Michigan authentic vintage plates or not?

[Happy Camper]

OK, I have been trying to decide if I should apply for the Michigan authentic license plate setup. Sounds like it's $35 one time fee, so far so good. However, I am wondering if anyone who has these has had trouble being pulled over because you took you classic to go get ice cream or something? Any thoughts?
Camper

[MadMike]

Your better off getting an old Michigan plate that's the same year of your car,It's the same price, you just need to photo copy it and give it to S of State, I've had both types of plates and you will get stopped with the "Historical" before the Old ones ;D I think the younger Cops just think your from 'out of State' ;D Because they look so differant,I use to tell the cops I'm going to a Car Club meeting ,Madmike

[Happy Camper]

I guess my description was a bit weak. I couldnt figure out how to type that so early in the morning The Michigan plate that matches the year of my bus (1970) was what I was wondering about. In fact, I already have the plates. I was curious if it's worth the "hassle" factor?

[teamafx]

I love the Idea, but I wouldn't want to get pulled over for no other reason.

Historical vehicles
A historical vehicle must be:

More than 25 years old
Owned solely as a collector's item
Used only for events such as historical club activities, parades and car show

This is the part I don't like.

Note: A vehicle registered with a historical plate cannot be used for routine transportation.

[81pumagtc]

We have members who use them, and those who do not.

Frankly, I am against it...and it is against the law. This was designed to help folks who had legitimate uses for cars that were seldom used, and now the historical plates are now being abused. I did see a Corvette pulled over a couple of weeks ago, but I suspect it was on a speeding violation...the car had screamed by me a few minutes earlier. :-)

I personally like the same-year license plate. It's special, and works well. It is, however, not as inexpensive, but it's legal. It is also very easy to do.

The Historical Plates are usually misused be people who want to save money. The plates are nothing special.

Dave

[dubfreak1]

I have same year plates on my VWs. It is an inexpensive way to be able to exercise the cars and attend club functions, but is not for a daily driver type car. I remember Dave saying that people got ticketed at the Woodward Ave cruise, which I don't understand, but there may be more to the story. Maybe the people ticketed were pulling "hole-shots" or doing something else that was wrong or borderline?

As abuses increase this will be ruined for those who use it properly. There is already a bill being considered to add a $30/yr fee to the "non-expiring" plates. Please don't think of this as dishonest like our gov't going back on their word, it is just a "fee" to use the plate that doesn't expire.
I hate semantic engineering!

Rant complete.

[drwingtipshoes]

Sept 12, 2010 9:17:46 GMT -5 teamafx said:

This is the part I don't like.

Note: A vehicle registered with a historical plate cannot be used for routine transportation.

Then get a regular plate, Steve. That's the idea behind a historical or authentic plate

Personally, I have both. I have a 1974 'authentic' plate on Yellow and my regular "MEIN KG" vanity plate on Blue.

I chose the 'Authentic' plate at $5 more, and that I had to provide (ie buy on eBay) BUT NEVER EXPIRES, over the 'Historic' plate that expires (5 or 10 years?) periodically. AJ and other members have these and can tell you what the period is.

I enjoy driving the convertible every day in the summer so the extra cost is worth it to me even though it will sit right next to the coupe in the garage this winter.

If you wanna drive on the road everyday (ie ROUTINE TRANSPORTATION) then you have to pay the additional road tax by getting some kind of 'full time' plate.

But if they add this annual fee, as another poster suggested, people are just gonna buy regular plates every year! Even my VANITY plate only cost a little over $50, and $25 of that was because it was a vanity plate - a regular plate for my '72 Ghia would be less than $30, so this $30 annual fee makes no sense. So I kind of suspect it is just a rumour.

[typ3nut]

The answer to your dilemma...
Don't go vanity or historical unless your only driving on the weekends, the Woodward ticket was handed out to those with these plates that parked during the week due to the event being Saturday Only !... Don't think the cops are stupid, they know the rules.
Those plates are not for cruising to get ice cream, they are event specific.
But, all this doesn't really matter because during this years State's budget their going to "try" to make these plates an annual payment instead of them being a periodical plate.
Hey, why not, people with classic cars have insurance and have money to burn but how many regular cars do you think are driving around without insurance. This State needs vehicle inspection fee to get those POS off the road. Just my two & 1/2 cents.

[81pumagtc]

The idea between the historical plate is good. It provides the user with an inexpensive way to license one or more cars. Unfortunately, there are those who intentionally misuse the plate as an inexpensive way to license their cars.

Unfortunately, people like this are why they are looking to change the idea of the the historical plate into an annual payment, although it will still cost significantly less than licensing most cars. I also think that there may be different insurance requirements to help stop this abuse.

Also, Woodward is not a legitimate club even, nor is it a parade. It is a cruise, which is something entirely different, and not covered by either the rules or intent of the plate. There is nothing in the rules of the plate which prevents anyone from going to a club event during the week.

