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Jul 15, 2009

Letter From New Jersey DMV Requesting Vehicle Inspection on Nissan Skyline

NJDMVletter

I posted up a few days ago, that I had heard that someone with a Nissan Skyline that did NOT come in though Motorex got a letter from the DMV. The former owner of the vehicle, he had since sold it, called the NJ DMV for clarification. His story follows.

First I spoke to the "Vehicle Title Stop" Department. They are responsible for looking into possible title fraud for such things as illegal VIN swaps, stolen vehicles that slipped through the cracks, wrecked vehicles that should have a salvage status and are currently on the road, and vehicles that NJ feels are unsafe for operation on NJ roads. After being on hold for 10 minutes they transfer me to the investigator handling my title. At first he was very vague in why I received the letter. He initially explained that, like the letter states, my vehicles title has been revoked and my registration has been suspended. After I explained that the car was sold about 5-6 months ago he asked who it was sold to. All I told him was some guy in NY. I asked if there was a problem with the sale paperwork as NJ is very big on collecting the proper sales tax. He went to on ask why the car only has an 11 digit VIN. I responded that the vehicle was imported from Japan a number of years ago and that DMV has documentation of the VIN plate and the etching from the VIN on the firewall. He then asked if I had the car upgraded to meet State and Federal Emissions and Safety standards. I responded that the vehicle had 2-3 prior owners before I purchased it and that it was titled, registered and insured at the time I purchased it. "Is the steering wheel still on the right side of the vehicle?", I responded, "Yes". Then he asked if I supplied the buyer with the proper bond releases and I advised him that the only documentation I received was the title and copy of the registration which was all given to NJ DMV when I transferred the title and registered it in my name. Then he started to open up a bit. He stated, and I quote, "There have been an abundance of imported vehicles in the state of NJ and when a vehicle is was manufactured in 1995 and doesn't have a 17 digit VIN it should have a DOT and EPA bond release in order to received a title in NJ. Other states may have different rules, but that's what we require." He explained that the letter never should have been sent to me and that it should have been sent to the new owner. NY sent the paperwork to NJ advising them that the vehicle was sold and requesting that NJ release the title to NY that's how it "landed on his desk". He said that since I no longer have possession or ownership of the vehicle I am not responsible for having it inspected, but if the new owner wants NJ to release the title to NY they must being the car for an "in-depth safety & emission inspection" and supply the proper bond releases. When I asked what would happen if the vehicle meets all the safety and emission requirements (which we all know it won't) but cannot supply the bond releases, he replied, "Then the new owner will have nothing more than a decoration for his garage since it's legally not roadworthy".

All I have to say, is that things are happening.  Its hard to say where its all going, or how widespread this investigation is going to be. 

1 comment:

car inspection usa said...

DMW is a pain, I had a similar problem over here in California. Wanted to get a car from Nevada to California, but it did not pass the inspection and they made a whole mess out of it. I ended up shipping it to the UK. Good luck!
Alin.