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Trust me, I hate to even bring this up. I have read dozens of posts about this over the years, on this forum and others. One thing I have determined is that even owners who are convinced they fully understand the CA regulations, likely don't. The odds of running across a DMV agent that understands the regulations are slim and none. Here is my story. I bought my pre-owned 2022 F450 on March 8th. It had 15K commercial weight stickers on the doors and no license plates.
I told my salesman that this truck would not be used for hire and should be registered as such. He assured me it would be taken care of. I did not believe him, but hoped. After weeks of not receiving plates or registration I reached back out to the dealer. Turns out they failed to smog the truck so DMV was holding up registration. I got it smogged (the dealer reimbursed me) and a few weeks later I received my registration and year/month stickers but no plates. Reached out again to the dealer and was told that they would re-order my plates. Two days ago, the plates showed up along with new registration. Turns out the plate number on the first registration doesn't even match the plates that I just received. Fortunately, the registration that came with the plates aligns. Unfortunately, there were also new 15K weight stickers in the envelope. I was shocked to see that the registration fee was $1956! I expected it to be over $1000, but not nearly $2000! I suspect this is due to additional fees associated with commercial registration.
I know that most 14,000 lb. GVWR trucks in CA that are intended for personal use get plates and registration minus the weight stickers. Some get weight stickers and have no idea why. It has something to do with how the original request for registration is filled out. It's probably a box that's checked or a weight that's input. I'm not clear on that. Here is an image of the registration card:
Has anyone purchased a similar truck recently in CA? If so, what were your fees? Should I go down to the DMV personally and try to get this sorted out? I suspect that will be like beating my head against the wall. It also runs the risk of opening up a new can of worms from a licensing perspective. The GVWR of my trailer is 17,695 lb. and I'm almost certainly operating at over 26K combined. The final piece of the puzzles is this; I retire in 4 1/2 months and will be escaping California in 2025, so I will be renewing this registration only one more time, at most.
That truck, because of it's weight and the GVWR, is registered different than a lighter, or lower GVWR truck. You get CVRA fees. When I compared fees in the past, based on with and without CVRA fees, the difference wasn't that drastic. Keep in mind, your purchase price plays a part in the registration fee. How much did that truck cost?
Using the DMV reg fee calculator, inputing a $60k purchase price and 10,001-15k GVWR, it shows a registration fee of $1106. That is a lot lower than what yours is. Even at $100k purchase price it is still far lower than yours.
I would probably try to get the DMV on the phone and ask if they can explain why it is so high.
That truck, because of it's weight and the GVWR, is registered different than a lighter, or lower GVWR truck. You get CVRA fees. When I compared fees in the past, based on with and without CVRA fees, the difference wasn't that drastic. Keep in mind, your purchase price plays a part in the registration fee. How much did that truck cost?
Using the DMV reg fee calculator, inputing a $60k purchase price and 10,001-15k GVWR, it shows a registration fee of $1106. That is a lot lower than what yours is. Even at $100k purchase price it is still far lower than yours.
I would probably try to get the DMV on the phone and ask if they can explain why it is so high.
$95K purchase price. Like I said, I knew it would be over $1000, but $2000 was surprising.
Every GM/RAM DRW 3500 and Ford 350/450 has a GVWR of 14K. I'm sure they all weigh within a few hundred pounds of each other as well. The weight stickers definitely indicate something is different. Why do some get stickers while a vast majority do not? What triggers it and does that trigger also increase registration costs, as I suspect?
the dealer/dmv fu...ed up. go down to the dmv and get it sorted out. all pickups in ca are registered as commercial, however there is a distinction for personal use or hire.
i bought a ram 3500 at a dealer and they checked the wrong box. registration showed up with door stickers.
it will be easiest for you to go down to the dmv
$95K purchase price. Like I said, I knew it would be over $1000, but $2000 was surprising.
Every GM/RAM DRW 3500 and Ford 350/450 has a GVWR of 14K. I'm sure they all weigh within a few hundred pounds of each other as well. The weight stickers definitely indicate something is different. Why do some get stickers while a vast majority do not? What triggers it and does that trigger also increase registration costs, as I suspect?
I would expect the stickers to come with all DRW 350/450 diesels. Not based on intended use but because they have a weight and GVW that makes them get assessed CVRA fees, which also includes the stickers. I have a friend that knowingly registers his 3/4 ton truck up to 15k GVW intead of up to 10k (which his GVWR is), he gets stickers. Doesn't use them but they are included.
