What state is best to own and drive a classic car in?

[kfle]

Hagerty released this article that ranked all 50 states on how friendly to own and drive a classic car they are.  Interesting read.

 

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/07/18/how-classic-car-friendly-is-your-state?sf105513543=1&fbclid=IwAR3aVjqKHJHA0Iej5O1UQ_EsK1Yb6jerFquKszlV5tc7R5kvkk3EcHi2MUA

 

Do you agree with your state's ranking?

Edited July 22, 2019 by kfle (see edit history)

[Guest]

While we certainly have our share of issues here in California, classic cars don't seem to pose much problem And in SoCal we almost never have to worry about inclement weather.

DMV and insurance rates are not prohibitive either.

The only reason I stay is for the sunshine and ultra low humidity!

[kfle]

1 minute ago, GregLaR said:

While we certainly have our share of issues here in California, classic cars don't seem to pose much problem And in SoCal we almost never have to worry about inclement weather.

DMV and insurance rates are not prohibitive either.

The only reason I stay is for the sunshine and ultra low humidity!

I was surprised that California was ranked number 49 as the 2nd worse state to own one!

[mercer09]

NJ is one of the best. no inspection-a one time registration fee that is good forever and the cops dont bother you.

[Lebowski]

1 hour ago, kfle said:

I was surprised that California was ranked number 49 as the 2nd worse state to own one!

 

Have you ever been to a California DMV? There were lots and lots of very long lines when I lived there from 1977-98. Plus you had to get a smog certificate too and a lot of old cars wouldn't pass the test. I have a brother who still lives out there and he's says it's still terrible....

[Lebowski]

Kentucky is #2. How cool is that? No smog certificates or vehicle inspections plus antique car plates never expire. What's the annual fee you ask? Would you believe 68 cents? That's right-68 cents. And you can drive with them on your car all year long without getting hassled by the cops. Way to go Kentucky!!! 

 

I forgot to mention that all old cars are considered to have a value of $100 in Kentucky so the total tax is $6. I bought a '70 Chevelle SS396 in 2017 for $51k and I wasn't even asked what I paid for it. The total cost of the antique plates was $85. If I lived in California and told them I paid $51k for it I would have had to pay over $5k for plates.... 

Edited July 23, 2019 by Lebowski (see edit history)

[Ronnie]

I think a ranking of 45 for Tennessee is a bunch of bull.  They give TN a grade of 0 for Safety Inspections. I have lived in TN all my life and have never needed to get any kind of inspections done, safety or otherwise, for any car that I've owned, old or new. I think some of the larger cites have inspections but do you give the whole state a grade of 0 because of that?

 

A grade of 50 is ridiculous for registering an antique car as is a grade of 0 for requiring a car to have a title. You pay a one time fee for registering  your antique car and there is no more registering the car for as long as you own it. There are some restrictions on driving but isn't that the way it should be for a classic car? Otherwise it would be a daily driver that should require an annual fee.  Without fees on daily drivers how else are we going to pay for our excellent roads.

[ply33]

4 hours ago, GregLaR said:

While we certainly have our share of issues here in California, classic cars don't seem to pose much problem And in SoCal we almost never have to worry about inclement weather.

DMV and insurance rates are not prohibitive either.

The only reason I stay is for the sunshine and ultra low humidity!

 

4 hours ago, kfle said:

I was surprised that California was ranked number 49 as the 2nd worse state to own one!

 

California is a big state and I think the last two items in their chart, "Road Quality" and "Traffic" depend greatly on where you are. Once you are away from the LA metroplex there is pretty easy access to great touring roads that have low traffic and good quality. This point was driven home to me when I moved from the SF Bay Area (known for horrible commutes) where I could be on a nice back country road in the Santa Cruz Mountains in about 15 minutes. Or, fighting the SF or East Bay, I could be in Marin County or the San Joaquin Valley which had great roads (totally different types) in relatively short order. Now that I'm near the coast in the LA metro area it is a couple of hours slog through horrible traffic to get to nice touring roads. So I'd personally rate LA far lower than the SF Bay area even though they are in the same state. Areas a little inland from LA like Palm Springs, Temecula, Escondido, etc. have good access to nice roads that are less traveled too.

