kennywtelejazz
DMV in NY State is tough on that type of thing.  No insurance means surrender your plates  ...
I hope for your sake Susan the dealer makes amends ...
 
all the best ,
 
Kenny

Hi Kenny-
 
Well, I know the rules are the rules, but I hope they either make an exception in this case (not likely) or the dealer accepts responsibility (any more likely?).
 
We'll see... This was such a muck-up from the dealer in the first place that if they don't make it right I'd have no qualms about naming & dissing them on social media, for whatever that's worth.
 
Thanks-
 
-Susan

Nothing worse than giving your hard earned dough to someone for a product, and then feeling wronged.  Pedro is right.  I don't have a JD, but I think you can get treble damages in cases like this.  Keep your chin up.

Really now, what's the DMV going to do with the money anyway?  YOU need that money for plug-ins! 

Susan G
Hi All-
 
Sorry if this is a little long, but...
 
I bought a car from a dealer on 8/6. I was told I could transfer the plates from my old car and they would take care of transferring the registration. While at the dealership, we contacted my insurance agent and told them about the purchase and transfer, so my new car was insured and my old car wasn't from that point.
 
14 days later (on 8/20) I received new plates and a new registration. I called the dealer and asked why the new plates. They apologized for the error and told me they would refund me the amount of the registration and that I should go ahead and put the new plates on and get the car inspected. Did that.
 
I contacted the DMV about surrendering my old plates and they said since I wasn't carrying liability insurance on my old car I'd be charged an $8.00/day fine. I had no idea, and at this point I'm looking at $152 in fines.
 
This seems to me like more fallout from the dealer's failure to transfer the plates as promised in the first place. This could have all been avoided if they'd just done that.
 
I have an email from the dealer saying it was their error, but I'm gearing myself up to contest the fine with the DMV and/or throw it back on the dealer.
 
Just looking for moral support or holes in my argument ;).
 
Thanks-
 
-Susan

Hi, sorry for buttin in.. so you bought the new car... I get that. you transferred your insurance from the old car to the new car. I get that... and then? you drove the old car home without insurance? or you traded in the old car for the new car?   I'm kind of thinking that both cars must of been covered as you may have overlapped payments on some level...maybe the insurance company can help you... if the dealer got your old car on a trade in deal... it's there car before you leave the lot..  just thinkin... this stuff gets to me... and I feel really bad for you... if you have nothing in writing on your contract agreement with the car dealer as part of the sale... well you know... but really you would think that the dealer would want to start out on the right foot from the start so this never happened.. but legally they have no obligation to do so if your state law is written that way.... I would pay the fine now because it is still going up everyday.. then look online for laws in your state related to this issues... if you find any defense options... run the ball, if not... spread the word about the dealer...   BUT only tell your story like you did here...  just the facts... at least maybe you will help someone else not get....
 
take care... :) 

oh. I know you most likely love your new car but to force a hand.. if your state has a 30 return law... pretend to take the car back and start over... they should at least cough up the fine just to get you out the door. if you went though a real dealership contact the car manufacturer for help, report the dealership to them... go over all your documents and look for other problems and mistakes in calculating the deal that you can use... only deal with the top mucky mucks at the dealer ship.. it is an art to do this stuff... but be nice... most people will want and try to help...
 
you may have seen how I get here...
imagine me finding out that carFAX is a joke and when the dealer said the car had only two owners.. and you could see the same thing on the carFax report.. but if you add up the miles per sale, a dealership had been using and driving the car for like 6 months.. that counts as an owner.... not to mention sales price online was like $1000.00 less then on the floor... refund in cash.. :) just sayin.. look at everything to do with the car... fax are leverage...

Susan, I'm a car dealer here in NY. When you picked up your car, it should have had a temporary registration taped to the inside left of the windshield. That has your transferred plate number and the date you took delivery of the car. Take that and your paperwork including the email from the dealer to dmv. If they don't cancel the insurance lapse charges, pay the fine and take that receipt to the dealer along with your paperwork and kindly ask for reimbursement. They will more than likely issue you a check.
 
What likely happened is the dealer dropped off a stack of transactions to be processed at dmv. The clerk that handled them screwed up and instead of transferring, issued new plates to you. It was that or the title clerk at the dealership screwed up your paperwork. Either way, at the end of the day it's the dealers responsibility.
 
Send me a PM if you need any other advice.
 
 

Also, the insurance ID card you should have received from your agent should have "transfer" on it which will show that you intended to transfer your plates and registration.
 
On a side note, you mentioned that the dealer instructed you to have the vehicle inspected. That is the dealers responsibility and should have been done before you took delivery of the car.

Yep..... What Randy said. 
 
The dealer has the responsibility to pay ALL the costs to make you whole. It was the dealers fault that this happened. They should make it right.  For the time being.... trust that they will and treat them as your ally.  If they don't follow through, then, and only then should you go to battle against the dealer.  Pay the fees the state requires so they don't continue to build up... and hand the bills to the dealer to reimburse you.

Randy P
Also, the insurance ID card you should have received from your agent should have "transfer" on it which will show that you intended to transfer your plates and registration.
 
On a side note, you mentioned that the dealer instructed you to have the vehicle inspected. That is the dealers responsibility and should have been done before you took delivery of the car.

Hi Randy-
 
I checked my State Farm insurance ID card and it says "Replacement vehicle" which I'm guessing is as good as "transfer"?
 
I live in NY, but bought the car in CT. The dealer did inspect it, but I guess the actual sticker & inspection record has to be for the same state as the plates? I haven't bought a new car in 15 years and never from another state, so this is all foreign to me.
 
@Dave- A friend drove me to the dealer and I drove the new car home. The insurance transfer was done over the phone from the dealer and my old car has been in my driveway the whole time. Sorry for the confusion.
 
I'm going to reply further in a bit, but wanted to get a quick thanks off to all who replied to me!
 
Thanks!
 
-Susan
 

Susan, "Replacement is the same as transfer". And yes, it does have to be NY inspected.