Gordon Nichols posted:. . . . . . . then ask who is the best person to deal with at each step. It always comes down to working with the right person. . . . .
Exactly.
When registering my new build VS here in Colorado last fall, I thoroughly reviewed the registration guidance on this site, and concluded that the best course of action would to be to show up at my local DMV and be patient, polite, assertive, forthright, ask a ton of questions, and provide every inch of documentation that I could come up with (including pictures), etc., etc.
All I got for my effort was heartburn and the most convoluted, contradictory information and instructions imaginable: different DMV representative = completely different answers and requirements. When I went to the local State Trooper’s barracks to get my ‘certified’ VIN verification - during my fifth trip to the DMV I was told that my ‘standard’ VIN verification suddenly wasn’t good enough) - the Trooper doing the inspection completed his checklist then immediately began to quiz me on how much difficulty I had encountered and how varied (and contradictory and difficult) the DMV representatives that I had dealt with had been. After hearing about my frustrating saga, he related a similar level of frustration he encounters on a daily basis when dealing with our DMV.
On his advice, I took my fresh ‘certified’ VIN verification and went to a different DMV location, handed the representative all paperwork or documentation she asked for, and didn’t say a word. I was in and out in ten minutes. I have a registration that reflects my ‘73 VW pan with collector vehicle plates. The key for me was to also have my insurer (Hagerty’s) adjust the wording on the insurance card to reflect the exact VIN verification documentation, but my insurance card also clearly notes that the car as a ‘replica Porsche 356A’. The Hagerty folks were extremely helpful and cooperative.
The folks at my local DMV, however, couldn’t find their butts with both hands.