Things that ive learnt after not registering my car for ALMOST 3 months...

[JJCRU23R]

Now this is a story, all about how my life got flipped, turned upside-down,And I'd like to take a minute, So just sit right there, Ill tell you how things arent exactly as expected if you leave your car unregistered for almost 3 months...

Ok.. first thing I must tell you are a couple of the things I knew and things I assumed about registering your car within 3 months of expiring.

1. I knew if you wait longer than 3 months to register your car in NSW, you will require a blue slip. My dad has gone through this experience with my old Bundera Landcruiser and he described it as the inspectors going through the car with a fine tooth comb... which resulted in dad having to pay anything upto or around 1000 to get the car up to scratch before being considered for a pink slip.

2. I assumed if you pay for 12 months rego, you get 12 months rego, even if you let the car sit after 2.5 months after the original rego date expired.

3. I also assumed that the pink slip is valid for 3 months, the same period of time you ahve before you require a blue slip.

4. Last thing I assumed is that the quoted price on a green slip is non negotiable.

Well, today I realised I was right on at least one of those things. Today I registered my silver 1zz after letting it sit in the garage for almost 3 months... my other car was due the same week last november.. xmas was fast approaching and theres only enough money to register 1 car.. so which to choose? the cheapest to insure of course.

The very last day I was legally able to drive, I drove into my local mechanic and had an instant pinkslip done before semipermenantly parking it in the garage over xmas and new years.. So, the 1zz was sitting there, waiting for me to get the money together to finally pay for 3rd party and rego.

Fast forward to today... Feb. 13 marked 3 months so lucky this week I had the cash for finally registering my car. Heres what happned though...

I went to the insurance company in person coz I had the cash in my pocket, not in my bank account. I gave the guy my greenslip and as he was processing the info, he stopped and asked, "would you like to see if we can change this price?" I said "go ahead". He then asked me if i the car is/was comprehensively insured.. I said no. he went and put my car on comprehensive insurance , which has a grace period of 21 days before the first montly payment is due. Basically, Id have 21 days to think it over and if I change my mind before then, it costs me nothing to cancel the insurance. Anyways, he comprehensively insures my car first, then he processes the 3rd party insurance. Since my car now had "comprehensive" insurance, the actual green slip price went down from $570 odd dollars to just $514 or somewhere around that mark.

Further more, I could have saved a few more extra dollars if I was already 30. But since im still in the younger 25-29 age bracket my 3rd party insurance stays pretty much the same.

Next I go to the RTA. after waiting almost 20 mins I proudly show them my pink slip, green slip and the rego letter. Within seconds, without any ifs ands or buts, the lady says, "this pinkslip is unacceptable. its past 42 days since you had the pink slip so its no longer valid". WTF. There I was fuming, thinking that all I did after I got that pinkslip was park it for more than 2 months so the info on that sheet is most definately accurate. Anyways, upon quick inspection, I saw it in the fine print just above the pink slip results - valid for 42 days only.

So I go back to my mechanic, had a new pink slip done and went back to the RTA which was closest to my mechanic. After waiting another 10-15 mins there, I show the lady my green and pink slips and the RTA sticker, she takes my money, and gives me back the same letter with the same sticker that says 13 November 2010. Mental alarm bells began ringing. I just paid for 12 months rego. My sticker should reflect that in saying 9FEB,2011... not 13NOV,2010.

So I pointed out this strange situation to the lady. I told her, "I just paid for 12 months rego, but your only registering me until 13th November?" how is that possible? Apparently the date on the sticker wont change! Ive basically paid for nearly 3 months rego I never got to use. Makes no sense at all whatsoever that I should lose 3 months when Ive paid for 12, regardless of if its a few days short of 3 months or even 2 days after the rego expires. Rego should be valid for the 365 days following the date of payment!

lots of running round, more money and time spent than expected. basically, do your best to pay off rego ASAP. you waste valuable time and money doing pink slips twice and lose valuable days off your rego.

