Arizona DOT will not register my car

sheureka · 05-12-2008, 03:32 PM

I just spent a very frustrating 2 hours at the DOT office in Bisbee, AZ. I just got the title, etc., for the car today and went to register it. I bought the car used, from California. It had originally been sold by the dealer in Logan, Utah and was almost immediately traded in for a Porsche. It was then sold to a dealer in California. Anyway, I took all my paperwork in and the only Smart car the agent could find in the system was in a memo from 2006 stating that DaimlerChrysler Smart cars were gray market and could not be registered in Arizona. He called DOT headquarters in Phoenix who also could not find any other reference to a Smart car in their database.

I called SmartUSA, and they said because I had not bought the car from a dealer (because I bought it used) they would not help me. I also called the Smart dealer in Chandler, who said they had not had any problem registering the 300 Smart's they had sold but they refused to help me too, since I had not bought the car from them.

I have no idea what to do now. Obviously if I can't register the car I can't continue to drive it and my insurance is scheduled to be canceled within the next week if the car isn't registered. The guy at the DOT kept inferring that I was lying about something - but I'm not sure what. Anyway, I really need some help. Does anyone have any idea of what to do? TIA - sheureka

CruisingAZ · 05-12-2008, 03:49 PM

Do you have the 2008 451 model or is this an older 450? There may be a good reason it was sent to Canada and you may have to resale it and cut your losses. Not all 450's are legal in the U.S. as they do not meet DOT standards.

sheureka · 05-12-2008, 03:51 PM

What was sent to Canada?

No it's a 451 - imported in January, built in December 2007. It only has 600 miles on it, and 300 of them are mine. I have the original window sticker from the dealer in Utah, all the paperwork, etc.

bradgarbus · 05-12-2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheureka

I just spent a very frustrating 2 hours at the DOT office in Bisbee, AZ. I just got the title, etc., for the car today and went to register it. I bought the car used, from California. It had originally been sold by the dealer in Logan, Utah and was almost immediately traded in for a Porsche. It was then sold to a dealer in California. Anyway, I took all my paperwork in and the only Smart car the agent could find in the system was in a memo from 2006 stating that DaimlerChrysler Smart cars were gray market and could not be registered in Arizona. He called DOT headquarters in Phoenix who also could not find any other reference to a Smart car in their database.

I called SmartUSA, and they said because I had not bought the car from a dealer (because I bought it used) they would not help me. I also called the Smart dealer in Chandler, who said they had not had any problem registering the 300 Smart's they had sold but they refused to help me too, since I had not bought the car from them.

I have no idea what to do now. Obviously if I can't register the car I can't continue to drive it and my insurance is scheduled to be canceled within the next week if the car isn't registered. The guy at the DOT kept inferring that I was lying about something - but I'm not sure what. Anyway, I really need some help. Does anyone have any idea of what to do? TIA - sheureka

I don't get it. The VIN should give them all the information they need about the car. (I smell a fish)

I would contact the Attorney General of the State of AZ. Perhaps the local news stations... I don't know on this. Really odd if they have been registering other smarts and now won't register yours, are you sure its a 451 and not a 450?

xcrew229x · 05-12-2008, 03:58 PM

If it is indeed a 451 originally sold new in Utah, I'd take the paperwork to whatever DMV office the Chandler dealer uses. They should be able to set this straight. Sounds like you got a rule reading clerk who can't see anything but the rules.

sheureka · 05-12-2008, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcrew229x

If it is indeed a 451 originally sold new in Utah, I'd take the paperwork to whatever DMV office the Chandler dealer uses. They should be able to set this straight. Sounds like you got a rule reading clerk who can't see anything but the rules.

I would do that - but it's 5 hours away from me. I'm on hold with DOT main office now. All of the VIN numbers match, so I don't think that's the problem.

bottlerocket · 05-12-2008, 04:08 PM

Oh my goodness that sucks

CruisingAZ · 05-12-2008, 04:13 PM

Sorry, Do not know where I thought I read Canada. I agree, there should be no reason it cannot be registered here and if the local MVD cannot do it they the trip to Phoenix would be woth the drive as the MVD that smart of Chandler uses certainly knows the procedure.

You could also call the MVD in Chadler, get the name of the agent who registers the local cars and pass that name on to the agent where you live for clarification.

**jwight** · 05-12-2008, 04:16 PM

Don't know what to say; they should be able to see the other AZ smarts in the central database - not like you have the first car registered in the state. Hope this gets fixed soon.

sheureka · 05-12-2008, 04:33 PM

Just got off the phone with the main DOT office - and they're going to fax some stuff to Bisbee. They're still insisting that it's a gray market car, but they say that since it has been registered in another state it can now be registered in Arizona. Very, very weird. I'm a little nervous about the whole thing because if I ever want to sell it I'm afraid it could be a problem. I may give the Chandler DOT office a call to see if they can help me out.