Titling MV in NJ

I just got my M932A2 from GL and wondering if NJ requires a SF97 or not to title the vehicle. I've heard and seen several different stories but I'm looking for someone's personal experience.
Thanks for the help.

File for the SF-97 , Then GL will send you a Florida title, which can then be transfered at the local DMV, In NJ it is the only way.

Thank you very much!!!

New jersey only !!!

I didn't start this thread, and I don't know if there are redundant threads already started,I have searched for NJ Specific and not found much. I have registered and insured, crashed, bought, sold and been ticketed here my whole life, and I can say one thing for sure, Nothing is consistant at the various DMV's. The fact that NJ is one of the states that will not accept an SF97 and GL has to produce a title is only one example.
I would be interested in the various ways members Title, register and insure MV's. IN NEW JERSEY ONLY. Yes... That New Jersey the one with the highest concentration of people and the car theft capitol of the country.
Interesting topics would be...
How did your DMV deal with the vin numbers?
Do you know of a DMV that is Military vehicle Friendly?
Insurance Insurance Insurance ??? Companies are boycotting this state every day. Lets find the last few who will bestow the precious card that enables us.
Registration...Historic ( QQ now that is New Joisy!), Commercial, Farm? M923 registered as a pickup truck?
Altered MV's, Bobbed?, Tractor registration with a dropside bed instead of a fifth wheel?
Pictures have to match for insurance and registration, If your going Historic.
Has anyone really ever gotten the weight changed on a NJ Title?
Tricks Tips and Cheats welcome.
PLEASE New Jersey ONLY

Well, I have titled about 5 trucks and three trailers, all military surplus , with the GL florida titles, at Flemington NJ DMV. On route 202 southbound side by the inspection facility.

I called Motor Vehicles and was told to complete a "S-7" form and send that along with a pencil tracing of the VIN/serial number to the Trenton office with a $60 check to obtain a title. I'm waiting to see what GL sends me before I request a title. I'll see what happens.

Thanks FormerNewMVGuy,
How did you register your trucks? Historic,Commercial,or Farm? And if its not too personal could you name your insurance company?
Thanks

Turbo did you follow the instructions on your Gov.Liquidation invoice page?
You have to go to forms and fill out an SF97 online and submit it to GL as per the invoice number of your purchase. GL will bill your card on file for $60.00, and then they will send you either a Arizona or Florida title. That is what you will take to NJ DMV. Good Luck Please let us know how you make out.

I am Glad that we have some reply's. I think the question of specific New Jersey issues is still unanswered for me.
YES !!! we all find a way, Our truck gets registered and we have a paper that says we have coverage.
But the more research I do the more inconsistancies I find in New Jersey Law.

Commercial means Commercial...Unless you are making a profit by using your truck for a business why register it commercial? You then might need a CDL to drive it. I recently read a thread in which someone warned that the laws are more severe for CDL holders in certain situations. Also the roads you can drive and even park on are limited. Anyone have any experiences with this?

Historic or Not Historic? This form of registration seems to be the way most NJ MV owners go, by default.(inexpensive registration and insurance) But the restrictions are extreme. and im sure most of us are exceeding them most of the time.
Its one thing to make your case with the officer at the side of the road and come away without a ticket.
But what if one has an accident outside the Historic parameters? Has anyone had any experiences with this? Are there any NJ members who are lawyers or work for insurance companies? Help us out!

Then there are the unusual stories, 5 ton and up MV's registered as Pickup trucks or RV's, GVWR lowered, How did you manage that???
Again I have serched this many times, and it always seems to get taken over by other states.
Lets really do the Garden State the right way, safely and within the Law.
So I ask again, stand up and be counted.
How is your MV titled and registered in NJ?
Who is your insurance company? And more importantly Are they curently writing policies for new insurers? And please feel free to include rates if you wish.
What type of Drivers Lic. do you posess? Any plans of upgrading to accommodate your MV ?
Again I apologize if this seems redundant, I was unable to find a definitive answer to these questions with all my searches. And most answers are outdated. The list of Insurance companies is declining every day!
My personal goals are to be able to drive where I want when I want Fully insured and legally registered.
Not as easy as you might imagine in my beloved State. Whats your story?

I own many trucks, So the military ones are historic only, My Insurance co. Is Condon & Skelly, No garage for the trucks either, I sometimes use the deuce for wood , or winching trees,
But i live off the beaten path, and havent had any problems, But regardless, is a violation of my insurance coverage.
I do have a couple commercial civi trucks, so mostly use them for my work .

