I had the enjoyable experience of spending the day at the DMV yesterday. Well as enjoyable as you can have at a government run business.
I needed to renew my drivers license as well as getting my car registered. I was a bit apprehensive about registering my car as California can be brutal when you bring a car into the state. I went to the DMV website and run the calculator they have there for you to determine how much you can expect your fees will be when you register your car. Well I put in all the information they asked for, such as year, price, when you purchased it, first operated in California, tax you paid etc. When I finished entering all the information and it calculated my fees it was over $2000.00 I was not about to pay California for registration fees that I had already paid from 2004 through 2006 when I moved to Utah. I knew I was going to have to smog it in order to register it as well. Word to the wise make an appointment at the DMV before you go, it seems to go a bit faster or at least it seemed like it did but more on that later. As with any time you visit a government run office there are many people you must first pass judgment of before you finally talk to the right person.
So I went to the starting counter told the lady I had an appointment for a drivers license and car registration she looked over my paperwork and then handed me a clipboard with a form to fill out and instructed me to move my car to the inspection area and an inspector would have to look over the car. I filled out the paperwork and moved my car. The inspector did his thing and handed me another piece of paper to take back inside to the counter and then instructed me to move my car out of the inspection area. I moved my car back to it's original parking space and took all the paperwork and clipboard back inside and waited in line for my turn to again talk with the same woman who had sent me out to get my car inspected. She called me up and I again gave her all my paperwork and she handed it all back and gave me a small piece of paper with a number on it. With little instruction as to what I was suppose to do with this paper, I asked is this the number they will call for me? She looked at me like I was a complete idiot and said yes find a seat and wait.
I found a place to sit and waited for my number to be called. It was called with just a short wait and I walked up to the the window in which I was told to go but there was still a man standing there. He finally walked away, I stepped up to the counter and the lady looked at me like what are you doing here. I told her they called my number and told me to come to her window. She exhaled and waved her hand at the pile of paperwork she had on her desk suggesting I was the reason she was not going to get her paperwork finished. I was as pleasant as I could be and said I understand it's ruff all these people coming in and bothering you with registration questions etc. She said the last guy had some sob story about something that had to do with disability or something and he kept changing his story and that he was at her counter for 3 times as long as he should have been. She said the people who assign what number goes to what window are downtown and not even in that building and that was why I was told to go to her even though she hadn't finished with her last customer.
I handed her my paperwork she proceeded to complain about the previous customer as she typed my information into her computer. She started with the car registration and asked a question about one of my answers on the paper I had filled out. She asked when I had brought the car back into the state. Knowing that I was suppose to have registered it with in 10 days of moving to the state I said just this month. She corrected my paperwork and continued her work. Before I could ask how much it was going to cost she told me the registration fee was $167 that was a far cry from what the Internet page told me. I paid the fee and then she gave me a temp operating paper that is to be taped to my window until I could come back with the smog certificate and get my plates. As she wrote up the paper I saw that she wrote Toyota on the paper and I asked her did you write Toyota on that paper because my car is a Honda. She again looked at the paperwork and there it was clear as day Honda written by the inspector so she had to go back to the computer and correct the information she had for type of car, then she just wrote over the Toyota with what I'm sure was suppose to be Honda and gave me the paper to stick in the window of my car. I still had 2 months left on my Utah plates so I didn't worry about putting the tag in my window. She processed my license and I again paid the $28 for it. With this being a government office of course they couldn't combine both payments into one. I was also to get my eye checked but the window I was at didn't have the chart above the worker so she stood up and said can you see that one over there, which was for the next window over and I said yes. She then proceeded to have me read from it one line both eyes one line left one line right. She then sent me to the picture area for my picture and thumb print to be taken. Yet another line to stand in and wait for the next government worker to assist me. It turned out that I knew the next worker. She is the sister of an old friend of mine. We chatted a bit and she took my picture and thumb print, I'm sure it upset the others in line because we took a bit longer than we should have because we were talking and she caught me up on what's going on in her family. I then waved good bye to Becky and headed for the door. I still needed to get my car smoged and I wanted to get everything done so I wouldn't have to waste another day at the DMV.
I went to a Test only Smog check to get my car smoged. They told me the wait would be about 45 minutes so I decided to walk down the street to Quiznos for something to drink while I waited.
The temperature was 100 degrees and although the walk was not far and as long as I was walking on the cement sidewalk it was fine but as I crossed the black asphalt parking lot I felt like I was in an oven being baked. I got my drink and sat at Quiznos for a while to cool off before I returned to the heat outside and to the walk back up the street. I returned and picked up my car which passed smog and headed back out to the DMV to finish the last of the processing of my car registration.
Back at the DMV I again waited in line to talk to that first counter lady who again gave me a number and told me to take a seat. The wait was a bit longer this time and I almost fell asleep waiting for my number to be called. When I was finally selected to proceed to the window I presented my information to the processing clerk and she entered the information into the computer. She began to tell me that she could not add the bank to the registration as it was not listed on my Utah registration and she had to put the information in just as they have it on the most current registration. I showed her a previous California registration showing that the bank was listed as the title holder but no go. I was just worried that I wasn't going to be able to register my car and get my plates. She said the registration is a goldenrod because I didn't have the title with me but I was issued my plates and stickers. I didn't care what color they called it as long as I could get my plates and stickers. She wouldn't give me back my Utah registration papers so I left driving with my Utah plates but no papers so if I got pulled over I wouldn't be able to produce the proof of registration, so I drove carefully and got my plates change on my car. I now have Ca plates on my car again.

Now that I have completed all of the licensing of myself and my car I will probably not find a job in Ca. and have to move back to Utah as that is what has happened to me the last 2 times I've registered my car.
Here is the expenses for this all day affair.
Car Registration $167
Smog test $58
Drivers license $28
Drink at Quiznos $1.95
Total $254.95 This does not include the gas I used for driving to each place and shuffling from a parking space to the inspection area back to a parking space.
Welcome to California!!!!