[blackbird]

Gah! The AZ DMV should die. So I go there and after the entire employee population oogles on my beloved gt and I pass emissions with flying colors (the guy said it was better than most new cars) I am told at the physical inspection that I have to get a level 2 and 3 inspection in order to register my vehicle versus the simple level 1 in which they say "does it have a tailpipe and vin number? Good welcome to arizona". Needless to say I am pissed. This is all because at one point it was an auction vehicle and it had a salvage title. It was never wrecked! Growl. Anyway, I am not sure what said inspections entail and am not sure if its just arizona or what. I am supposed to make an appointment but at earliest this means May and it just isnt waiting that long. The guy said that since I am just registering for the first time in AZ, I can come and standby for a few hours andget checked. i have a feeling that these are long inspections and since they are going to charge $50 to do them they are probably pretty detailed. Does anyone have any idea what I should make sure is in tip top shape for said inspections so that I dont fail and have to spend the rest of eternity in the DMV? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[opelbits]

Not being from AZ, I don't know what their inspections are like. But, from what you've said about the salvage title, I suspect it is not a normal safety/emissions deal. Sometimes cars that are totaled (wrecked, stolen, burned) are resold by the insurance co. at auction as 'rebuilders'. They are bought by shops that repair the cars (it is MUCH cheaper for them to do it than for us to pay them to do it) or use them for major parts or even whole sections of cars to fix another car or they combine the front of one car with the back of another. The new 'half and half's' indentity can be whatever the vin number is on the front end or a new number issued by the state. Anyway, to get to the point, they may be inspecting to see if the car had drastic 'surgery' and, if so, if it was done well, or if the car is dangerous to drive. Not all the people doing this type of work do it properly. This is also one of the reasons why most people run away from 'salvage' titles.

Or I could be WAAYYYY off base on this.....

 

[Gary]

Good point Opelbits. One of the GT's I stripped was painted White. The engine compartment was Blue. When I pulled out the rear deck, it was Green. Someone took 2 GT's and welded them together. There was a weld seam across the middle of the GT at the base of the rear deck and at the top of the windshield posts. FWIW, both halves rusted at the same rate.

The additional AZ inspection could just be an check of the VIN and paperwork to make sure it is legit. (for a fee of course)

 

[opelgt722002]

http://www.dot.state.az.us/mvd/faqs/scripts/faqs.asp?section=tr#15

15) What are the types of vehicle inspections and fees?
Level I – Basic inspection to match the vehicle identification number (VIN) to the vehicle ownership documents to determine the identity of the vehicle. Most vehicles are successfully inspected and verified at this level. A Level I verification is conducted by an MVD or authorized Third Party employee or a designated peace officer. There is no fee for a Level I inspection conducted at an MVD office.

Level II – Secondary inspection is conducted when unusual circumstances indicate that a secondary VIN should be examined. A Level II inspection is conducted by a specially certified MVD agent. The fee is $20.

Level III – Highest level inspection is conducted by specially certified MVD agents for restored salvage vehicles, by appointment only. The fee is $50.

Additional fees may apply depending on the circumstances.

 

[blackbird]

not horribly off base, but not exactly either. The car is fine and hsnt ever been wrecked. It was jsut auctioned. I got a history on it and ran the VIN. Its fine. I had my mehanic look it over and everything is fine. So I am still ticked. Plus AZ is stngy and may be weird becayse it is an old car. I dont know, I just could really use a heads up if anyone has any ideas about what i should insure is working properly.

 

[blackbird]

ok now I am really confuzzled. First off, I couldnt find a direct route to that on the site...I kept getting mush. Second the lady told me today that I may or may not need both inspections even with the salvage title. Do other states pull this crap? What are they going to tell me if they decide its 14 seperate GT;'s welded together...."we arent going to allow you to drive this" even though it may be perfectly safe? Either way, registered or not (and man do they rape you on fees) I am so hitting pavillions on Saturday night (its like a free community car show that anything pre 75 can be shown at). Meanwhile, I was told by the phoenix DMV supervison to take the day off school tomorrow and wait for an opening to get the car inspected. I get off at noon tomorrow and so I assume that I will sit there until 5pm. I suppose I better bring a book. Oh well, I know it runs fine and is safe, and if it takes my cash talking to the state to register this car, then fine. All that for some paperwork. Sheesh. I am thinking a job at an auto parts place is a really good idea right now...and perhaps, begging my mom for extra cash ( I am driving sarah around....and I am quite the weasel in such a scenario) Also, that still doesnt really tell me what the state is charging me $50 to look for. I assume the person will see the VINs all match and that it is not obviously in like 100 pieces and let me on my way. I guess that I am a specially ertified agent too...Funny because I have seen salvage titles produce better cars than new ones. Oh well, guess I will be doing the fuel pump tomorrow morning instead of Saturday. I really dont want them to see any leaks. Thanks for the help. Trust me, I have had about three nervouus breakdowns because of this today.