Dave

[bren]

Did you get your question answered Happy Camper?

I recall reading somewhere that someone with a VW stopped at a campground on the way home from a show. They got a ticked while at the campground due to their historical/year specific plate.

On my bug I have a regular plate as I drive mine daily.

[Happy Camper]

I think so. I really wasn't looking for "the" answer, just some expieriences. I find it hard to believe that anyone who has a year specific plate hasn't, at one point, headed down to the beach for a Sunday afternoon cruise. The question was more along the lines of peoples experiences with the general tolerance of the law enforcement community.
I have regular plates on it now, I drive it to work 25 times a year. I go to a few car shows. I take it for ice cream, I run to the car parts store once in a while, I am known to take it out to dinner with my Dearest, etc. It gets driven about a thousand miles a year. It sounds like this doesn't meet the written law of the year specific plate, however???
I still need to make a decision I suppose. Anyone looking for a nice set of 1970 Michigan plates?
Believe me, it's not a cost saving issue. I really wanted the 1970 plate on the bus. I paid about $30 for the plates, it will cost $35 to register. It only cost $28 a year for regular plates. I cant imagine I will have the vehicle more than two years. Oh well...

[drwingtipshoes]

Maybe THIS is the answer you're looking for:

I have an 'authentic' plate on my yellow coupe and pretty much play by the rules w/it. I pay Hagerty $150/yr for insurance and have it valued at $5,000.

When I bought the blue convertible this past summer, I stuck a '72 plate on it and ran around a couple of days before actually titling and licensing it. I had such fun w/it that I knew I wanted 'full time' plates on it.

So I called my regular insurance agent (where I have my GMC insured) and told her what I was considering and asking what she could do for me.

She came up w/ the same coverages as Hagerty but the convertible is valued at $10G, for $100/six months - only $50 more a year.

Here's the important part: IT IS STILL CONSIDERED AN ANTIQUE AUTOMOBILE FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES AND I AM LIMITED TO 2,500 MILES PER YEAR, BUT I CAN PUT REGULAR PLATES ON IT AND DRIVE IT DAILY. The 2,500 mile limit should NOT be a problem for me as this car will winter in the garage anyway.

I pay a little under $300/six months to insure my truck and if I had to pay that to insure my Ghia, things would be vastly different. But the cost of the full-time plate really isn't that much more when you compare it to the cost of full-coverage insurance.

Maybe you should talk to your agent about an Antique car policy but with regular plates on it. Works for me!! Good luck.

[MadMike]

Don't get me started This State screws us everyDay!!! Since were BIG time criminals with our classic Cars :oand too ticket the Cruisers is just Bull$hit >:(There counting on over half the guys just paying the fines I would fight it. How's that go: "I love my Country but Hate My Goverment" Parasitic Ba$tards

[81pumagtc]

Plates have absolutely NO relation to collector car insurance. None whatsoever.

Collector car insurance is a special type of insurance that restricts the use of the vehicle to a certain number of miles per year. They give you a special price based on the fact that they expect that you will not drive the vehicle every day, and that you won't drive it in the rain, snow, etc.

This type of insurance policy HAS NOTHING to do with the type of plate you use. I can't imagine any sort of a scenario where you could get anywhere close to 2,500 miles using Michigan Historical Plates, or Authentic plates.

On a side note, they have changed the Authentic plates since I last purchased one for my old BMW motorcycles. Now the Authentic plate is considered a historical plate that you keep forever, but it still does have all of the restrictions attached to the Historical plate.
In the day, we were able to use them as a regular plate.

Let's just make this simple.

If you plan to drive your car for things other than going to a club show or parade (drive to work, ice cream, etc.), you need to purchase a regular Michigan plate.

If you plan to ONLY drive to shows or parades, you can purchase a Historical plate or Authentic plate.

If you feel lucky, you can purchase a Historical or Authentic plate, and take your chances with the law, because you are breaking it.

Simple enough.


Dave

[Happy Camper]

I don't think drwingtipshoes was implying that the type of insurance had implications regarding the type of plate you choose, other than a cost comparison. I think he was comparing total annual costs of plate types and insurance types.

I am beginning to think the solution will be to put one of the 1970 plates on the front and sell the second one, head down to the Secretary of State and buy the $28 std plate. At least I won't have to worry about it that way. My existing plate was transferred from my old buggy, it is a bridge plate, so I don't even have to pay extra for that.

This conclusion does make me wonder about the value of offering a historical, or year specific plate though. If it is this hard to live up to the (pretty specific) rules, what was the purpose of offering these plates other than a fund raising device for the state (tickets)? I mean, if a 40 year old VW bus without heat, rear defrost, or air conditioning, driven less that 1000 miles a year doesn't qualify,what does?
Excellent conversation though. Thanks for the inputs.