Thanks for following up FormerNewMVGuy. I dont think your use of historic vehicles is the worst misuse of insurance policy regulations. But I will say that when I contacted Condon and Skelly on 08/29/2012, I was told "no new military policys" Luckily they referred me to Gulfway in Florida.
This is just the kind of thing I am referring to . What worked last year has changed for New Jersey.
I am waiting for TurboMustangs story, Correct me if I'm wrong but his A2 probably Is not eligible for historic registration. Keep us posted buddy.
And to the other 133 members who viewed Come on Tell us your story !
help us through the NJ "Hornets Nest of Bureaucracy"

1980 M35A2 registered as a historic vehicle QQ plates - bought privately title transfer had to provide pictures to DMV. Done through Trenton DMV in person was in and out in 15 minutes
1980 M813A1 registered as a historic vehicle QQ plates. SF97 - Arizona title. Received 30 days after application. Plates picked up at Wayne, NJ DMV. Took pictures with me. 30 minutes in person
1995 M109A4 registered commercial. Too new for historic plates. Paid $60 had Arizona title in less than 30 days. Went to first DMV in Oakland, NJ said I can't register a military vehicle with six digit VIN at their location. Left there and called Trenton DMV 800 phone number and they told me Oakland should have registered my vehicle and that they were wrong and said I should have spoken to a supervisor and I should go back there and tell them they were wrong! Problem is it was the supervisor who told me I couldn't register there. I don't think it was my job to go back and tell them they were wrong.

Drove down to Wayne, NJ DMV showed them my title gave them a vehicle weight to apply to the title, and showed them the data plate I unscrewed and brought with me. They looked up the truck on the internet. 20 minutes later had my title and plates. Only problem is that three historic vehicles cost about $280 annually to insure. M109 is insured commerical and cost $680 annually plus over $200 per year for registration. There is inconsistency between DMV offices and no matter how hard you try to tell people you've registered military vehicles in the past with short VINs some people shut themselves off and don't listen to reason. I mostly do parades and local events so historic plates is the way to go.

I see you bought a 900 series so it's newer and wouldn't qualify so you will end up paying the commerical rate for insurance and higher annual registration fee. It's hard to justify paying close to $1,000 to insure and register a truck that's a hobby vehicle but that's reality.

Thanks for your detailed post WWIILBird Your experiences reflect exactly what can happen.
Odd thing is that another member recently suggested that I would have a good experience in Oakland DMV. My guess is that after what happend to you, they have been tutored by Trenton.
Anyone else recently go to Oakland? You seem to have good luck in Wayne.
Thanks for some usefull Information !

I have purchased successfully registered and insured a couple of trucks and trailers in NJ. I have always gotten a title from Government Liquidation usually Florida or Arizona.

My first truck was a M920. It is old enough (1980) the DMV did not care about the non 17 digit VIN and issue me a standard NJ title. I registered it as a farm truck and the DMV arbitrarily changed my GVW to 80,000lbs from the 75,000 on the Florida title (probably just to squeeze another $20 of registration fees out of me). I have "Farmer" tags just like what would be on a pickup truck. I do not have a CDL so I operate under the exemption for farmers hauling his own equipment. When buying insurance I talked to the Progressive agent and explained it was a farm truck and never did any for hire hauling. My intial policy was "non commercial trucking" and was about $750/year. I purchased a lowboy trailer and tried to add that to the policy and learned I was not to tow anything and that policy was basically bobtail insurance for a driver who would be covered by an employer's policy when attached to a trailer under dispatch. Not exactly how the policy was described by the original agent. I upgraded the policy to what I believe is a full commercial policy with Progressive. When I went to renew my registration I found out I had to submit the annual 2290 heavy highway vehicle use tax even though I was exempt due to mileage and agriculture use. Not a big deal but another annoying thing about the big trucks.


I later bought a M35A3. Government Liquidation supplied me with a title with the exact information I put on the SF-97 form. My local DMV was very unhappy about a 1995 vehicle with a 6 digit VIN. After about 2 hours of wasted time and the DMV clerk stamping my Florida Title " NJ Title issued" and drawing all over it, the director of the local branch informed me they couldn't issue me a title and I had to take the Florida title, VIN rubbing, pictures of the vehicle... (all of which I had at the Salem branch) to the DMV offces on State St in Trenton. In Trenton I was informed by security that building did not service any customers any longer and had not for several months. "The branch director from Salem should have never told me to come there and I was in the wrong place." The DMV was on one of the upper levels and I could not get past security to the elevators. Luckily I had the written note from the director of the Salem branch with the building address I was in and the security guard, as confused as I was, called upstairs to the DMV office. Somehow, the woman the security guard reached on the phone was the same person the director from Salem had talked to (I guess that was my only luck.) That woman came down in the elevator looked at my documents and said "You already have a valid out of state title, they can do this at any DMV branch." I was not at a branch, but the central office so she gave me directions to leave that facility and walk to the local Trenton branch. After several hours waiting and enjoying the Trenton branch, I made my way to the clerk, she tried transfering the title at which point almost the entire branches computer system crashed. Not sure if it was my transaction that caused the demise of the computer system but the clerks seemed ready for the 15-20 minute break. I told the clerk of my ordeal thus far while the system was rebooting. Only to have it not work when she tried again. Without my advice she said let me try this and proceeded to try again adding 11 random spaces in the VIN and it worked. I got my title and registration and for some reason was not double taxed like sometimes happens with GL purchases. The unfortunate thing is I believe the only reason it worked was due to a creative clerk that took personal steps to defeat the DMV database controls. I have no faith the system would work in the future and personally would consider provoviding GL with a VIN with some leading or trailing zeros to make sure it is 17 digits when submitting a SF-97. Or never forget that all DMV clerks don't use their computers the same way and just keep trying different branches and clerks.

