CA - plate/sticker delivery time?

[svento]

For those who already have their CA plates and HOV stickers, can you post the time it took for each to arrive? I am currently waiting for my plates to arrive so I can apply for my sticker... and just curious how long the wait for each is currently!

 

[cynandvinecar]

Hi, we leased in Nov and got our HOV stickers in Dec, it took about 6 weeks but part of the delay was because the dealership didn't register the car right away.
It should only take about 4 weeks.

Our dealer offered to submit the paperwork for us with the registration, including the $8 fee but then sat on it for a while.

We had AAA follow up on the registration process, they can see if the DMV has the paperwork in progress, had we not followed up with the dealer it might still be sitting in their outbox!

Hope that helps.

 

[svento]

Thanks for the reply!

I may be confused... the HOV sticker application asks for a license plate number so I assumed I needed to wait to receive the plates before I could even submit the sticker application. Was that not true for you?

 

[cynandvinecar]

Thanks for the reply!

I may be confused... the HOV sticker application asks for a license plate number so I assumed I needed to wait to receive the plates before I could even submit the sticker application. Was that not true for you?

You are correct you have to have the license # first.

Our situation was different. Because the registration was taking so long we went into AAA to check on it, they couldn't find our vehicle by VIN# in the DMV database...the dealer hadn't submitted the registration forms.

We were all over the dealer for the delay because like you, we wanted to apply for the hov stickers.

The dealer can access the licence number directly so they submitted for the HOV stickers at the same time as the registration to make up for their delay.
It should have only taken about 3-4 weeks to get the stickers.

BTW, we really dont like the ugly white stickers against the blue paint (yours might look better...invisible!...on a white car) and the instructions call for stickers on both side and back of the car, we found that because of the long radius bumper, if you position them carefully, you can get away with just one sticker on each corner, they're still visible from the back and side.

 

[svento]

Ah ok that makes sense! Thank you for clarifying. I may stop by AAA in a few days and check on mine.

(I do admit, being eligible for the white stickers was a big plus over the ugly green ones, and it also played a factor in choosing a white car... along with decreased need for cooling... and simply liking it!)

 

[SfEvR]

Bought in mid-November, think it took about 4 weeks to get license plates. Put HOV sticker application in right away, it's been about 3 1/2 weeks and still anxiously awaiting my stickers.

 

[Tuningin]

Took 2 weeks to get the plates, which were actually sent from the dealer. Then 3 weeks from mailing of application to get the CAV sticker.

The white sticker turned me into some sort of EcoSnob. I look down at the Priuses and Volts with their green stickers as if they are lower on the pecking order.

 

[eGolf2015]

We're at the 5-week mark now and still waiting for the plates to arrive...

 

[svhoneymoon]

I got plates 10 days after purchase, they were mailed to me from the dealer. So score one for my dealer.

Sent the HOV application in the day after (yesterday).

HOV access was a big incentive for me, every commute day I look forward to it

 

[eGolf2015]

Still no plates yet so I tried calling the finance guy at Sonnen VW last week to confirm when/if the data was transmitted to DMV. (We bought the car on a Sunday, and he promised us that it would be sent first thing in the morning on Monday.) He never called back, so I called DMV today. Apparently the dealership sat on it for 2.5 weeks, so were still at least a week and a half out from getting our plates and applying for the sticker.

Interestingly, my neighbor bought a Leaf in August & the Nissan dealership submitted both the registration info and the sticker application for her, so she didn't have to do anything following the purchase. She said it took just under 6 weeks for the stickers to arrive in the mail.

 

[svento]

Probably sounds like a stupid question, but... How exactly did you call the DMV to confirm this? (ie, what number did you call, and did you just ask them to tell you the status?)

BTW, I know of a Chevy dealer around us that somehow gets the stickers and applies them to the new Volts before even selling the car. It's definitely not per the rules, but somehow they get away with it.

 

[cynandvinecar]

Still no plates yet so I tried calling the finance guy at Sonnen VW last week to confirm when/if the data was transmitted to DMV. (We bought the car on a Sunday, and he promised us that it would be sent first thing in the morning on Monday.) He never called back, so I called DMV today. Apparently the dealership sat on it for 2.5 weeks, so were still at least a week and a half out from getting our plates and applying for the sticker.

