I got my auto registration for my Forester, Nader, and was in for a shock: It’s $325! Now, that won’t impress you Californians out there, but considering we just recently paid less than a third of that on my wife’s car, Ninjette, it was an unpleasant surprise. It was hefty last time for Nader, but I figured that was due to the fact it was a new car registration. It turns out that the state is engaging in affluence-discrimination. A form of progressive taxation under the idea that if you can afford a newish car (less than five years old) you must be fishin’ loaded. My inner conservative is outraged as this is yet another way our increased income is being chipped away at. My inner liberal points out that my paying $225 to the state ($100 is local) allows someone barely getting by on a clunker* to pay $30 (and less on the county, though I can’t find the exact number). Intellectually, the liberal wins. The conservative hasn’t calmed down yet.

Anyway, I hadn’t heard of this before. I thought three-digit registration was something that only blue coastal states did.

* – Ironically, this puts us in both categories, since my car is relatively new and my wife’s is almost old enough to get its own drivers license.

When I got back to the airport in Deseret, I was happy to see that Nader was dirty as all getout. (I was not so happy that Nader’s battery was dead.) I feel like a bad Subaru owner when Nader is clean. Go to a Subaru dealership, and the pictures they have all over the walls are not of a clean car, but a picture of the dirtiest one they can find. In-keeping with the image and all that. I don’t exactly go offroading. I wouldn’t let it get dirty just to assuage my insecurities, but the below-freezing weather has made a carwash a bad idea. So, for now anyway, I feel like a proper Subaru owner.

At Ataturk’s, a guy roled up in a Subaru Forester of the same color as mine. My first thought was “Hey, cool.”

My second thought was “You don’t see many of those down here.”

My third thought was “Why the hell would anybody down here by a Subaru?”

We bought ours strictly for climate reasons. Otherwise, no reason to care about the AWD. And without caring about the AWD, some of the competing cars are competitively priced. We probably would have gone with one of those.


Category: Road

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5 Responses to Tidbits On Nader

  1. Abel Keogh says:

    Utah also has age based fees though they aren’t quite as onerous. I think they top out at $150 or so. I much prefer this method to the one where they tax you based on the car’s value. Unless the car is new, that tax is too damn subjective.

  2. Kirk says:

    About your dead battery: I’ve heard of other people having the same problem. It seems to always happen at airports. (Where else are you going to park long-term?)

    I’m guessing either car alarms are the culprit, or maybe newer cars just continually draw current for some reason.
    (I’ve never heard of it happening with an older vehicle.)

    Next time, try disconnecting your battery.

  3. trumwill says:

    In my case, it had to do with a dome light that was left on.

  4. David Alexander says:

    My third thought was “Why the hell would anybody down here by a Subaru?”

    Handling, speed, aesthetics, and the desire to be unique. Well, more so for the Imprezas in certain cases. 🙂

    My inner conservative is outraged as this is yet another way our increased income is being chipped away at.

    FWIW, the other options are to increase gas taxes or other income taxes to make up for the revenue from the registrations if the fees are lowered.

    I thought three-digit registration was something that only blue coastal states did.

    For sampling purposes, for my dad’s ’01 Town Car, re-registration will be IIRC, $150. Our fees are based on the weight of the vehicle, a minimum fee for an engine with six or more cylinders or an electric car of $32.50, a vehicle use tax based by county, and if one lives downstate, a $50 fee paid to the MTA for transit. It does not vary based on the year of the car.

    I’m guessing either car alarms are the culprit, or maybe newer cars just continually draw current for some reason.

    Car alarms, radio presets, and clocks.

  5. trumwill says:

    Handling, speed, aesthetics, and the desire to be unique. Well, more so for the Imprezas in certain cases. 🙂

    I like the aesthetics, but don’t put much stock in them. I never test-drove any others to see how they stacked up.

    FWIW, the other options are to increase gas taxes or other income taxes to make up for the revenue from the registrations if the fees are lowered.

    Perhaps good policy, but not good politics.

    Car alarms, radio presets, and clocks.

    The battery would have to be pretty weak (or you be gone for a *really* long time) for presets and clocks to play a role.

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