 

2 hours ago, Lebowski said:

 

Have you ever been to a California DMV? There were lots and lots of very long lines when I lived there from 1977-98. Plus you had to get a smog certificate too and a lot of old cars wouldn't pass the test. I have a brother who still lives out there and he's says it's still terrible....

 

I guess I consider any car that needs to be smogged a new car.

 

The DMV is a real pain in the arse but I've only had to go there twice in the last 30 years. Once to get YOM tags for my Plymouth and the other more recent time to deal with the Real ID mess. I guess if you are buying and selling cars a lot it would be a bigger deal than it is for me.

[mike6024]

I can drive straight out to the coast and I will, or could, use the same roads used in the Hitchcock movie "The Birds" winding through hills or along the coastline. Driving around my local town or the freeway, on the other hand, is joyless, flat, traffic congested.

 

We have a 9.5% sales tax which applies to used car purchases as well. So if I bought a classic car for $20k there would be $2k tax plus lots of DMV fees for title transfer registration.

 

[marcapra]

Smog certificate in California?  I've never had to get a smog certificate for my 48 DeSoto.  I think cars older than a certain year are exempted.  I forgot what that year is.  Maybe 1970?  

[Grimy]

36 minutes ago, marcapra said:

Smog certificate in California?  I've never had to get a smog certificate for my 48 DeSoto.  I think cars older than a certain year are exempted.  I forgot what that year is.  Maybe 1970?  

1976 and newer cars and light trucks require biennial smog tests and certifications, but the law allows a reach-back to about 1967 or 1968 if a geographic area's smog reaches a certain level.  To my knowledge, that provision has never been invoked.  There WAS a rolling 30-year exemption (i.e., 30 yrs old does not require smog tests) until about 2006, when the "rolling 30" was revoked. 

 

Drat!  I had a gray-market 1981 MBz 280SL with 1983 Californication mods which barely passed every year, and I was hanging on hoping for the rolling 30 which would have occurred in 2011--but that got done away with....

[Guest]

Yeah, I don't know why they hit California so hard on that list. As Ply33 said, it's a pretty big state at 850 miles from end to end, so it's difficult to compare it all as one encompassing area. No safety inspections, ever. And, as mentioned, no smog unless your car is 1976 or newer. Also DMV is a place you NEVER have to visit unless you're registering YOM plates or renewing your DL. Most know better and go to their local Triple A for 99% of the DMV related stuff. Plus you pay tax only on declared sale price, not on any "price guides" like some other states force buyers to do. Now THAT is down right criminal.

Edited July 23, 2019 by GregLaR (see edit history)

[edinmass]

Mass was the worst........AND add in costs for a tow rig and trailer.....it’s asinine. Moving out saved me 3k a year in registration fees, inspection fees, and excise tax. I don’t miss it. 

[Restorer32]

I was going to say "state of despair".

[charlier]

Based on comments posted about this ranking on the Hagerty web site, it appears that a number of people pointed out a number of flaws and inconsistencies with how the rankings were determined. Not a big surprise I suppose.

[MCHinson]

They obviously misread the North Carolina General Statues. They say that antique vehicles are required to have a safety inspection in NC. Cars that are 35 years old or older are exempt from inspection in NC. There is also a bill currently pending to change the definition of antique automobiles from 35 years old to 25 years old in NC. That other 100 points would have made NC come in closer to where it should have been on their ranking. They also counted against NC for having property taxes on antique cars. They apparently did not have a way of giving any points for the $500 cap on valuation for computing property tax on antique vehicles in NC.

 

Any survey like this is bound to have errors and gray areas that don't compare well with other states. I think it is best to not be too concerned about this type of ranking.  

