Virginia finally becomes inspection-sticker Prius-friendly

Ick. I hate those windshield stickers. Here in California, we have to provide the smog test with our license plate renewal if you live in a county that requires one. I happen to live in a rural county that only requires a smog check when the vehicle is sold. No window stickers for me!

 

In Georgia we also have annual smog check which you have to get done prior to renewing your registration. When I first moved here twenty years ago I went to get my first Georgia license plate. The lady behind the counter handed me the plate and the registration stickers that go on the plate. We get new license plate stickers each year. But then she handed me this big unwieldy smog sticker that she said needs to go in the lower left corner of the windshield. I said why do we need to put a smog sticker in the windshield since you can't get a new license plate sticker without a smog check? I'll never forget her reply, she said "Welcome to Georgia". Fortunately a couple years later they eliminated the window stickers.

 

County sticker too? I'd never heard of that. Is it a real inspection, or just a revenue thing?

 

I'm just curious is it common for people who live in the suburbs surrounding DC to say they live in Washington DC? I understand the concept, if I am talking to someone out of state I often say that I live in Atlanta, even though I live in a suburb city, as that's an easy way to give my location. If the conversation gets into more detail then I explain where I live in relation to Atlanta. I know that's common in other cities also, I just didn't think about it that people who live outside of the district would use that reference. Would someone who lives in Silver Spring MD for example tell someone from out of state that they live in Washington DC?

 

Yup just got mine. Yes we are exempt from emissions which helps save time and few bucks.
My stickers are now April vs. Sept. purchase...every year or so I am few days late and get the next month's sticker.

Oh yes the dreaded car tax sticker...I keep trying to explain our pain it to these folks...ouch$...but our County gave up on the stickers. But at least I am now down to about $125/year on a 12-yr old Prii.

One day I'd like to meet a Va. Tesla owner and discuss their car tax bills...but for that reason, they are hard to find.

 

Many Virginia counties, including mine have eliminated the stickers. If the personal property tax is not paid it is reported to the state DMV so you cannot renew your license tags.
At least I think that is how it works. I have not tested it nor do I wish to.

 

After I got my car I questioned the sticker placement and they glibly said they had not heard of any issues.

 

...Arlington is one of the few areas, if not the only remaining locality in Va, that give hybrids a car tax break...so you actually have an incentive....maybe saves you $1000 over 5 years

 

How would they react if it was accidentally a few inches off centre? We used to have registration stickers had to be in the bottom LH corner - but with steep windscreens, the closest you could get was about 6-9" from the bottom. They've abolished them lately.

 

Since you are in the DC area of Virginia, you are reasonably close to my preferred dealer. Sam Lee at Miller Toyota is an excellent salesman and a Gen 1 Prius owner. He is good enough I drove 150 miles each way to purchase my Prius.

 

When I got my inspection I asked them to position the new one slightly to one side & got ignored.

 

My state doesn't have this, but does have regional transit district taxes based on vehicle value and registration address. The state wraps it all into a single billing as part of the annual tab renewal, though much of the payment processing is funneled through county auditors departments.

It initially seems bizarre to have an expensive line item labeled "TBD". The words Transit Benefit District are not written out.

 

At my former house, they changed our water to the county system. At that time they had a"minimum charge" that was basically a monthly charge in addition to usage.
I got my first bill, dated April 1 for a portion of that monthly charge with zero usage. That definitely looked like a bad joke.

 

My electricity is like that - I've got SOLAR Panels, but I'm connected to the grid. Being just one person, I generally use less electricity than I generate - so usage is nil (or a credit), but the connection fee of about $120.00/quarter still means I've got a bill to pay.

 

Is it legal to disconnect from the grid in your area? Might be worth looking at an off-grid battery solution.

 

If Alan quoted $AUS, that converts to about $US-370 per year. No possible way could I justify going off-grid for that cheap price. Both the storage system, and the greater rooftop generating capacity needed for the poorer solar seasons, would cost vastly more than that. Though my climate zone is one of the least friendly for off-grid use.

While my solar PV system is large enough to give the house Net Zero Energy status, I'm staying on-grid. The cost of going fully off-grid here is enormous.