Calif. Clean Air Stickers

Hi Tessar,

I'm eagerly awaiting the stickers as well. I bought my car on the 14th and I sent my application in on 12/20 (I had my plates by then) but have not seen the check cashed yet. sounds like you made it under th 50K wire, I wouldn't think that they would bother to cash your check if they were already beyond the limit.

 

interesting. my timeline is similar; i paid for the car 21 dec and got a transponder on 22 dec (drove over to SF to make the application in person.) mailed the form on the 22nd as well. still no check cashed. so i guess i should be looking for it to be cashed on around the 10th. keep us posted as to when you receive the stickers.

is it thought that we are near the 50K limit? in early december the mercury news thought that they wouldnt run out until the early spring.

 

The limit is 75K so it will last the spring, unless the 50K limit is something else. I just mailed my application today. Picked up my Pine Mica #8 2 days ago.

Alex

 

Here's my timeline for comparison and addition info.

12/10 Took delivery on a 2006 Prius
12/10 Drove to SF and picked up a hybrid transponder
12/12 Sent in application
12/16 Called to see registration sent, this dealer only FedEx paperwork once a week or every two weeks, told them to rush it
12/21 Called dealer again, they were waiting for the funds from the Credit Union..., was reminded that they legally have TWENTY business days to send the stuff in...
12/22 Called DMV to see if car was registered, received clean-air application, DMV said current clean-air processing is SIXTY DAYS
01/06 Saw that check was cashed finally

Moolman,

Here's a recent article about the 50k evaluation mark

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews...ve/13537992.htm

 

Here's my timeline
11/23 Took delivery on a 2006 Prius
12/4 Sent in application
12/22 check was cashed
12/27 dealer called saying my licence plate is there
1/3 I received my decal with number 40057

 

whats up with this? i've noticed a few people saying they picked up their plates at the dealer. is it a SoCal thing? every new car i've ever bought has had its plates delivered to me at home, not the dealer, and i'm pretty sure they came straight from the state.

i never considered the "hidden" step of the dealer having to submit the DMV paperwork. i guess i thought it just happened electronically. how do you find out if your car has been registered to you? just call the DMV and give them the VIN number?

 

Timeline:

1/1 Called dealer, told him I wanted a new '06 Super White pkg 8 leather.
1/2 Dealer called me, had the car waiting for me on showroom floor.
1/3 Bought car, hid it at neighbor's house, decorated it with roses and bows.

The first three days were easy.

People wait weeks, sometimes months for these things, and to get the right color and the right package within 24 hours of calling was simply celestial alignment, and perhaps having been rigourously prepared to act quickly after studying the Prius, the 06 tax credit, and the HOV lane status window for the last 5 months.

The fourth day is when things didn't quite go as planned:

1/4

1:00 AM Sabotoged wife's old car. Disconnected TWO spark plug wires.

8:00 AM Tried to "encourage" wife to leave a little earlier than normal today.
8:01 AM That did not go over well. She of course wanted to know why???
8:02 AM That's the sound of me backpeddling...
8:12 AM Still backpeddling...

9:00 AM Wife heads to the car. At her normal departure time of course.
9:01 AM Flippin' old car starts right up! With not 1, but 2 spark plugs unplugged!
9:02 AM "Wait a minute, honey, I think I hear something," I stammer, shocked.
9:03 AM I pop the hood, "check the oil" while disconnecting a THIRD sparkplug.

9:04 AM Car starts. Unbelievable. This is a car that will barely run with all eight plugs in working order, and now, of all days, it decides to work with only five! But at least now it's shuddering. She drives it about a block and then turns around and asks me point blank "Did you disconnect a spark plug wire?"

This is not going well.

9:12 AM Still backpeddling...

9:15 AM Under her watchful eye, I'm back under the hood. Fortunately, the third wire I unplugged was right near the oil "dipstick" (of which I was bearing a remarkable resemblance at this point), so it was *almost* passable for me to have "inadvertantly" knocked it loose. I refitted that plug, but didn't touch the first two I had disconnected in the wee hours of the morning. "OOPS, sorry 'bout that," as I assuredly slam shut the hood, feigning confidence that the old car is good to go for the rest of the day.

9:20 AM She takes off again. Now late, and not too happy. This is getting to be a long day, I thought, and I was hoping to be on my way to the DMV by now to get going on the HOV stickers as soon as possible. Now it looks like I won't be able to give her the Prius until the next day. Every day counts when 250 applications a week are being sent in. And what about all the other Prius buyers who waited until after the first for the tax credit? They are all getting their debs in, while I'm cleaning grease off my hands.

