car licensing

[arethinn]

This is targeted mainly at devafall and tiggrrl since I know you folks bought a car in the relatively recent past, but anyone else with practical experience in getting a car licensed in CA is welcome to answer...

How long did it take for you to get the registration and plates? The dealership told me it might take "up to three months" and it's now been two. Do you know of any way to check on the progress of the registration, whether it's in fact in the queue somewhere and not been totally missed?

Comments

[twopiearr.livejournal.com]

I bought a used car upon returning to California in November of 1999. The car itself was purchased ridiculously near the beginning of the month. The registration did not appear until January.

I mean seriously - it's the DMV. You didn't really expect convenience or snappy service did you?

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

LOL no, but I was just wondering if the dealership was being reasonable about the estimate and whether the time already elapsed was quite normal. Apparently both are true.

[the-misha.livejournal.com]

It took our tags and plates a while to arrive... like, 3.5 months. At one point, I think we actually called the DMV and said, "So, like, 'sup with the lack of plates?" and they replied something on the order of, "The check's in the mail."

I wouldn't worry until the three-month mark.

[tiggrrl.livejournal.com]

Actually, they said, "didn't the dealership give you the plates?" and we said, very confusedly, "No..." The DMV insisted that we already had theplates, and forced us to re-register. They could even tell us what our license plate number was, they just couldn't get it to us, apparently.