Registration Fee Penalties in CA

[mswscco]

So I'm in California and bought a car from a dealer in Georgia. It had just under 7,500 miles so would be considered "new" for my state. DMV is assessing about $550 worth of penalties to register the car and I wanted to know if anyone here knew whether this was legit. To me, a penalty is assessed when I know what to do but don't do it. So is this a penalty that should not apply? Or is this actually a normal "fee" that my state calls a penalty just because, well, it's California? Of course I could call the DMV, but I'm sure nobody here would fault me for trusting an internet forum more than a DMV customer service rep.

[kscarrol]

There is an old saying "ignorance of the law is no excuse". I get you didn't know but i promise the CA DMV doesn't care...

[Dang3r]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

There is an old saying "ignorance of the law is no excuse". I get you didn't know but i promise the CA DMV doesn't care...

+1

This is a worldwide rule

[mswscco]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

There is an old saying "ignorance of the law is no excuse". I get you didn't know but i promise the CA DMV doesn't care...

You misunderstood the post. I'm wondering whether anyone knows this is how vehicle registration works in California, not whether I should dispute the penalties...unless they are in error. California registration fees were paid as the vehicle was being brought into the state and the penalties appear to be backdated to the time the car went into service while it was registered in Georgia. It's possible this is correct procedure, was wondering whether anyone more familiar with the industry would be able to confirm.

[kscarrol]

Yes I did, a better explanation the second time. Don't know the answer to your question but certainly doesn't seem right to penalize you based on the timeframe you laid out.

[Reborn_]

When I bought an out of state car (which had valid registration), I had to pay to register it in CA. This included sales tax (because I bought it private party) + registration fees. There were no penalties. Hope that helps.

You should have a breakdown of what the fees are. Penalties only apply for invalid/expired registration that is being rectified.

[FriedPiston]

What does the line item say for $550? Does it actually say penalty or registration fee? If it's the latter, then $550 sounds about right for prorated registration.

[mswscco]

I have a line item break down from the DMV. CHP fees, vehicle license fees, etc then most lines repeat again specifically indicating a penalty. Reached out to the dealer as well but they aren't being very helpful so far either.