 

[opelbits]

I didn't mean to say that any car that has a salvage title has been pieced together. There are different reasons for it, including cars that have been totaled by a flood. But I neglected to get into that. Therer are enough 'pieced' cars that they are probably just checking. "Pieceing' cars is not illegal. It's just that they don't want stolen cars to have their vins switched with legal salvaged vins. But you will probably get this after your visit today. Hope it worked out.

 

[IOwnCalculus]

Hey...I'm posting because my girlfirend's (blackbird's) computer just took a nosedive.

The car has a salvage title because it was once sold as a charity auction vehicle. She has the history and everything, it had a perfectly clean title; it's just that for some reason, the charity auction put salvage titles on everything. The problem is the word salvage - in Arizona, there is a salvage title, and a restored salvage for cars that have paper issues instead of physical ones...the problem is California only has one and Arizona considers it to be the former. So she's been getting the runaround from the MVD.

 

[blackbird]

HaHa! The girl has the back up laptop. Ok so todays update....It is finished. I payed some cop$50 to check and see if it was a stolen vehicle and agree that the engine was not falling out and it did indeed have a steering wheel and brakes. I still think AZ's ADOT is a joke. Payed $48 for title, registration, historical vehicle plates (to make my mom feel really old) and a change on my liscense. Hopefully, I will not see that place for a year. Mean while, they cant call that procedure inspections....there isnt any inspecting happening!

 

[opelbits]

Whaddya mean? They inspected your wallet, didn't they?
Actually, $48 is a bargain when dealing with DMV's.
Congrats on resolution!

 

[blackbird]

Their ignorance, my bliss

yeah, funny it cost more to get them to say the car wasnt stolen, than to do anything else. Meh. So I got outta there for shortly under $100 cash, until I do Kirks plates too of course. The only reason I got outta there so cheep was that the only opel discripton they had was the wonderful Kadette, and so they neglected to charge me the sports car fee thingy, Yay to ignorant people who think the GT is dead....ah how little they know

 

[opelbits]

But it also what keeps them affordable!

Kind of/sort of related bureacracy/money story that will make people sick (or jealous!). I didn't get my license until I was 22 (nothing bad, just didn't need a car), anyway, I called up my parents Allstate agent to get insurance. When he asked how old I was, he assumed I had been driving since 16 (like normal people). I neglected to correct him . In that moment I acquired a six year clean driving record and the premiums to match. Probably the only time I will ever have the 'system' make a mistake in my favor.

 

[blackbird]

Dont get me started on insurance. I called gieco today to simply switch the opel to my trycks spot on the list. They said I had to get a new policy bc it was in my name due to title and registration. Then they found out that I was 17. and all went to hell. Now it turns out that I have to make my mother co owner of my opel. Now, I will be the first to admit that I am a selfish person. I dont want to share my paperwork. I will also be the first to admit that my mother will hold this car over me every chance she gets to threaten me. She will be thhe first to admit that she hates that car and the fact that I have it and that it is the most sensless thing in the entire world....she is bitter because she wrecked hers. This combination makes me nervous. I dont know, I am sure I can find a way around this, I mean I have had an extremely lucky day today so maybe this will get fixed. I want to drive the car already, enough of this paperwork bs.....

 

[opelbits]

I had to do the same thing with my Volkswagon (Type 3 Fastback), my dad's name was on the title.I guess it all depends on your relationship with your mother.

Have you considered what kind of coverage you want?

 

[opelgt722002]

The age of majority in Arizona is 18 with only a few exceptions.