Interestingly, my neighbor bought a Leaf in August & the Nissan dealership submitted both the registration info and the sticker application for her, so she didn't have to do anything following the purchase. She said it took just under 6 weeks for the stickers to arrive in the mail.

Sounds like you had exactly the same issue as us ( see posts above), if not too late you may be able to get dealer to submit both at same time. Our dealer sat on our registration for 2+ weeks but when we pushed him they paid for, and submitted, the paperwork for us.

What are the odds of two different dealers (ours was Alhambra Volkswagen) doing exactly the same thing? I can only figure that they haven't been trained well and dont realize that the hov stickers are a big reason for getting the car and you cant apply without the licence number. Either that or they're just lazy.

 

[cynandvinecar]

I'm sure you're all aware but just in case, Hermosa Beach and Santa Monica allow free parking at meters for any cars with white HOV stickers.

Anyone know of other cities with same allowance?

Thanks

 

[cynandvinecar]

Probably sounds like a stupid question, but... How exactly did you call the DMV to confirm this? (ie, what number did you call, and did you just ask them to tell you the status?)

BTW, I know of a Chevy dealer around us that somehow gets the stickers and applies them to the new Volts before even selling the car. It's definitely not per the rules, but somehow they get away with it.

I'm not sure which post you are asking the question to but all of our follow up, other than with the dealer after we found out they hadn't submitted the registration paperwork for 2+ weeks, was with AAA. We had a great agent there that would check the DMV record daily, and called us when the VIN # showed up indicating the dealer had finally sent the paperwork in. Then all we could do was wait.

 

[svento]

I'm not sure which post you are asking the question to but all of our follow up, other than with the dealer after we found out they hadn't submitted the registration paperwork for 2+ weeks, was with AAA. We had a great agent there that would check the DMV record daily, and called us when the VIN # showed up indicating the dealer had finally sent the paperwork in. Then all we could do was wait.

Sorry for any confusion. I was replying to the post from eGolf2015 (the post directly above mine) where it was mentioned that they called the DMV to check status. I called the number I found and the recording said there was at least a 2 hour wait. Needless to say, I didn't wait . I thought maybe eGolf2015 had some secret way to get an answer directly from the DMV without waiting 2 hours. I am going to try the AAA route now.

 

[LAeGolf]

For CA DMV it will give you an option to enter your number and they will call back (800-777-0133), I've called at 10:30am this morning and got a call back 2 hours later. Much better than having to wait on the line.

 

[svento]

For CA DMV it will give you an option to enter your number and they will call back (800-777-0133), I've called at 10:30am this morning and got a call back 2 hours later. Much better than having to wait on the line.

Interesting... I wasn't given that option yesterday (I called that same number). I'll try again today since AAA told me I had to come to an office in person in order for them to help me.

 

[svento]

I just wanted to report that today I was able to request a call back from the DMV this morning and I they just called me. They took my VIN and told me my registration was processed yesterday and plates were in the mail! (2.5 weeks or so after buying).

The best part is that I told her I was waiting for the plates to apply for the HOV sticker, and she told me she could give me the plate number over the phone. So I can send in my sticker application today!

For maybe the first time ever, I'm pretty happy with the DMV today.

 

[eGolf2015]

I just wanted to report that today I was able to request a call back from the DMV this morning and I they just called me. They took my VIN and told me my registration was processed yesterday and plates were in the mail! (2.5 weeks or so after buying).

The best part is that I told her I was waiting for the plates to apply for the HOV sticker, and she told me she could give me the plate number over the phone. So I can send in my sticker application today!

For maybe the first time ever, I'm pretty happy with the DMV today.

Sorry for dropping the ball on responding to your DMV questions. The call-back option is what I also used to reach a live person at DMV.

After considering cynandvinecar's post about AAA, I called DMV a second time and asked for the plate number, but they wouldn't give it to me over the phone. However, they said that the dealer has access to look up plate numbers too, so I called the dealer yet again and finally got someone on the phone who was able to help me. The plates showed up in the mail the next day, so I hadn't really gained much benefit at that point, but at least our sticker application is in now.

 

[Zoeb2s]

WinnVW in Newark expedited my plates for me, got them in 3 days

Applied for the stickers the day I got the plates, took about 3 weeks to get the stickers in after I submitted my paperwork.

of course I have no intention of putting my plates on anytime soon