buy? Like a title search on a house?
Great job on getting it waved!!!

Depends on the state... CA does it think De also. I know NJ doesn't. Only good thing left about it lol..

That car reminds me of a sonic blue coupe I had about a decade ago, looked the same color in overcast but brighter in sunlight. I put that fender spat to good use on my beater gt, epoxy white primer isn't that far off 30yr old faded oxford lol

 

[Bullitt347]

So the guy who owned the car previously, and did not turn in the plates gets off scott free, but the new buyer is liable for the back taxes? What kind of F* up deal is that?

 

[Rdub6]

So the guy who owned the car previously, and did not turn in the plates gets off scott free, but the new buyer is liable for the back taxes? What kind of F* up deal is that?

Sounds about right for these times we’re in. Criminals walking Scott free….. law abiding citizens take it up the shoot to pay for it all!

 

[Mstng93SSP]

So the guy who owned the car previously, and did not turn in the plates gets off scott free, but the new buyer is liable for the back taxes? What kind of F* up deal is that?

Sort of...but not really. The previous owner could not care less about back taxes as he is done with the car. If I didn't want to deal with it, I guess I just wouldn't buy the car. I didn't buy the car directly from the guy who owned it from 2002-2019. I bought it from the guy who bought it in 2019.

 

[Noobz347]

I don't see how something like that could ever hold up in court unless the court wanted to get into the business of repossessing and selling used cars.

I'm no lawyer but I don't see how you can press a lien on a party not responsible for creating the deficiency.

The best I could see them trying to do is force the seller to pay back the sale and then impound the car until the debt is paid. Sounds like the debt was worth more than the car.


It's a self-licking icecream cone.

 

[Mstng93SSP]

I will put it in simple terms. If you want to register a car that had back taxes either pay them, or fight them. The person who owned the car will not be chased down by the govt. to pay the back taxes. It only applies when someone...even if it is the owner tried to register a car with back taxes. The back taxes need to be resolved one way or another before they will allow you to register the car.

 

[rednotch]

I don't see how something like that could ever hold up in court unless the court wanted to get into the business of repossessing and selling used cars.

I'm no lawyer but I don't see how you can press a lien on a party not responsible for creating the deficiency.

The best I could see them trying to do is force the seller to pay back the sale and then impound the car until the debt is paid. Sounds like the debt was worth more than the car.


It's a self-licking icecream cone.

Its mostly just that states dmv that flags it... If I bought the car shipped it out to my state I could register it no problem with out caring about the taxes since its a state only tax, you see this a lot with CA cars... The State all ways wants its tax money from its servants... I mean residents lol

 

[Mstng93SSP]

This is true...to a point...but Hawaii is different. You would probably have to put it in a container or a trailer and ship the trailer with the car on it. If you try to ship a car out of Hawaii you have to ship it with the title.

 

[rednotch]

Lol that island life cost too much, one state I can honesty say I've never looked at for a used car, they go by the title to not plates right, so its a road tax? Some states do it as a personal property tax tied to the plates on blue book of the car, $ can get stupid on some classics