[John348]

NYS is listed as a "0" for safety check and every car must have a safety check, which living in Florida 1/2 the year that does not have safety checks, I have seen some pretty shaky stuff driving around the sunshine state that SHOULD not be on the road anywhere and posses a danger to pedestrians, drivers new cars and our cherished pieces of history. While we keep up on our vehicles there is a large portion of Americans  that treat their car like a refrigerator on wheels, looking to avoid any expense, fix it with duct tape to hope to get another year out of it.... 

They list the roads in NYS as Fair? I am hitting the same potholes for 25 years, and a lot them!  

[Graham Man]

[JV Puleo]

I think that list says more about Haggerty's definition of "classic" than it does about the headaches of owning an old car. I reading it over, most of the issues concern what are, to me at least, modern cars - just older ones.

[mercer09]

Most know better and go to their local Triple A for 99% of the DMV related stuff

 

I was on the phone with someone last night from Cali and they said this is no more.

 

can you update if that is true?????????????????????

[Grimy]

4 minutes ago, mercer09 said:

Most know better and go to their local Triple A for 99% of the DMV related stuff

 

I was on the phone with someone last night from Cali and they said this is no more.

 

can you update if that is true?????????????????????

I use AAA for transfer IF the car is currently registered, and most recently used them to get Horseless Carriage plates to replace YOM.  (WHAT?  Well, with YOM plates you pay the full ad valorem every year based on your sworn purchase price vs. a flat $2 ad valorem for HC and Historic Vehicle (HV--post 1922) plates.)  One that car, my most expensive one by far, one year's registration would have been $959 if I kept the YOM plates vs. $103 with HC plates.  (I do run the YOM plates for certain tours, though.)  For difficult issues, sadly you have to go to DMV.  I've learned for the sake of my blood pressure and mental health to use an expediter and pay their fee, rather than undergo the DMV colonoscopy-without-anesthesia.

 

The DMV employees in the AAA offices are MUCH nicer to deal with than those in the DMV field offices, and are probably selected partially on the basis of their PR skills.

[John_S_in_Penna]

For Hagerty's ranking of "Road Quality and Traffic,"

they use U. S. News and World Report's rankings.

Those rankings judge "commute time, road quality,

bridge quality, and public transit usage."

Those rankings may be fine for everyday commuting,

but they're not a good measure for driving antique cars.

 

A state will rank high if it has plenty of wide,

multi-lane highways to accommodate urban traffic.

It will rank high if the bridges are new and wide and

accommodate high speeds and tractor-trailer weight limits.

 

But Pennsylvania and other rural states also have plenty of

winding, narrow roads.  Some bridges might date from the

Civil War or be picturesque trusses from 1900 and not

accommodate tractor trailer loads.  Not everyone wants

to zoom at 65 m.p.h. every time he goes on an outing!

Such relaxing, peaceful scenery makes it especially

enjoyable to meander through the fields and woods,

driving an old car.

 

When driving our cars, we want the exact OPPOSITE of the

wide, fast roads that those rankings favor!

 

 

Edited July 23, 2019 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[Pfeil]

9 hours ago, Grimy said:

1976 and newer cars and light trucks require biennial smog tests and certifications, but the law allows a reach-back to about 1967 or 1968 if a geographic area's smog reaches a certain level.  To my knowledge, that provision has never been invoked.  There WAS a rolling 30-year exemption (i.e., 30 yrs old does not require smog tests) until about 2006, when the "rolling 30" was revoked. 

 

Drat!  I had a gray-market 1981 MBz 280SL with 1983 Californication mods which barely passed every year, and I was hanging on hoping for the rolling 30 which would have occurred in 2011--but that got done away with....

California; no emission testing of cars before 1975, However vehicles with exhaust emission controls ( 1966-1975 ) must have all their emission controls on the vehicle and in working order because the state can bring those vehicle back into the emission testing program ( actually technically they are in the program, but are inactive ) at any time without a state referendum. A few ways they can be brought into activity are California Air resources  board, Bureau of Automotive repair, AQMD ( air quality management district ). So if air quality gets worse, or California can't meet it's self imposed Carbon offset requirements then the cars of 1966-1975 can be brought back into the system at anytime.