 

[blackbird]

yeah thats the next thing. I have to do what I can afford. However, I am a decent driver and have avoided my share of morons before...so probably basic is all I will be able to do. I am going to college next year and am getting no help whatsoever from my family so that will have to do. The only thing I am truly concerned about are semi trucks running me over in the opel becasuse it has already almost happened a couple of times. I guess that black and small means invisible and unimportant. I suppose that in that respect I owe my life to paying a little attention in drivers ed., at least for the three classes that we didnt watch police chase videos. I encourage everyone to make their kids take that, because it is a great insurance break and I learned some pretty cool manuvering tricks from the chase videos Meanwhile, my mom is reckoning with gieco today and I am showing my opel at pavillions tonight and Kirk is showing his truck. I anticipate and amusing evening because it seems that everyone either had one or knew someone closely who did and I hear great stories and then threaten them with certain death if they touch it because a lot of people wrecked out in theirs. I still havent been able to coax my mom to let me take her for a ride. The title thing is no longer a problem because I waited till she was tired and had had a few to draw up papers and have her sign them. I had another friend witness. Yay pavillions and yay opel

 

[opelbits]

If you ask about the rates for 'full coverage' I would be willing to bet it won't be a whole lot more than just 'liability'. I think mine was about 25% more. I had it on my (rather rusty and ratty) 69 GT that I drove from Nov. 99 to June 01. I received a slight tap at the rear from a neighbors car that had been hit by another neighbors van that was totaled by a four day old Neon. All the cars were parked at the curb. I was taking care of some 'business' when I heard a loud crash. I received $900 for a minorly bent taillight panel from the Neon insurer. In May 01 it was sideswiped in a parking space at work. Hit and run, so I had to make a claim on my insurance, as I had not fixed the back panel, they totaled the car at a value of $2100(!?). Minus deductible and 'buy back' (it was purely sheetmetal damage), I had a check for $1700, 45 minutes after arriving to meet with the adjuster (Allstate has actual offices to bring cars to and they can research the value, settle, and write a check). As I said, this was a rusty car with faded paint peeling down to more rust, torn up interior (no carpets, dash looks like a road map, the headliner is about the only decent thing inside). The saving grace was the 2.0 from Opel GT source that I installed three weeks earlier. And all the other new stuff: KYB shocks, three row radiator, new clutch, water pump, etc. Keep all the receipts! Insurance companies figure that stuff into the value of the car for up to a year (that I know of).
My advice is to get full coverage (collision) if at all possible. And an appraisal. At the very least, you get enough for a down payment on another decent car. Without it, it could be hit tomorrow and you would have zip. I've had Opels involved in three accidents. The two above with the same GT parked. I was no less than 100 feet away each time. The third was my Manta. Rearended while sitting at a stoplight. Totaled. 225,000 miles on original engine (one head gasket) and transmission. Again, rust, faded paint. Nice interior though. The guys insurance company paid me $1600 minus a $150 buy back. I was going to look at the above GT (bought it a week later, had to (needed a car!), for $400) when that happened. The Manta motor/trans/brakes did another 6000 miles in that GT. The 2.0 I put in it has tha Manta's transmission behind it. With yet another 5-6000 on that.
And soon I shall be driving it again.

 

[blackbird]

Yikes, horror stories.... However, my mother did decide to get me full coverage. Probably, because she thinks I am going to die in it but all the same.... In other news, I am going to be making new friends at opelgtsource.com due to the fact that RTV, glue and duct tape are no longer fixing everything. My tranny is leaking again and I have come to the conclusion (after turning it into a masterpiece of rtv and insta gasket) that it needs a real gasket. The last one corroded and died. I am also going to need a few other parts from them as well.... On the bright side, its messy but driveable and it did great at pavillions. I love the look on peoples faces when they see this car. I even found a really cool guy with two of them...one of which he payed $150 for and more spare parts than he could handle. Yeah, he restored it in a week.... I think I will go again next weekend, earlier so as to get a better spot and still park next to Kirk. I love the looks and sure dont mind the attention. I am redoing the interior with my mom in gold crushed velvet.....it will be sooo pretty. This also makes me happy. So in the next month I have to have it up to speed for the Quarter mile club mechanically, have the interior done, and convince Kirk to do the Kawanis show with me ( becasue I found out how invitational it really is and we both got invited...) Either way, I love it but the stress is killing me.... Maybe I will find a new job this week so I can do this stuff....