Hobbyist plates, will it hurt value?

[clutch1]

My registration is due at the end of April, and I think I'd like to get hobbyist plates on my '95. It's $200 and the car's registered for as long as I own it (and I plan on owning it more than 3 year, after which time that fee will have paid for itself).

The car has non OEM ride height, which makes it not eligible to have collector plates (in WI, anyway), so hobbyist it is.

One interesting thing, though, is that to get the hobbyist plates, you send your title in along with pics, application, money, etc. You then receive a new title which is labeled as 'hobbyist' or something along those lines.

Will that hurt the value of the car? I'm not *that* worried about it, because I didn't buy it to sell, but I don't want to blacklist it like a salvage title would do, that kind of thing. Anyone have experience?

 

[nsxtasy]

Since it doesn't represent anything about the car's condition or history (unlike, say, a salvage title), and most other states don't even have such a thing, I can only believe it would have no effect on the car's value.

 

[RJD1022]

A non OEM ride height does not seem to disqualify you as long as the body was not altered.

http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/dmv/vehicles/title-plates/collector-plates.aspx
[TABLE="class: ms-rteTable-4, width: 100%"]
<tbody>[TR="class: ms-rteTableEvenRow-4"]
[TD="class: ms-rteTableEvenCol-4"]Lift kits/Lowering kits, wheels, tires[/TD]
[TD="class: ms-rteTableOddCol-4"]​No[/TD]
[TD="class: ms-rteTableEvenCol-4"]As long as the body wasn’t altered to accommodate larger wheels for lifts, or to accommodate wheels for lowering kits.[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

I would not like the title being branded as a Hobbyist title. If it was just on the plate, no biggie, but it seems that it is on the title.

 

[clutch1]

Ah jeez I think I read that whole collector plate page wrong.. Everything that said "No" I thought meant disqualified it for collector plates, as opposed to "no" meaning "no it's not an alteration".

It makes sense now why I thought it sounded totally backwards about what was 'allowed' and what 'wasn't'. I'm going to look into getting collector plates. Ah jeez, reading.

 

[Gthong]

don't let them mess with the title!!!
will love it when my 95 is 25 years old... today plates in michigan are 310.00!!! a year/// after 25 years.. collector plate at about 100.00 for 10 years
oh... and our insurance is outrageous "no n fault"

 

[clutch1]

We're good to go! I got the application in for my collector plates, so no re-branded title or anything, just a pair of blue plates. Hopefully they'll be here in time for the season.

 

[docjohn]

so in the end what does the hobbyist plate get you? a one time registration fee of 200, and then no more fees? In Pa that would take 5.5 years to pay for itself.

 

[clutch1]

Correct. In WI hobbyist or collector plates are both one time fees of $200 and never expire. Registration in WI is $75/yr, so in 3 years here it's paid for itself.

After the first vehicle the cost to register each subsequent vehicle is $150, so for a guy with a couple 20+ year old vehicles that he plans to keep for over 2-3 years it's worth it.

For my motorcycle when the registration becomes due again it'll only be $23, so that's a pretty solid deal.

 

[docjohn]

hmm in Pa it is 36 $/yr for registration...