California roads are terrible and is growing worse by the day because road highway taxes and gas taxes have been diverted for other needs ( like the Fed has done with Social Security), uninsured motorist problem is huge, driver competency is terrible and exacerbated by the uninsured people on the road.

 

California registration example; When I moved from California to Arizona I brought five antique cars and two daily drivers. The newest of my cars at the time was a 2012. That 2012 car in California for one year cost me more than the same 2012 car in Arizona plus the other  six cars combined and get this.....ALL registered for FIVE years.

FYI; in Arizona they emission test back to 1967, however certain counties are exempt and also cars with historical, or antique  plates, are exempt from testing.  

[Xander Wildeisen]

I like that there are two #11's, and no #9. Nice to know Idaho has a friend/partner on this list. I would love to see another one done on the best State to own a business in? Anybody want to do that list? Anyone? Bueller, Bueller, Bueller.

 

[Ronnie]

55 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

When driving our cars, we want the exact OPPOSITE of the

wide, fast roads that those rankings favor!

 

Amen. This is the kind of roads I like for my old cars. We have a lot of really good roads like this in Tennessee.

 

[Terry Bond]

I hope it wasn't Hagerty's accounting department that digested the stats for this report!   I don't think they very carefully read the detail of the VA statute re driving restrictions.  We're free to drive our properly licensed antiques for occasional pleasure use.  I'd also add that it seems when they evaluated roads, they were in rush-hour traffic on I-95 going through Washington DC.  Unfortunately Northern Virginia is always what gets the attention for things like this.  There are enough winding country roads here to keep our MGs happy for a long-time to come.  There are plenty more to be straightened out.

Happy in Va.

Terry

[Guest]

1 hour ago, mercer09 said:

Most know better and go to their local Triple A for 99% of the DMV related stuff

 

I was on the phone with someone last night from Cali and they said this is no more.

 

can you update if that is true?????????????????????

Hmmmm?

I have no idea why they would tell you this. I deal with my local AAA office regularly without issue.

Greg

[46 woodie]

Although New York is ranked 35, Long Island should be counted and ranked separately. Road conditions on L.I. are horrible, just getting off L.I. can take a couple of hours, in standstill or bumper to bumper, 5 mph traffic. Breakdown on the side of one of these roads and you are in serious trouble, the wait for assistance can take hours. Then you have the tolls to get off the Island. I think the Verrazano Bridge is up to $19, just to cross it. Also, the D.M.V. regulations for N.Y. are different for L.I. and the 5 boroughs of NYC. Trying to register an antique car thru the DMV on Long Island can be a nightmare. I have actually been to three different DMV offices, on the same day and received three different requirements to register an antique car.

[TexRiv_63]

I have no experience with other states but I don't agree with their rating for Texas. You can get an Antique registration good for 5 years for any car over 25 years old with no inspection required. Yes there are restrictions on use but I have never been pulled over - anyone scamming the system and using an antique plated car as a daily should be ticketed. Where we live north of Dallas is still on the edge of rural areas with very nice backroad drives nearby but admittedly the sprawl is catching up. Coming from Illinois originally I love being able to drive my cars year round although the summer heat can be restrictive unless you keep the air conditioners operating.

[mercer09]

Tex, I was told chips needs to come out and inspect antiques. That has just happened in the last couple of years. Is that only new registrations on antiques?

[Marty Roth]

On 7/23/2019 at 6:23 AM, charlier said:

Based on comments posted about this ranking on the Hagerty web site, it appears that a number of people pointed out a number of flaws and inconsistencies with how the rankings were determined. Not a big surprise I suppose.

 

I noted errors in their review of Louisiana,

We're far better off than they claim,

and now our sales tax is limited to the first 10K value of the antique vehicle

One-time registration - permanent plate for $25 - make it personalized for an extra one-time $50

No inspection if licensed as an antique

Many other benefits

Drive year-round

Thousands of miles of scenic backroads - many state-desinated as "SCENIC BYWAY"

A Louisiana Tour is a Crooked Line Between Eating Places

if you like to eat, you'll love Louisiana.

