Question: I sold my vehicle to a relative visiting from Texas, who then shipped it to Texas. I thought it was perfect timing since the registration was good until the end of March. I signed the title over to my sister-in-law on March 11. She went to the Ala Moana satellite city hall to transfer the title (normally $10) the next day. My sister-in-law had booked the car to be shipped on March 13 and had the paperwork to show this. However, the clerk told her she had to pay the full vehicle registration fee ($453 in cash or check) or they could not transfer the title. Why is the city charging the full fee when the vehicle will no longer be on our city/state roads? Can they get a refund? I do not think it was fair for my sister-in-law to have to pay the full registration fee and also pay to register the vehicle in Texas.
Answer: The fee is not refundable.
The state requires all motor vehicle registrations to be renewed within 45 days prior to the expiration of the registration, said Dennis Kamimura, administrator of the city Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division. With the exception of processing duplicate certificate transactions, all motor vehicle transactions require payment for the upcoming registration period, he said.
However, he said your sister-in-law did have the option of shipping the vehicle to Texas without recording the transfer of ownership and, thus, not paying the Hawaii registration fee.
The ownership transfer then could have been recorded in Texas using an endorsed Hawaii Certificate of Title.
Kamimura said that Section 286-57 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes requires shipping companies to have anyone shipping a vehicle out of state produce a certificate of title and current certificate of registration showing that the person is the legal owner of the vehicle.
“Showing the certificate of title with the recorded owner releasing ownership of the vehicle and (your) sister-in-law signing the certificate of title should have been acceptable for providing such proof,” he said.
If the shipping company wanted further proof, you could have satisfied this requirement by writing a letter or accompanying your sister-in-law to the shipping company, he said.
Kamimura said that option should have been explained to your sister-in-law. “However, it also depends upon what the shipping company may have instructed” her, he said.
Meanwhile, depending on what the policy is in Texas, your sister-in-law may not have to pay additional fees.
“Some jurisdictions, like Hawaii, recognize the payment of taxes and fees of newly arrived vehicles in the state for the registration period that had been paid in the other jurisdiction,” Kamimura said.
Question: Our no-fault insurance card is laminated. When my wife took her vehicle in for a safety inspection recently, she was informed that in the future, laminated no-fault insurance cards will not be accepted. The next day I took my vehicle to the facility to be inspected, and no mention was made of the laminated card. Is there a new state policy or safety inspection station policy regarding this?
Answer: No.
There is no state law or rule prohibiting lamination of no-fault cards, according to the state Insurance Division and the city Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division.
We’re told a memo to this effect was sent by the city to all safety inspection stations.
Mahalo
To Guy Yamashiro, manager of the Kaneohe Longs Drugs. My 87-year-old mother did not realize she had left her keys in the car when she went shopping at Longs. When she got back, she not only found her keys in the car, but also the engine running! Guy Yamashiro stopped on his way in to work, offering to take my mother home to get her extra set of keys and bring her back. Although very embarrassed, she wants to express her heartfelt “mahalo” to him for going out of his way to help her. — Grateful
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
