Question: Has anyone asked about a delay in receiving license plates for a new vehicle? I bought mine July 1 and still haven’t received my plates. The temporary plate is dated "8-31."
Answer: Yours is the second question regarding outdated temporary license plates received recently.
The first was from a resident who noticed a new car bought in May in her neighborhood that had a temporary license plate in October.
The Honolulu Police Department said it would check, and shortly afterward, in early November, we were told the vehicle was sporting new number plates.
It turns out there was a slight backlog — four days — with the city Division of Motor Vehicles and Licensing’s processing of vehicle registrations, but nothing that would account for you not having permanent plates five months later.
Car dealerships are responsible for obtaining registration papers and license plates for new car owners.
Your inquiry reveals the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association’s frustration with what its executive director, Dave Rolf, says is Hawaii’s "needlessly cumbersome paper processing" for new car registrations as well as delays that dealers encounter in trying to process registrations in person.
However, city officials say it normally takes only two to three working days to complete dealer transactions, and often the turnaround is less than 48 hours.
"The bottleneck is with the dealers and not the city’s DMV," countered Sheri Kajiwara, director of the Department of Customer Services.
But first, under Section 286-53(e) of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, whenever a new-car dealer sells a motor vehicle, the dealer is required to attach a temporary number plate with a date that is 30 "working" days after the owner takes possession. That temporary plate is valid until the date listed.
Exactly what "working" days means is not defined, but if you took possession of your vehicle July 1, "8-31" would seem to be beyond the time frame specified.
When asked about the apparent discrepancy, Kajiwara said although dealers are aware of the law, some "continue to violate this legislation and issue temporary plates beyond the 30-day period."
Rolf said he couldn’t comment on your situation without knowing the details of your transaction.
If someone bought a car July 1 but didn’t take possession until July 15 because it was on back order, that could account for the Aug. 31 plate date (30 "working" days being about six weeks), Rolf said.
However, he said he immediately sent out a notice to dealers about the law to make sure there was a clear understanding of the 30-working-day provision.
He also noted that dealers will wait to put the metal license plate on a car and complete registration if there are unforeseen delays in financing the new car for various reasons.
For expired plates the Honolulu Police Department could cite the vehicle owner, who could be fined a maximum $500, as well as the car dealer, who also could face a maximum $500 fine, Kajiwara said.
"Buyers need to pressure dealers to comply, and it would be a civil matter between the dealer and buyer if the buyer feels that the fine should be paid by the dealer," she said.
Tomorrow: HADA’s concerns, city’s response.
Mahalo
To the driver of the No. 4 Bus, who helped retrieve items that fell from a shopping bag I dropped getting off the bus recently. He also found my wallet, which I must have dropped on the bus floor after showing my bus pass. I did not discover that it was gone from my pocket until late that night, but was able to retrieve it from Lost & Found at TheBus office. The driver saved me a lot of trouble. — Traveler Al
Mahalo
To the numerous people who responded and called 911 after our mom/wife got into a single-car accident while driving to work at about 6 a.m. Oct. 29 on the Joseph P. Leong Highway near Haleiwa. She was taken in critical condition to the Queen’s Medical Center but is recovering at home. God bless everyone for their help, including the staff of the Queen’s trauma unit. — The Caminos Family
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