I'm not aware of type of vehicle use (personal or for hire) impacting the registration fees, use type would impact licensing requirements and fees.
It really doesn't matter what you paid for the vehicle, the fee are based off of MSRP. It is the same in NV. When I registered my new truck that was bought 2% below invoice DMV used MSRP for fees. Just another way of squeezing every nickle out of you.
It really doesn't matter what you paid for the vehicle, the fee are based off of MSRP. It is the same in NV. When I registered my new truck that was bought 2% below invoice DMV used MSRP for fees. Just another way of squeezing every nickle out of you.
bob
That is not true, here in California the VLF is based off of purchase price, not MSRP. Purchase price however, is before incentives.
VLF is based on market value- (From DMV) "The market value is determined by the cost to the consumer when the vehicle is sold new or the year the vehicle was transferred to the current owner."
Trust me, I hate to even bring this up. I have read dozens of posts about this over the years, on this forum and others. One thing I have determined is that even owners who are convinced they fully understand the CA regulations, likely don't. The odds of running across a DMV agent that understands the regulations are slim and none. Here is my story. I bought my pre-owned 2022 F450 on March 8th. It had 15K commercial weight stickers on the doors and no license plates.
I told my salesman that this truck would not be used for hire and should be registered as such. He assured me it would be taken care of. I did not believe him, but hoped. After weeks of not receiving plates or registration I reached back out to the dealer. Turns out they failed to smog the truck so DMV was holding up registration. I got it smogged (the dealer reimbursed me) and a few weeks later I received my registration and year/month stickers but no plates. Reached out again to the dealer and was told that they would re-order my plates. Two days ago, the plates showed up along with new registration. Turns out the plate number on the first registration doesn't even match the plates that I just received. Fortunately, the registration that came with the plates aligns. Unfortunately, there were also new 15K weight stickers in the envelope. I was shocked to see that the registration fee was $1956! I expected it to be over $1000, but not nearly $2000! I suspect this is due to additional fees associated with commercial registration.
I know that most 14,000 lb. GVWR trucks in CA that are intended for personal use get plates and registration minus the weight stickers. Some get weight stickers and have no idea why. It has something to do with how the original request for registration is filled out. It's probably a box that's checked or a weight that's input. I'm not clear on that. Here is an image of the registration card:
Has anyone purchased a similar truck recently in CA? If so, what were your fees? Should I go down to the DMV personally and try to get this sorted out? I suspect that will be like beating my head against the wall. It also runs the risk of opening up a new can of worms from a licensing perspective. The GVWR of my trailer is 17,695 lb. and I'm almost certainly operating at over 26K combined. The final piece of the puzzles is this; I retire in 4 1/2 months and will be escaping California in 2025, so I will be renewing this registration only one more time, at most.
It’s a good thing the pay out there is very high. Isn’t $1,956 about the cost of a one bedroom apartment?
My highest registration I ever saw was Georgia. It’s 7% of the cost of the new vehicle and goes up every year until it hits 9%. A $95k truck would be $6,650. Unbelievable how things have changed the last 25 years.
That is not true, here in California the VLF is based off of purchase price, not MSRP. Purchase price however, is before incentives.
VLF is based on market value- (From DMV) "The market value is determined by the cost to the consumer when the vehicle is sold new or the year the vehicle was transferred to the current owner."
That is nice they do that. Still not enough to get me to move there though.
Im trying to get over the 95k for a two year old truck....what was the original sale price? I may not buy a new truck next year dang!
My F350 is about 850.00 a year in Ca. so I would think a 450 is arounf the 11-1200.00 per year. Nothing is surprising in Kommie-Fornia / Kaliforistan
The original MSRP was $96,400. The asking price started at $107K, I believe. By the time I bought it, they were asking $98K. Crazy, I know. The pricing was right in line with everything else available in Southern California in early March. They offered me a fair trade-in for my 2019 F250 Platinum so I was satisfied with the deal in total. I looked at a used 2023 Platinum that was $117K! There simply was no F450 inventory. I wanted a 2022 as I prefer the look of it and wanted the larger screen. Mine must have been one of the last 2022s delivered in January of 2023 and only had 6,400 miles. It also has Alcoa 19.5 wheels and the Ford retractable bed cover. It is equipped exactly how I would have chosen.
05-17-2024, 01:23 PM
