This may be a longer story, but I promise it's good.

So I bought my 3rd 914 several years ago. It's a 1973, 2.0, with the factory sway bar, marathon blue original color, etc. It was the unicorn I was looking for. Only thing about it was that it was completely taken apart to a shell only. I put it on the trailer and proudly brought it home. Over the years I took parts off of two other junked 914's. Now I have a shed outside dedicated to 914 parts. Well the time came to either sell it or start the build. Problem was that it had over $800 in California DMV back fees that I just didn't want to pay and more importantly, my wife thought was a total waste of money. So I listed it for sale on FB and watched all the comments come in from Souther Ca. all the way to the east coast. I was upfront and honest about the late fees which put everyone off. But I made contact with a guy north of me and he suggested I try to get some of the fees waived at the DMV. Slight chance but it may work. So I set off on my journey to screw over the Ca. DMV....

I did a little research and I spoke to a guy who owns a tow company. He's well versed in the Ca. DMV and basically said I was screwed, but I had one option. Plead my case to a DMV in a small town just 1/2 hour away from me instead of my home town because my home town DMV sucks. Also, try to declare the 914 as a "historical vehicle." So I got the proper paperwork and summoned my creative writing skills, of which I have none. Long story short, I wrote about the historical significance of the 914, years manufactured, and its importance in the automotive world. I showed it to the clerk at the Lakeport DMV and told him about how historical it was. He kinda laughed at me and said, "So you want fees waived because you think it's historical?" Then he said it was my responsibility to pay the fees. You could see the defeat in my eyes as he said that. I watched as he took it to his manager and they both had a good chuckle over my declaration. I couldn't watch and went to the bathroom. I came out and we walked up to me with a smile and said he would waive ALL BACK FEES!! I only had to pay current registration of $75 and put it on a PNO. Guy waive $825 in late fees. I can't tell you how happy I was.

So now I've decided to keep the car and start the build. Much to my wife's disappointment. LOL Build thread coming......

Anyway, I know there's a lot of people in same boat I was in and I figured I would put this out there as another option to waive late DMV fees. Plus, how cool is it that there's an official Ca. DMV document declaring the 914 as historical!

Have a great day!!!

I've always had pretty good service and results with the DMV here in Petaluma. Numerous out of state or rollers. I know that's not everyone's experience but it's great to hear it all worked out for you.
Oh and

Awesome!

Great story; perhaps an urban legend that actual humans work at the California DMV!

Congratulations. Now post some pictures of this Unicorn.

Your persistence is admirable. What restrictions are on a historical vehicle?

I've seen stories about the CA DMV in the past, enlighten some of us 49-staters on the back fees? You have to register and pay the annual fee every year whether the car is on the road or not? So even a basket shell sitting on jackstands needs the 'sticker'?


I have the priviledge of paying $151 /yr for a plate sticker here in Illinois, but I don't believe I need to buy one if the car is not being driven (or is unable to). Never tested the theory though.

Happened when I purchased 7 of 9. Cal DMV wanted their pound of flesh. Had to pay the extra to get her out of California. She was worth it though. Sexy thing she was.

If you fill out a non-op form you don’t pay back years. Mine was up on jacks from 1987 to 2015 I paid $183. My registration due in March just came in the mail $183 and that’s with special plates. If done right you can avoid knucklehead charges.

DMV once told me they purge records after 7 years no activity.

Another reason to live in Texas...

If a car sits and doesn't run for years, then you get it running again, all you pay is the current registration. But they do ask you if you got a ticket for an expired registration while it was inop. If you do, you have to pay the ticket before you can register it.

And if it is over 25 years old, the state inspection costs $7.25, and there is no emissions testing. Emissions testing is only done in the big cities, like Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, or San Antonio. Every place else only gets a safety inspection at $7.25.

As already mentioned above, you can do the same in CA and avoid all those fees by simply filing for non-op status, which is as simple as checking a box on your yearly registration card.

Good work.

Colorado got me for the 3 years my 914 was in the garage and not running. My state (actually the counties) likes to hit us with owner taxes every year, based on the vehicle value. It does decline every year, but when I bought a new 911, the first year tax and registration was almost $1000.