When I drove off with my E, I left with the thought that the dealer was going to notify my insurance agency and the city. I found out when my insurance was up for renewal that they were never notified and I found out from the city that they were never notified. I'm in Virginia. Am I delusional or did they drop the ball. I'd just like an outside opinion before I sharpen my axe. Thanks

Here in Canada, you must provide the dealer with your insurance information which they use to register the vehicle. When you pick it up, you get the proper registration papers referencing your insurance. I wonder think it's a like process elsewhere. The onus is always on the driver to ensure they have paperwork.

Also in Virginia: I called my insurance agent with my VIN when I got it; I never assumed that the dealer would do it. As I understood it, the dealer notes on the paperwork who your insurance carrier is, but that is just so you're covered in the interim till you can contact the agent.

I don't know about the city thing.

>I left with the thought that the dealer was going to notify my insurance agency and the city.

Ohmygoodness no. While most states require the dealer to handle the vehicle registration paperwork (and get or transfer your plates), the relationship with the insurance company is yours and yours alone. Most companies give you 30 days of slop to notify them about selling/buying/trading. There may be laws in some states about dealers passing paperwork to the insurance company, but unless they made this clear to you in the closing by doing things such as copying your insurance card, there probably isn't any mechanism for it.

As to the city, that's also your job. I lived in Alexandria for a while - and they did roadblocks to check city tax stickers (which is illegal BTW, so they called them "sobriety checks", a really odd thing for mid-afternoon on a weekday). Anyway, it was on me to make sure I had the sticker. That was one reason I left two of my cars in Georgia with a friend, since the move to VA was probably going to be temporary (and it was).

The upshot is that there is a patchwork of city and county rules regarding property tax assessments, so it's totally on you to report to whoever is the taxing authority in your area. Alexandria was a little unusual since it was a county, too, so YMMV.

I'm in NJ and I sat right there while my dealer called my insurance company and set everything up for me. Maybe this was just extra courtesy but it sure made things easy.

We called our State Farm agent on the cell on the way to pick up our E, then when we finished all the paperwork we called him back with our Vin# and that was that.

We had been in contact with our agent for several weeks before our actual purchase getting quotes on several different cars.

We called our State Farm agent on the cell on the way to pick up our E, then when we finished all the paperwork we called him back with our Vin# and that was that.

We had been in contact with our agent for several weeks before our actual purchase getting quotes on several different cars.

[quote:9830e2b15e="Cameraman"]When I drove off with my E, I left with the thought that the dealer was going to notify my insurance agency and the city. I found out when my insurance was up for renewal that they were never notified and I found out from the city that they were never notified. I'm in Virginia. Am I delusional or did they drop the ball. I'd just like an outside opinion before I sharpen my axe. Thanks[/quote:9830e2b15e]

As far as I know, my dealership asked me about insurance and asked me to contact my insurer to make sure I insured the new vehicle. They notified the DMV (the state) and obtained my new plates and registration for me.

So far, I haven't heard from the county (arlington) regarding the local fees.

-brendan

[quote:91f625b7cc="MikeQBF"]>Alexandria was a little unusual since it was a county, too, so YMMV.[/quote:91f625b7cc]

Hmm, I don't believe Alexandria is a county (unlike most of VA). However, they do perform the same duties as the counties do.

-brendan

In NY you can't register or get plates without proof of insurance. When my "E" came on, my dealer called me and gave me a list of stuff I'd need when I came in to get it, and he needed an insurance card to start the paperwork.

>Hmm, I don't believe Alexandria is a county

Not necessarily chartered as a county per se, but is a political subdivision equivalent "thereof".

:wink:

(One of the software things I do in order to eat is processing geographic data. These special localized cases just drive us bonkers. St. Louis city proper is also a city-county like Alexandria, but in our case there's also a separate-but-equal St. Louis County.)

Now returning you to your regularly scheduled topic. :P