Hey guys,

Been banging my head against the wall since October. We have a Ford Fiesta that leased in 2011 in the state of Iowa. MA wants us to have the title in hand to give us our plates. Ford Credit refuses to give us this. They said they can only send it to the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) where they will hold it. The RMV states that they will not hold titles and will return to sender immediately. We have spent hours doing this, four separate trips to the RMV, and nothing. I don't understand what the hold up is or why this is so difficult. Each side insists that they are right and are unwilling to budge. Luckily our IA plates are good until September '13, but still. I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel!

 

I've been in Mass my whole life and can say that I'm not surprised.

If you are doing business with a storefront insurance agent, I'd ask them to straighten it out for you. Local insurance agents (at least) can do almost all the registry work for you if you want them to. Mine even has a supply of license plates they can issue right there in the office. (But I digress)

 

Did you see an insurance agent? They seem to know more about registry stuff than the registry does...

 

I called my insurance agent (USAA) and they were actually very helpful. They said that they can request for the title and we will be able to go from there. It's a little ridiculous that nobody, but the insurance agent, was able to help me here. I wouldn't even have thought of asking them, nor did anyone tell me to do that (outside of people here). I knew this site was worth signing up for! Thanks for the input. Loving MA so far, though hating your motoring laws!

 

Lol...thats why i live in nh...
Mass wanted to charge me sales tax on a car i was registering in nh just to get a temp plate, and they do not recognize nh temp plates....
My solution...bolt my old plate to my new car, drive to nh, and transfer the plates....ok if the car will not be sold/reregistered in ma for 4 years...they have a 4 year "lookback", and will levy fines fox tax evasion.
Another unique thong about MA, the pre blue-tec vw diseals were not mass legal...but could be registered as "used" so many folks in nh would buy them, drive them for 6 months, sell them to ma residents once the minimum miles/months were done....
Just to give you an idea...i live 4 miles from the mass boarder, and when i got a quote for insurance from usaa, the differance between ma/nh was about 60% less in nh.....due (mostly) mass regulation of the insurance, and high risk pools, etc....

 

Tell me about it! Kind of wish we would have just made the jump to Salem, which is only 6 miles away, but we didn't know coming here. Oh well, we have plans to buy something in Boston in a year's time anyway, but boy are some of these ridiculous restrictions stupid. The thing is, I am TRYING to give them my money and go legit with a vehicle registered in MA and they were still giving me a ridiculously hard time.

 

YUP...
the reason MASS does not recognize a NH temp plate is NH does not require proof of ownership, IE: a title to get one...the state figures if you are paying $$ to a state official, and letting them record the cars data, and YOUR, it is safe to say the car is not stolen, and the tile will be shown for the reregistration...and the state KNOWS it can take a few days to get the paperwork....but in MASS YOU MUST show the title, and PAY the sales tax at that time...in NH we don't have sales or income tax...we do pay a"use-Tax", kinda of a property tax on a new car, kinda phased in mostly in the first 5 years...but for a NH resident, we would pay a MA sales TAX, then not get a credit for it on the NH diff.....kinda crazy...some bad blood between MA and NH over TAXES...
The MASS state department of revenue RAIDED a NH tire shop in NASHUA NH a couple years ago..was part of a chain..alleged they were not CHARGING MA STATE SALES TAX on cars with MASS PLATES......IN NH....(Mass state law CLEARLY states RESIDENTS are supposed to pay a separate fee/tax on items bought out of state on that years income tax forms to stay legal ((yeah right)...but, the state revenue folks gotta reach for more $$!!).
IT goes on and on...when video's show MASS state senators BUYING BOOZE in NH STATE owned liquor stores on the nightly news every few months to dodge the MASS taxes...it almost get to be funny...lol..
And a side note... just to let folks know that have never seen it, up in NH, the STATE HAS PUT STATE OWNED LIQUIOR STORES IN MANY HIGHWAY REST-AREA''s near the boarder to make it easier for out of state folks to buy out low tax liquior!! KInda funny, but helps keep us free od INCOME AND SALES-TAXES in NH!!
PS NH was also the first state in the nation to have a state run lottery...sold lots of tickets to folks on vacation....taking 50% of it...and then the idea spread!!
In the end, we DO like MASS, but it can be funny!!