Thinking about buying or leasing a new (or new-to-you) car? You might want to check the renewal date for licensing fees on your current vehicle.
That advice comes from Roland Jones of Lynnwood, who recently spent quite a chunk of change in his transition from one car to another.
Jones had just sent in his $135 payment to renew the tabs on his old vehicle, a 2013 Hyundai Sante Fe, when he decided to trade that car in for a lease on a 2016 model at an Everett dealership.
He got the new car Dec. 18 and paid its $209 licensing fee with the state Department of Licensing. Although he already paid the same type of fee on the old car, the licensing period for that one wasn’t going to start until Dec. 21. So he figured he could get a refund.
Normally, that would be true.
Unfortunately, his paperwork for a refund didn’t make it to the Olympia office by a required deadline.
Meanwhile, the dealer sold his old car and the new owner paid her own licensing fee for the vehicle.
“They are at least double-dipping,” Jones said.
Folks at the DOL say they are just following state laws. And it’s worth noting that one of those laws changed recently.
Prior to 2015, license plates followed cars for up to seven years, when they were required to be replaced in order to maintain maximum reflectivity, notes David Bennett, a DOL spokesman.
In 2014, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 5785, which allows drivers to keep their license plates for as long as they own their cars. The bill went into effect Jan. 1, 2015. Under this new law, drivers only need to replace their plates when they get a car that is new to them, or if their plates have been lost, defaced, or are illegible.
The new owner of a vehicle is credited for any excise tax that was paid to a Transportation Benefit District by a previous owner, but must also pay any taxes or fees that are due at registration renewal.
“The new law really benefits people who buy a vehicle and keep it for a long time,” Bennett said. “If a person is trading in their car every year or every other year, they are going to pay far more than someone who keeps their car for many years.”
For Jones, it’s been a “buyer beware” experience. Don’t expect any leniency, he noted.
For those looking to buy or trade in, Jones suggests making renewal periods part of the planning and decision process. “I know I certainly will in the future,” he said.
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