9:25 AM She's back! YES! "Something's still not right with the car," she implores.

9:26 AM Still backpeddling....

9:27 AM With feigned consternation at the car's problem, I announce "Hang on honey, I need to borrow a tool from the neighbor to fix this, I'll be right back!"

9:28 AM Finally, my plan is in "D"! As I stride gleefully over to the neighbor's house to pick up the necessary tool to fix the problem (a new Prius), I have to remember to stare straight ahead, and not look even slightly to the side, lest she see my cheeks poking skyward from the uncontainable chesire cat grin distorting my face. This was a day six months in coming, but was postponed to take advantage of the Energy Bill tax provisions. I rolled the dice of delay, hoping to be able to take advantage of both the tax credit AND the limited carpool lane pass.

9:30 AM Silently, under electric power only, I glided home from the neighbor's house like a Rose Parade float, with the Prius bedecked in red bow ribbons arranged in a giant heart shape surrounding the windshield. Were it not for the fallen leaves on the road, she would never have looked up. But she did. And the look on her face was awe.... and then some. Worth every effort, every penny.

10:30 AM She glides away, late, but her time is somewhat discretionary.
10:30 AM I'm off to SF, with the paperwork, to get Hybrid Transponder.

3:00 PM I visit local DMV, with Transponder in hand, learn that DMV only accepts applications by mail at their Special Processing unit.

6:00 PM Make it home after local post office closes. Prepare application

1/5

10:00 AM Mail application, with check and paperwork, at local post office.
11:30 AM Realize I forgot to SIGN application!

12:00 Noon Still backpeddling... and still resembling a dipstick...

12:15 PM Back at local post office. They search bin after bin for envelope.
12:30 PM They can't find it, truck from main PO came early and hauled away.
12:45 PM In main Post Office, I file for a Recall of mail at the back counter.

1:00 PM Meet with dock supervisor. Explain that if DMV receives application without my signature, they will very likely send it all back, and I'll have to start over. I provide him with a xerox copy of the envelope I sent (I copied it for some fortuitously odd reason, as well as the Certified article number).

3:00 PM I get a call. They haven't found it yet. But they are still looking.
5:00 PM I call them. They think it must have gone to the mail hub in Oakland.
6:00 PM I prepare a duplicate, SIGNED application, with copies of everything else.
7:00 PM I head to the Oakland hub, hoping to give the second, signed application a better chance to catch up with the unsigned first one sent.

8:00 PM I overnight the second application, and am told by the post office that is more likely that the second application (without the check) will very likely get there sooner than the first application (with the check).

Either way, it's quite likely that the whole mess will be returned to us unprocessed.

Lessons learned:

1. To disable a car, disconnect the COIL, not a few spark plugs.

2. Adobe PDF Fill Form applications do not sign themselves.

 

Priceless.......

 

Here is my timeline for your reference:

Purchased car on 12/1
Fastrak on 12/2 (went to Fastrak office). Mailed in application with check same day
Check cashed by DMV on 12/19
Stickers delivered on 1/3/06. Sticker # 41,0xx
1/8/06 washed Prius for the first time and applied ugly looking stickers
1/9/06 wife gets to enjoy driving solo in HOV lane for commute to work

 

wow 41k stickers! congrats to u & ur wife =)

 

I sent in my application about 3 weeks ago after getting number platest and I didn't see that check getting cashed so far. Waiting continues..

 

okay, i got my stickers

12/21: paid for car
12/22: visited fastrak and mailed application
1/13: they deposited my check
1/17: my check cleared the bank
1/17: they mailed the stickers
1/18: received the title in the mail
1/21: received the stickers in the mail

sticker #450xx (closer to 45100 than 45000)

 

Here is my timeline:
12/12 - mailed application
1/4 - check clears my bank
1/18 - received my stickers

 

Kudos to the DMV; 9 business days, end-to-end.

1/9: drove to SF fastrak office to exchange transponder
1/9: mailed application
1/12: check cashed by DMV
1/18: stickers postmarked/mailed by DMV
1/21: received the stickers in the mail

I'm considering putting my sickers on another surface (like a bumper sticker) that is more easilly removed if the program is halted in two years as expected. If I trim the edges close to the original stickers, it shouldn't be noticable that they aren't affixed directly to the car. Can anyone recommend an adhesive label product that is fairly durable but can be removed years later without damaging the paint?

Ric

 

I heard that if you apply hot air through hair dryer and try to take off these stickers they come off easily without damaging the paint.