I picked up my vehicle from Hollywood Toyota on March 27th. I've been waiting for my plates so I can order my HOV decals. Since nearly a month had passed, I decided to call the DMV to see if plates had been issued yet so I could get the number and send in my HOV decal application. To my surprise the DMV said the dealer has not even submitted the registration information yet. I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer regarding the delay. Has anyone else experienced this? Is this common in CA?
I had same problem with Piercy Toyota in Milpitas, CA. They did nothing for 3 weeks, called DMV, found out the dealer did nothing. I called the manager at the dealer and with persuation, they issued me plates (they have on the lot) the SAME day!! Call the dealer, and push to expedite. Chris
I think I read somewhere here that dealers don't register the car until they have the money in hand. So if you paid with anything other than cash or a cashier's check, or financed with anyone other than Toyota's financing arm, it could take longer. And maybe there is still a wait even if you financed with Toyota. So you might want to ask your outside lender, if you have one, whether and when they paid for the car.
they have a ridiculously long time by law to submit the info to the DMV. something like 21 business days, if i remember correctly. can't find the actual length online.
This is essentially what Dianne told me. So besides getting the title straight out of the dealership, she also mentioned that DMV itself is a fairly random variable. Sometimes they're quick about the titling and sometimes they aren't. And it doesn't sound like any amount of coaxing, bribing, or cajoling works. Having been to DMV a few times myself, this does not surprise me in the least. Sounds a lot like it depends on who gets your paperwork - and what kind of a workload that he or she has that day/week.
I bought my Prius on 1/13/12. The temp tag was good for 90 days. I got my plates in three weeks. The dealer does everything on the computer and internet so they don't have to go to the DMV. I think they had the plates in about a week but wanted me to advertise for them for two additional weeks. If I would have had plates from a trade in that I wanted to keep, I could have had those put on the day I took delivery. I know people that have done that.
I bought mine at Mossy Toyota in Pacific Beach (San Diego) late last week,and asked the question "How long before DMV Knows I own the car?". After getting various guesses/answers from various folks, a nice young lady who dealt with giving the information from the dealer to the DMV came out and said "Would you like us to expedite it? It costs $29 to expedite and you'll get your plates in 1-2 weeks, and we can FedEx them to your house". "Heck yes!" I said. That was late last week, so stay tuned and I'll post when I get them. I'm anxious for the HOV application and sticker!
Picked up my PIP on 4/3. My frustration, besides wanting to get my HOV stickers, is that I got my notice this week that my vanity plates are ready, but I can't pick them up until I receive the plates and registration from DMV so that I can turn those in for my new plates. DMV has 90 days to get our plates and reg to us. I will say that New Folsom prison, where the plates are made, had a couple of lockdowns over the past few weeks, which always slows things down a bit, too. Oh well.
Toyota 101 submitted my registration info as soon as the check cleared in about 3 business days. Then the plates literally were ready to pick up 2 days after that. I did tell the finance gal writing up the paperwork that I needed the HOV stickers which she is well aware of, and he expedited but said she couldn't promise how much faster it will be. for what it's worth you should call the dealer/your salesperson directly. Best of luck!
Doesn't work that way in Calif. If you keep vanity plates, or as in my case, disabled person plates, you have to wait for the registration of the new car to go through and get the new plates. Then you go to the DMV or Auto Club and have them update your registration to reflect the change back to your plates from your previous car.
Is there a pattern here? It seems that many us us in Northern California are getting the plates in days, often directly from the dealer, but the folks in Southern California are taking weeks. I think I heard at my dealership that they send someone up to Sacramento once a week to pick up the plates from the DMV headquarters. From the Bay Area, that is about an hour drive each way, and obviously wouldn't work for dealers in Southern California.
That could be the case, but back when I bought my last new car in 2003 my plates took a month to arrive. Seems to be a case of YMMV and the level of urgency a customer asks their dealer.
Bought mine from Fremont Toyota on March 8. Seven weeks later I still don't have my plates...:noidea:
I think PiP owners really need to nag their dealers to expedite the DMV registration. For other cars, it really doesn't make any difference to the buyer how long it takes to get the plates, but with the HOV decal, it's an entirely different matter.
