Done and Done.*
After spending almost 4 weeks sending faxes, talking to agents at the DMV and my insurance company and sending even more faxes, I am pleased to annouce that my MINI is, once again, 100% legal (kinda) to drive on the roads of California.
Now, on to the repairs!
*Yes, I do post typos on Twitter. And, 100% legality comes after I replace my gas cap.
As soon as I’m finally finished battling the California Department of Motor Vehicles to get my registration sticker, I will direct my focus on obtaining, and installing, the parts I need to keep my MINI rolling, driving and stopping.
I discussed this during the show this week, but thought I would give a little more detail here.
Rear Sway Bar While I don’t have to replace this, I’m going to be there anyway replacing other things. It’s an inexpensive upgrade, and well worth it.
Upper Control Arms I thought about going adjustable, but I honestly don’t need that level of control over my suspension (yet). Factory units will be used.
Shocks Going with the Konis. Sure I thought about going coilovers, but money tree still isn’t doing that great and hasn’t produced a regular crop in years.
Springs Why Eibachs? Well, I have a set that I bought from an SCMM member a while back. I’m sure my springs are fine, but might as well finish the suspension mods right.
What I didn’t talk about I’m going to make a few calls to see what else I need to do to complete this. After some poking around, it would appear that the ball joint replacement can be done in the driveway with a ball joint fork, so I will probably be takling that as well.
If things go well, I hope to be starting this project shortly after MINI United. Before would be nice, but I’m trying to be realistic.
Can’t log-in with Facebook? I’m working on it and should have it fixed sometime this week. In the meantime, you can comment on Facebook.
Today was the day I picked to finish getting Roxy legal. To do that, I had to do 2 things. First was get an oil change, then to get a smog check.
Oil change happened without a hitch*. A bit spendy, but about 1/2 the price of the dealer, so I’m not going to complain.
Then on to the smog check. A local shop that I was able to drive right into and get it started. First on the rollers, then enter all the info into the computer, the sniffer in the tailpipe and the cable into the computer port under the dash. Up to 10MPH, then 25MPH where the tech held it for about a minute. After all that was done, he powered down my car and proceeded to check the gas cap using a very complicated looking apparatus hooked into the test rig. Mine [open air quote] passed [close air quote] this test too after…well, let’s just say it passed and leave it at that. However, if you are getting a check engine light and you’re MINI is up in miles, this would be a good place to start checking.
Only thing left is to wait for the DMV to pull their heads out of their collective asses and acknowledge the fact that I am, again, an insured motorist. When I called late this afternoon, they still did not show my paper work being faxed over, so I have to check back in the morning.
All this just to get tags. Ugh.
*Next time I’m going to save another 50% and do it myself. It looks easy enough after I procure a 36mm socket
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It’s been going for about a year and I can’t help but wonder how I missed it, but I was just checking out my wish list at Outmotoring again and discovered that Aaron started a blog! Cool pics? Check. Tips? Check. Home Theater? Check. Everything you could want in a blog and more!
Don’t forget, you can also follow OutMotoring on Facebook. But you probably already knew that, too.
Starting the process of making my MINI road worthy again starts with a trip to my local Department of Motor Vehicles. If I’m honest, I am the world’s biggest fuck up. My tags have been expired for a few months because I was without insurance. You try living on less than $500 per month for a year and see how it affects you.
Anyway, called the insurance company to get coverage started again so I can get my registration current so I can send that back to my insurance company. You might want to keep notes, this is going to get complicated.
Go to the DMV and pay my exorbitant fees, which contributed to the coffers of 2 different Southern California cities due to parking violations (because I had expired tags). It’s at this point they usually give you your receipt and send you to the window to get the current year sticker.
But.
Not only was my registration expired, it was also suspended due to lack of insurance. I am also due for a smog check (which I didn’t realize, but it makes sense). So, before I can get my tags I have to do the following.
- Fax proof-of-insurance to the DMV
- Wait 24-48 hours and call them back
- They will send me something that I can then take back to the local office within 72 hours
- Go back to my local office to show them what I got. They will then give me a temporary tag so I can drive my car to the smog shop*
- Smog my car, hope it passes with the airbag light on eventhough I know it won’t
- Get the airbag light turned off
- Re-smog my car to get the cert after the airbag gets turned off
- Go back to the DMV to get my current tags
Once again, proof that being an unemployed fuck-up doesn’t pay. By my calculations, this should take 2 weeks, maybe a month (depends on if I need to get the air bag light fixed). After that, hopefully I’ll be able to start picking up a few things from my wishlist
*I’m going to cheat and start on the smog this week. shhhh
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