Don't Buy a Car in Georgia


So, Saturday I went out to look at this car that I saw in a classified ad. It was a white 1995 Volkswagon Jetta. I called Vick, the guy that was selling it and we met at his house around two in the afternoon. After looking over it and driving it around for a while, I was impressed. It had been very well taken care of, and apart from some minor annoyances, it was more than a decent car. He was asking for $2800. Focusing on what was wrong with the car, I talked him down to $2500. It was quite a deal. After some paper signing, I drove away in my new 1995 Jetta. I was stoked. The transmission was clean, and it was so smooth to drive, especially compared to my old Escort. Anyway, I pulled up to the gate to get on base and pulled off so i could explain the situation. The guard asked for my proof of insurance, to which I responded that I did not yet have it insured, because I just bought the car. He then called a police officer over, officer Mensin. That's when it started; my long, grueling struggle to drive this car that I had just bought. Officer Mensin informed me that it was illegal to drive without insurance. I explained to him that I was covered under my parents policy and that there was a 30 day grace period after purchasing a car to get said car insured. He wouldn't buy it. So, then I had to start calling my parents, state farm, my insurance agent, and the Navy to try to convince this officer that I had insurance, while he was threatening to tow my car and fine me $500. Problem was that it was Saturday. Nothing is open on a Saturday. Finally, after an hour, I had convinced officer Mensin that I was in fact insured. Not satisfied, officer Mensin made me call my command and have some one high ranking (a Lieutenant) come and assure him that I was not going to drive until I had verifiable proof that my new Jetta was insured. The only way the Lt. could assure him of this was by taking my keys from me. Keys that I didn't have returned to me until this morning. Anyway, this morning is another adventure.
Excited to be able to drive my new car, and after getting the keys from my babysitting Lt., I hopped in and started a 25 minute journey to the Georgia DMV. When I got there, I climbed out and walked up to the counter. I informed the employee that I was looking to register my beautiful new car. Oh, by the way, in Georgia when you sell your car, you're supposed to take the liscense plate off of it. So my Jetta had no liscense plate on it at all when I went to the DMV. Anyway, I told that to the lady at the counter, who then asked me for my liscense and insurance information, which I gave to her. She ran my State Farm insurance policy number, and frowned. "You need georgia insurance to register your car in georgia," she said nonchalantly. "Excuse me?" I asked, assuming she was kidding. She wasn't. She proceeded to inform me about the Georgia regulation that stipulates that in order for a car to be registered in the state of Georgia, that the insurance on that car has to be from a Georgia-based insurance company. Well, my insurance is from Missouri, which she clarified for me, meant that I could not register my car in Georgia. So, I got online to check the policy for registering my car, which still doesn't have a liscence plate, in Missouri if living out of state. It's a standard procedure, but involves a lot of paperwork, and a lot of mailing. So, I then called the legal office on base to see what the deadline was for registering a new car after purchase. I understood that there was a certain grace period of 30 days or so to do so. I was wrong. There is no grace period. So, now I can either wait for a month to get all of the paperwork mailed to Missouri, or I can apply for a new car insurance plan. All I want to do is to drive my new freaking car that I spent a month's paycheck on. That's all. But Georgia says no.

Comments

Romondo Davis said…
Sad story—beautiful car.
Anonymous said…
Does 21st Century Insurance cover a Paint Job?

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