10 Things the DMV Won't Tell You

1. "It's our pleasure to confuse you."

It seems like everyone's got a DMV horror story. For Mike Hume, a sports journalist, it came after a move from Connecticut to Virginia, when he headed to the DMV to transfer his out-of-state license. It took four visits and roughly three hours of standing in line to get it. The problem? Everything from not bringing enough or the right forms of ID to having his records confused with those of another driver of the same name. After an estimated 20 hours of DMV-related work over the course of a week, Hume finally received his license, and just in time: It was the day before his old one expired. "I consider myself a smart guy," Hume says. "But it doesn't matter. Everyone can be a victim at the DMV." (A Virginia DMV spokesperson says, "We have a high standard for meeting customer expectations, and have a large number who are satisfied.")

Making sense of the DMV is an $11.5 million business for DMV.org, an unofficial guide to state rules and peccadilloes. "DMV.org was created to bridge the gap between consumers and the government," says founder Raj Lahoti. Indeed, the site gets five million visitors a month hoping to ace their next DMV visit.

2. "Your used car could be a ticking time bomb on wheels."

Remember those pics of flooded car lots after Hurricane Katrina? You could end up buying one of those cars today and never know it. In the past five years, the number of flooded cars sold as "used" has doubled nationwide, according to Carfax spokesperson Larry Gamache.

Once deemed totaled, cars are supposed to be sold for scrap. But unscrupulous sellers can buy them at auction, then replace the title at a Department of Motor Vehicles office in another state by fudging the document, saying it's lost or retitling in a state that doesn't recognize "flooded" as totaled. The practice isn't just deceitful; it's downright dangerous, says Gamache, as Diane Zielinski found out. She bought her teenage son a used Grand Am thinking she'd gotten a great deal — until the engine exploded as he was driving. "He could very easily have been killed," she says. A Carfax report revealed the car's title had been branded "flooded" after Hurricane Floyd, then reregistered in Pennsylvania. If you're buying a used car, Gamache recommends having a mechanic inspect it first. And screen the car's VIN through the free database at carfax.com/flood.

3. "When it comes to car theft, we're part of the problem."

There's another way criminals take advantage of flimsy DMV car records: "VIN cloning," a kind of vehicle laundering. A stolen car's vehicle-identification number is switched with that of a junked car, and a clean title is obtained from the DMV. To combat this practice, the 1992 Anti-Car Theft Act authorized the creation of a database, known as the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, which allows state DMVs to verify a car's title, theft and damage history before issuing a new title. But 15 years later only 30 states belong to the network, and those that don't, including California and Illinois, are havens for car thieves and chop shops. "Until all 50 states participate, the system is full of holes," says Rosemary Shahan, of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a nonprofit consumer-advocacy group.

Car theft costs Americans $7.6 billion a year, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Who benefits? Organized crime, for one. But the stakes are higher than grift money. Perpetrators of the first World Trade Center bombing and the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing were traced with the help of VINs.

4. "Consistency is the hobgoblin of...well, not us, that's for sure."

Rules that differ by state (and city, and county) may be a problem for law-abiding drivers, but for those looking to slip through the cracks, they're a godsend. For example, emission checks are required for registration in 13 states and in parts of another 17 states, but not at all in 20 states. And since every state has different plates, says Ashly Knapp, founder of Auto Advisors, a consultancy for car buyers, police can't tell if an out-of-state license is expired until they can see it up close. Some drivers register a car in a state with lower taxes, then drive it in their own state with expired plates. "I'm impressed how many people tell me they get away with it," Knapp says.

Worse are loopholes for drunk drivers. Repeat offenders get listed in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's National Driver Register, but records for those with one DUI are often confined to one state — meaning you might get a clean driving record simply by hopping states, says Jason King, of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. The proposed Real ID Act could fix these problems, King says, by forcing states to share driving records in a national database.

5. "You think getting your license is a hassle — try filing a complaint."

Every institution has problems, but the DMV is notorious for its surly service. Newlywed Laura Zhu tried to get a license with her maiden name as her second middle name. When she explained this to the DMV worker at a New York City office, Zhu says the woman yelled at her, "You have to hyphenate if you want two last names!" After speaking with a supervisor and finding out that it is indeed state policy to hyphenate, Zhu says she was sent back to the same window. That's when things got ugly. "Little Miss Doesn't-Want-to-Hyphenate wants a license now," the clerk announced loudly, then proceeded to sing a little tune as she worked: "Anderson hyphen Zhu! Anderson hyphen Zhu!"

The online complaint form Zhu filed about the incident promised a five-day response — but at press time, Zhu says she's been waiting well over a month. New York State DMV spokesperson Ken Brown insists online complaints usually receive a prompt response and says Zhu's letter must have encountered technical problems. Other ways of filing a complaint include talking with the supervisor or sending a letter to the office manager.

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