Renewed her registration.......

[Firehawk068]

I wasn't complaining about the $58 at all.................I was mainly referring to the 1/2 day spent at the DMV as being about as pleasant an experience as a trip to the dentist........In an effort to cut government costs, they have closed a number of motor vehicle offices, as well as cut the employee staffing at the offices that are left......So, you better bring a book, or time your exit/re-entry after you judge how quickly the numbers get called, so you don't miss your chance, or get bypassed.
I wish they had online renewals here like they do in Arizona............
$58 this year wasn't bad..........I made the mistake of accidentally telling them last year that I have had the bike in Colorado longer than 3 months without registering it (I waited for my Arizona registration to expire) and they slapped me with a $100 penalty...........

[Matt]

Over here in NZ we are similiar to Australia in what we pay.

At NZD 521 (USD 430) for our "over 600cc" motorcycles it stings the pocket, especially if you are also paying registration (and Accident Compensation fees) on a number of two and four wheel vehicles.

Mind you apparently having the Hobbits here makes up for everything 

[93fj1200]

Reading past posts, about the UK's MOT disc and the tremendous taxes and registration fees in Australia. I knew this thread would get some traffic.

Here in the US, each state taxes vehicles differently. Some states impose a "Property Tax", similar to Real Estate taxes. The more the vehicle is worth, the more you are taxed. Here in Kansas there is not an annual inspection either. I own a 2000 Dodge Ram 1500 pick up truck and my 1989 Fj1200. My registration/taxes for the year is $106.00 for the two. That includes $4.00 for the optional military veteran license plates.

It does shock me when I see the posts of the cost of the MOT discs in the UK and what is paid in Australia. Motorcycles here in the US are not really considered necessary vehicles like a car or truck, thus are taxes less and except for California, exempt from all emissions controls and testing.

On the gas/petrol costs. I know the US has some of the least expensive prices. I spent some time in southern Europe in 1989. I saw the price per litre was what we were paying for a gallon. Currently price of a gallon is $3.11

Fred

I drove from Northern Ontario, Canada which is on the border with Northern Michigan to Tijuana, Mexico.  As I travelled west, the gas prices rose each time I stopped.  Down here in Panama, the gas is about $3.75 a U.S. gallon, basic bike insurance was $65 a year.  I have not changed my ownership to Panama so don´t know what the annual registration cost is but I am sure it is not high. If you get a fine here, the policeman who will not listen to any story you have will give you a mystery ticket that you must bring to the police station to pay and this is where they will tell you how much it is.  Lots of speed traps in Panama but just ignore police most of the time if they are waving at you.  Keep your head straight ahead and keep on rolling. 

[Anti-Dive Dave]

I wasn't complaining about the $58..........

That's ok....It gave us a good chance to rant and rave about other stuff though!

Theres nothing like a good system.  And by the sounds of it, your DMV has nothing like one!

Time wasted with these things is damn frustrating I admit.  I'm sure some of them work slow on purpose. 

Have a look next time at the DMV.  The folk waiting patiently get happy helpers, and are efficiently paper-stamped out the door all happy bunnies.

The drivers/riders who pace and fuff under their breath, watch the clock cos they're doing this on their lunch break and get annoyed in the queue, are the ones where the woman on the desk decides to walk away, get lost in her computer or suddenly "has a problem" with some paperwork and has to delay you longer.  Its all deliberate methinks.

S'always good to bitch and moan about taxes and insurance, and things that go bump in the night.     

[rktmanfj]

I wasn't complaining about the $58 at all.................I was mainly referring to the 1/2 day spent at the DMV as being about as pleasant an experience as a trip to the dentist........In an effort to cut government costs, they have closed a number of motor vehicle offices, as well as cut the employee staffing at the offices that are left......So, you better bring a book, or time your exit/re-entry after you judge how quickly the numbers get called, so you don't miss your chance, or get bypassed.
I wish they had online renewals here like they do in Arizona............
$58 this year wasn't bad..........I made the mistake of accidentally telling them last year that I have had the bike in Colorado longer than 3 months without registering it (I waited for my Arizona registration to expire) and they slapped me with a $100 penalty...........

That's one thing that Indiana has right.  The BMV was reorganized several years ago, and although I have to bring in shitloads of documentation, I've not spent more than 30 minutes in there at one time since then, even when they were pretty busy. 

That, and the FJ only costs $45/year for plates.   

[DoD#663]

My belief, and again, I might be wrong, is that in the US you need to have medical insurance, or the treatment is very expensive indeed..

More and more so with every passing law. Eventually it will be so expensive that people stop getting care. Hopefully the collapse of the ever-inflating Federal Reserve Note will come first, and then a strong-man dictator will take power.

After that, if there is an "after", maybe the United States can finally dissolve into more rational smaller polities.

Anyway, in theory, the US doesn't have a medical "system", because that implies that there is coordination. What we have is 51 sets of regulations through which medical staff have to wade to figure out what they can and cannot do.

Most states require all drivers/riders to have insurance, but that is "Liability" insurance that covers my victim if I do something that hurts someone else. Insurance to cover costs of doing something stupid to myself is rather more expensive, and covering the vehicle itself is worth doing only if it's still being paid for or is showroom new.

What I find interesting is that when I got life insurance and medical coverage, neither asked if I owned guns or rode motorcycles. If those factors really made people get hurt more often, wouldn't they ask?