CO: must register vehicles even if they aren’t on the road??

[Cruisertrash]

Just ran across this article. It’s stating that per Colorado law, all vehicles must be registered AND pass smog EVEN if they are unused & never driven, even if they’re being stored and not on the street. Any truth to this? If so it’s pretty ridiculous. Think about what this would mean for junkyards!

article here

 

[KC Masterpiece]

Good luck enforcing that.....

Anyone know if this is accurate? I trust journalists less than any other profession these days.

 

[Johnny Utah]

My neighbor just had to go through this. He has an old dodge truck (late 70s model) sitting in the driveway. The plates were expired but it was fully on his property.
Apparently one of the neighbors didn’t appreciate it and called and tattled. Not sure if it was HOA or local police but he had to go get emissions and registration done. Luckily he was able to get collector plates and a five year registration sticker.
Pretty sad if this is the way we are going as a country…probably just another way for the powers that be to get rid of internal combustion vehicles.

 

[KC Masterpiece]

My neighbor just had to go through this. He has an old dodge truck (late 70s model) sitting in the driveway. The plates were expired but it was fully on his property.
Apparently one of the neighbors didn’t appreciate it and called and tattled. Not sure if it was HOA or local police but he had to go get emissions and registration done. Luckily he was able to get collector plates and a five year registration sticker.
Pretty sad if this is the way we are going as a country…probably just another way for the powers that be to get rid of internal combustion vehicles.

HOA law changed this last year and they can no longer fine or tow for expired registration or no plates.

I agree if this is a recent change probably some activist agenda trying to get rid of all non EV.

 

[DaveInDenver]

This isn’t completely new I don’t think.

When I was rebuilding the engine in the 1991 I skipped a plate renewal since it took it off the road more than a year. I had assumed that if you don't drive a vehicle you could just let the plates expire and get new ones.

That wasn't the case. I had to pay the missed year and a late fee as well as the current year when I got it on the road again.

I don't think it would impact a junkyard. No one is responsible for the gap years near as I can tell as long as there's an ownership change or it never goes back on the road. I assume the HOA thing was a special case, but even without an HOA you usually aren't allowed to park unlicensed vehicles on the street and that sort of thing.

 

[DanInDenver]

This was the law in either IL or my town as a kid, late 1970’s. Brothers and I needed to keep any junkers in the garage or out of sight in the back yard if they were not plated. Memory was if it could be seen from the street it needed valid plates.

 

[nuclearlemon]

It's definitely not a new law. there was a case about 15 years ago where someone in my neighborhood was hit by someone else and she had the vehicle towed to her house while litigation was pending. during the legal proceedings (which kept getting postponed), the plates expired and even though it was in her backyard, the plates were visible from the street and the cops wrote her a ticket. the vehicle was immobile, but she couldn't scrap it until the legal battle was done. iirc, she ended up getting a car cover for it.

 

[Crash]

One of Mike Davidson’s (@Treeroot) favorite topics.

 

[Corbet]

I’ve got one that I let lapse but it may never see the road again. I’ll deal with it then. It’s still titled in my wife’s maiden name so maybe we can escape the BS with a new title.

But yes this is the law as I understand it and I don’t like it. Fortunately none of my projects have ever been registered in my name.

Tons of people down here use NM addresses to register vehicles and avoid the CO DMV BS.

 

[J1000]

Unless it's been changed the fine for registration lapsing is $25 per month but capped at 4 months or $100 so it's not gonna bankrupt you.

 

[FireMike]

This is total BS !!! IMHO

 

[Notyourmomslx450]

My neighbor just had to go through this. He has an old dodge truck (late 70s model) sitting in the driveway. The plates were expired but it was fully on his property.
Apparently one of the neighbors didn’t appreciate it and called and tattled. Not sure if it was HOA or local police but he had to go get emissions and registration done. Luckily he was able to get collector plates and a five year registration sticker.
Pretty sad if this is the way we are going as a country…probably just another way for the powers that be to get rid of internal combustion vehicles.

City most likely did it.
Lisa called the city about a truck in the street that never moved (made it hard to back out of the driveway)..
Well the city came through and hit everyone in the neighborhood for expired tags, junk on the side of your garage, etc..... Even got me for having my old crawler in the driveway .

 

[rckhound]

Wow. I have titled several vehicles over the years but never plated them because they were inoperable. I just had to sign affidavits that I would register and insure them once they were road worty. My fj45 was titled but never registered for 7 years that way.

 

[Cruisertrash]

Unless it's been changed the fine for registration lapsing is $25 per month but capped at 4 months or $100 so it's not gonna bankrupt you.

If that’s the case, then it really isn’t much to worry about. Slap a cover on the thing and pay the $100 when it goes back on the road.

 

[simps80]

True story
When going back on the road you pay back fees 25x4 max for years not on the road

Not that big of a deal but lame in principle
But not as lame as many other shakedowns we are subjected to at this point

 

[Crash]

True story
When going back on the road you pay back fees 25x4 max for years not on the road

Not that big of a deal but lame in principle
But not as lame as many other shakedowns we are subjected to at this point

“Fees” come to mind.

 

[MonPetiteShoe]

From the Colorado General Assembly
You can be exempt from the late fee for a few reasons:

• Military service outside of CO.
• Idled commercial business for a full registration period.
• if the vehicle was stolen and the registration expired during the time, or duration of, the theft.

I'm not saying it's a good idea... I'm just saying that people have probably jumped through smaller loopholes for less than $100.

 

[Corbet]

This thread continues to make me happy to live in a rural setting. Nobody is going to make the effort to come see my junk this far from town and would have to trespass to do so.

 

[DouglasVB]

Wow! Colorado doesn't have a "planned nonoperational" vehicle status? Out here in California if you're going to have a vehicle off the road for a year or more, you can put it in non-op status for something like $20. Then when you're ready to get it back on the road, you pay for one full year of registration and do any smog/emissions stuff that's needed.

Otherwise at least in the county I live in, every two years I have to do smog and every year I have to pay registration.

 

[KC Masterpiece]

What is this smog testing you guys keep talking about?