[Ascendant Rice]

**** that!

[RoM2nV]

wow, do today tonight know about this?

[JJCRU23R]

Im probebly not the first to have paid my rego this late, but still before I require a blue slip. But there may not be many people aware of this because most people get the pink slip within the same week of regestering their car, so the 42 day limit isnt even an issue for majority of car owners.

Im pretty sure Ive seen the RTA print off completely new stickers/letters in the past. If anyone with any knowledge regarding this issue know if the RTA was within their rights or if I was truely ripped off then please let me know ASAP.

[EDIT] just another bit of info if your rego has already expired, you can still legally drive your car as long as you are driving to the mechanic for the purpose of getting a pink slip or to the RTA to get the registration done. Unsure if it also includes paying for your 3rd party insurance, but basically those are the only times you can legally drive your car unregistered according to the letter I recieved from the RTA around a month after the rego expired.

Edited February 9, 2010 by mannyMANNYmanny

[IMB055]

Manny, I have been in a similar situation.

I bought a ute when I was building my house that had been out of rego for two months.

Got a pink slip, went and paid the full amount to register it, and got the sticker which only covered the next ten months.

It is a rip off - as you pay for 12 months, but get less, but I don't know a way around it!

And the worst thing is, it is a rort on the part of the government and insurance companies which disadvantages those who can least afford to throw money away.

Best suggestion I have is to put six months rego on the 1ZZ, to get the rego time further away from Xmas.

[MT]

Wow NSW like to screw you hey.

Not like that in the ACT. 12 months is 12 months. but we also get the option of registering for 1, 3, 6, or 12 months. Awesome.

[danja]

Those dates do seem a bit arbitary, however I expect that the reason you basically got stooged for 3 months rego, is because you didn't require a blue slip. Probably if your rego had lapse to the point that you need one your new rego would be a true 12 months.

I guess the moral of the story is already read the T's & C's :P

[Guni]

Wow NSW like to screw you hey.

Not like that in the ACT. 12 months is 12 months. but we also get the option of registering for 1, 3, 6, or 12 months. Awesome.

too many Polies compare to population :P :P :P :P :P :P

[MT]

Wow NSW like to screw you hey.

Not like that in the ACT. 12 months is 12 months. but we also get the option of registering for 1, 3, 6, or 12 months. Awesome.

too many Polies compare to population :P :P :P :P :P :P

??? Actually you would find that they don't live here, but travel here throughout the year just when parliament is sitting. On a normal day, there would be 5 times as many politicians in melbourne as there would be in Canberra.

Canberra rocks.

[peregrine]

[quote name='mannyMANNYmanny' date='Feb 9 2010, 11:53 PM' post='375635'Hi

Hi if they charged you for the time between the time it ran out to the time you paid the rego this would then suggest the car has been accepted as being registered for the full 12 months part of it being retrospective. Or would I be right in suggesting the payment could otherwise be seen as being fraudulent if it didn't cover you for the full 12 months. If covered for the full 12 months and you were driving the car prior to paying the rego and had an accident or were picked up for some misdemeanor. Shouldn't the car be seen as having been registered at that time, upon payment of the rego, retrospectively speaking. Could be worth a legal opinion!

[IMB055]

Those dates do seem a bit arbitary, however I expect that the reason you basically got stooged for 3 months rego, is because you didn't require a blue slip. Probably if your rego had lapse to the point that you need one your new rego would be a true 12 months.

I guess the moral of the story is already read the T's & C's :P

Yep. Can't trust a government agency to do something that the average person would consider reasonable!!

True. If you did let it fall right out of rego and get it blue-slipped you get a full 12 months.

From my old days of owning dodgy cars while at uni the rule was always to try & avoid the blue slip inspection as it was more comprehensive (therefore more likely to find faults and cost money on dodgy old cars).

On a corolla it would probably have been no problem.