During an AACA Divisional Tour some years back, while visiting a sculpture garden, the next-door neighbor docked his skiff, unloaded, and invited all tour participants to share in the hundreds of pounds of shrimp he had just caught and was cooking - typical Cajun Hospitality !!

Edited July 27, 2019 by Marty Roth
typo (see edit history)

[erichill]

I live in Georgia and recently registered a 1931 Speedster I purchased.  $32 for a title and a whopping $1 for tax. Gotta love that!

[zeke01]

The best state to own an antique car in is a state of extasy. Zeke01 

[John348]

4 hours ago, 46 woodie said:

Although New York is ranked 35, Long Island should be counted and ranked separately. Road conditions on L.I. are horrible, just getting off L.I. can take a couple of hours, in standstill or bumper to bumper, 5 mph traffic. Breakdown on the side of one of these roads and you are in serious trouble, the wait for assistance can take hours. Then you have the tolls to get off the Island. I think the Verrazano Bridge is up to $19, just to cross it. Also, the D.M.V. regulations for N.Y. are different for L.I. and the 5 boroughs of NYC. Trying to register an antique car thru the DMV on Long Island can be a nightmare. I have actually been to three different DMV offices, on the same day and received three different requirements to register an antique car.

 

COULD NOT AGREE MORE! It not just Long Island It is the lower 10 Counties of NY. $19 toll without a trailer, $38 with, plus the Throgs Neck or the Whitestone Bridge tolls. It is over crowded on roads built in the 1930's and 1940's in need of major repair for the last 15 years, good thing we live in the top 10 taxed counties in the United State , that not including the tolls.

I had to go to Queens today, near Kennedy Airport maybe 20-25 miles, it took me 2 1/2  toady at 8AM because the Belt Parkway was flooded, in the same place it flooded since it was built in the early 50's

 

North Central Florida seems like a great place to have cars. 

Edited July 23, 2019 by John348 (see edit history)

[Lebowski]

6 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

I like that there are two #11's, and no #9. Nice to know Idaho has a friend/partner on this list. I would love to see another one done on the best State to own a business in? Anybody want to do that list? Anyone? Bueller, Bueller, Bueller.

 

Some states are tied with others which is why there are several with the same number....

[Buffalowed Bill]

I guess that Hagerty had to come up with a set of criteria for their discussion, but some of them seem more then a little bit arbitrary to me. I guess that I'm the most mystified by the lack of consideration of the quality of touring, instead of just the number of theoretical months that touring can be accomplished. Touring should be a pleasurable experience. When I see temperatures in the ninety degree range, and humidity about the same, that is not enjoyable to me. Theoretically I can do it, but if I lived in part of the country where I've experienced those conditions, I would not subject my car, or my old body to the abuse. Which weather would all of you rather tour in 95/90, or 75/35? 

 

I think that Hagerty takes a much broader view of what a "classic car" is then I do. Touring in a 1923 Pierce Arrow, in really hot weather, is a great deal different then, in my 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII, or an air-conditioned street rod. All probably fall within this umbrella, but it just is not the same.

 

 

Edited July 24, 2019 by Buffalowed Bill (see edit history)

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Some innacuracies with CT as well.  No annual inspections (yet) and not sure what they mean regarding notarized BOS, which has never been required, to my knowledge unless they mean a vehicle less than 20 years old.

 

Anyway, yeah middle of the road.  CT is a pain in a lot of areas, but the congestion and drivers are the biggest issue for our cars.

[Restorer32]

Pennsylvania is best cause it's close to Hershey.

[R Walling]

 It is possible to get a title for "undocumented cars" in Ma. by buying a bond and getting a "bonded Title".

 (At least in theory at the wile of the registry)

 

[Xander Wildeisen]

If a person has a business building/restoring classic cars. Does any State require a business license to do this?