Registration Issues in Texas

[surfrusty]

Here goes,

I bought a Roketa MC-54-250B from ATVDiscounters on May 9, 2008. After many issues I finally got the scooter in the early part of June. Just yesterday (July 2nd) I finally received the MSO and the Bill of Sale. I took these documents to my local Tax Assessor's office and they said that they couldn't register the scooter because it was purchased from a dealer and state law says that all licensed dealers have to process the title for you. This has been a law in place since 1996 and ATVDiscounters first heard of it when I brought it to their attention. Because the customer has to sign the Title Application it makes it nearly impossible for an Internet dealer to conduct dropship business in the state of Texas. I'm now going to send the MSO and a completed Title Application BACK to ATVDiscounters and wait until they have processed my title. THEN I might be able to pick up my plates.

However, for $25 your local DMV will issue you a 30-day temporary plate so that you can ride your scooter until the permanent plates show up. Considering past experience with ATVDiscounter, I hope they don't use up the whole 30 days.

I never thought I would have to go through so much crap just to get a scooter. In hindsight, and as a suggestion to all Texas residents, it's probably much easier to just borrow a trailer, drive up to Dallas and pick up a scooter with title in hand. It would save you a ton of time, money, and inconvenience.

["Big Guy"]

I have never heard that one before and there are a lot of Texas people here. I would try another DMV office if I were you. There are a bunch of TX threads here talking about registration and how people did it.


-Rich

[surfrusty]

What I've come to realize is that my local DMV has the rules down pat. They quoted the law to me and walked me through the determination as to whether or not ATVD was a licensed dealer. We checked the back of the MSO and it had a license number for Frontier Imports on it. That was the key. The only way other folks in Texas would have been able to register their scoots after purchasing would be if their local DMV either didn't know the rules or ignored them.

[Troy Young]

A friend of mine at work ran into this issue with a DMV office in Grand Prairie when he tried to register his scoot. So he went to another DMV office in Irving and had no problems getting it done there. It all depends on the bureaucrat you're dealing with.

[Tobor]

surfrusty--I ordered from ATVD recently and got my scoot registered last week in Bexar County (S.A.). No problem whatsoever. My recommendation is to go to another DMV.

[kspring]

Why are you going to the DMV to get your scooter registered? You need to go to your County Tax office. I live in Houston and got my scooter registered easily. It took me about 20 minutes. I bought mine from evosales.com, which is located in California. Make sure you have the scooter inspected and bring the form with you.

[scootingranny]

We registered ours at the County Tax Assessor's office (not DMV, not sure why you went there to get tags) in Garland and had no problem at all. We took every single piece of paper we had on the scoot, including the receipt and paperwork from getting it inspected (so strange that in Texas you have to have it inspected BEFORE you can get your tag!). We handed every paper we had to the clerk and after about 20 minutes and paying taxes and fees, we had our tags. No grief, no hassle, no fuss. We followed earlwb's tutorial on how to register which helped greatly to already have the paperwork filled out when we got there. Official title from Austin came in about 4 weeks.

I also suggest you try another tax assessor's office. Here is earlwb's excellent thread:

tinyurl.com/6h79lm

[Troy Young]

Jul 10, 2008 8:38:52 GMT -5 scootingranny said:

We registered ours at the County Tax Assessor's office (not DMV, not sure why you went there to get tags) in Garland and had no problem at all. We took every single piece of paper we had on the scoot, including the receipt and paperwork from getting it inspected (so strange that in Texas you have to have it inspected BEFORE you can get your tag!). We handed every paper we had to the clerk and after about 20 minutes and paying taxes and fees, we had our tags. No grief, no hassle, no fuss. We followed earlwb's tutorial on how to register which helped greatly to already have the paperwork filled out when we got there. Official title from Austin came in about 4 weeks.

I also suggest you try another tax assessor's office. Here is earlwb's excellent thread:

tinyurl.com/6h79lm

You're right, it wasn't the DMV, it was the County Tax Assessor's office. Well, one building full of bureaucrats looks pretty much like another to me sometimes.

[scootingranny]

Troy:
Sorry it's at your expense, but your respone made me laugh.

I really hope you get this issue resolved soon. Keep the thread updated so that if others have this problem, they can benefit from your experience. I just don't understand why they gave you so much flack about it. Is there anyway you can take all your paperwork (including pre-filled out application) to another tax assessor's office? I'm not sure if you have to go to one in the county where you reside, but since Dallas county is so huge, we would have had more options if we'd had problems than others who live in a less densely populated county. Since you live in Tarrant County which is just as large as Dallas County, maybe there's another Tax Assessor's Office you could try.

Have a dawg bone for your patience. Good luck and scoot safe

[motoloco]

Hi Everyone,
New member here. I don't want to hijack the thread but as I had a question related to registration in Texas (Dallas), I didn't think it needed a new topic. If I'm out of line, many apologies.

I recently got a used 50cc scoot and it has been very dependable getting me back and forth to work. However, I can tell that in the near future I'll want to go up to a 150cc or higher and understand I will need a motorcycle endorsement on the dl. As those of you who live in Texas know, motorcycle courses are booked a couple of months in advance. So the question is, do I have to have the motorcycle endorsement to register and insure the new scooter? I know none of you have "ever ridden your 150cc or higher scoot" without your motorcycle endorsement so let's just say this is a theoretical question.

Thanks and I hope someday to be able to answer some questions instead of just asking them.
Motoloco

[madmanjustice]

Jul 13, 2008 22:24:47 GMT -5 motoloco said:

Hi Everyone,
New member here. I don't want to hijack the thread but as I had a question related to registration in Texas (Dallas), I didn't think it needed a new topic. If I'm out of line, many apologies.

I recently got a used 50cc scoot and it has been very dependable getting me back and forth to work. However, I can tell that in the near future I'll want to go up to a 150cc or higher and understand I will need a motorcycle endorsement on the dl. As those of you who live in Texas know, motorcycle courses are booked a couple of months in advance. So the question is, do I have to have the motorcycle endorsement to register and insure the new scooter? I know none of you have "ever ridden your 150cc or higher scoot" without your motorcycle endorsement so let's just say this is a theoretical question.

Thanks and I hope someday to be able to answer some questions instead of just asking them.
Motoloco

no, but your insurance premiums may be higher since you dont have the endorsement

[drf8]

I don't think that's correct. TRC §521.084 authorizes one to operate a motorcycle (and 150cc qualifies as a motorcycle in Texas) so long as they have a Class M endorsement.

You can operate a moped without Class M endorsement (TRC §521.225).

You can also get a Restricted Class M endorsement that limits you to 250cc or below (TRC §521.224)

www.txdps.state.tx.us/msb/txmclaws.htm#chapter3