Insurance with Progressive Commercial has gotten crazy. Adding my brother as a driver and the M35A3 ballooned the premiums to $5400/yr in 2012 and $7200 for 2013. No claims, clean driving records, max deductibles and stated values of $5000 on each truck. I basically feel that Progressive does not want this policy. I am ready to hunt around for other insurance options but really need to stay completely legal. I tried a lot of insurance companies before Progressive commercial wrote the policy and don't necessarily want to burn that bridge yet. The Insurance cost is a really big nut to chew considering how little I drive the trucks, but paying someone to haul equipmemt on a lowboy adds up fast too and you are stuck working on their schedule. I feel like if there is any dishonesty or vagueness when obtaining insurance, the insurance won't be worth anything when you need it. If anyone has any good insurance carrier advice I would love to hear it even if I could get a competitive quote to use as leverage with Progressive.

WOW micochico ! That is about the most horrendous experience I have ever heard!
All the more reason to continue this thread, hopefully we can find some economical solutions to legally register and fully insure our vehicles in the Garden State.
Any Lawyers,or insurance agents here ? We would like to hear your opinion.

I have only registered MV's that Ibought with valid titles. Del,NJ. PA nd NY. Tenn. In the las couple years, The DMV ahs swithched their reqirement to travel all the way to Trenton to register a HMV. We can now do it at our local office. I've been using the office In Springfield, NJ. However a word of caution about that office. While it seems that mos of the clerks have taken some kind of customer service classes and they have been generally cooperative, They can quickly become disagreable. It is bes to have all the ins papers, pictures and your license in hand as wellas your check book at the ready and clearly visible. ( It indicates to them that you may be prepared and puts them in a better mood. Wehn one encounters a problem, calmly collect up all your papers and exit the facillity and hunt up another one. I use Condon Skelly for my insurance and it seems I have been grandfathered in to their program. I sent others to that company only to have them informed that they no longer insure big trucks. I will be transfering a title and resistrations from one set of plates to another M54 and I'm in a sweat as to wether the insurance co or DMV is gonna screw with me more.
I can't register my trucks in NY cause I don't want to drop my NJ Driver licsense at this time. besides NY appears to be much more expensive. even if I resgister them as farm vehicles. I see no reason not to be a s sneaky and dishonest as one needs to be to defeat the DMV and the Ins Companies in NJ. Just drive very carefully and hope you never need to put in a claim. They won't pay diddly any way.

UPDATE:

I'm registered and insured. Took about 45 minutes on the phone with insurance company and 20 minutes at Motor Vehicles. I'm happy!

Insurance:
I called several insurance companies and writers that are local (Central NJ) who could not help me. I called Progressive under the suggestion of a fellow SS member. Progressive stated they could not insure the vehicle so I asked to speak with a supervisor. Supervisor gets on the phone and refers me to Progressive Commercial Insurance and transfers me. The lady that answers for Progressive Comm Ins. could not have been any nicer. She was very pleasant and willing to listen to my requests and willing to work with me (I'm VERY difficult, ask my g/f). So she confirms a few things with me and her supervisor and suggests "Commercial Insurance for non-commercial purposes/farm use". Sounds great to me. I pay with Visa and she provided me a policy number.

Registration:
I take a ride to motor vehicles with the policy number Progressive Comm. Ins. provided me with and hope for the best. I get the paper work to complete and stand in line. The lady calls me, looks over the AZ title GL mailed me and asks "What's a BMY?" I thought to myself, ****, time to go home. I explain in broad terms, its a former military truck, like a big lumber store delivery vehicle. We go back and forth, question and answer with her supervisor for a few minutes and she hands me a pair of license plate, registration card and NJ title. No problems. Its registered as a Pass-Comm Fee 15.

Thank you to all the folks who responded and especially to BillaBong and Dipstick for all the help.

I asked a question in the north east chapter about how NJ owners registered and insured their M923's and 5 tons as id like to do a bobbed 923.

For other future NJ new owners here is how i did my '66 M35A2 deuce bobber. First i found a truck with an existing title, specifically it was a PA truck and Pa does not list the # of axles like NJ does so i was in the clear when one was about to magically fall off. I took the title and paperwork to Oakland DMV and went through the regular registration process, said i wanted a normal 4x4 vehicle and to pay the additional GVW. Since i bobbed it, use it as a dump truck and a hardware store project truck i decided not to violate the QQ rules (could have easily just done QQ) and have a registration similar to my Nissan Frontier, i forget the code they go by. I registered it at 17,999lbs as for diesel there is the 10,000-17,999lb GVW self inspection and anything above 18,000lbs you need to get inspected for emissions/opacity of the exhaust. The guy i had at the DMV really did not care what i was registering, i just told him its a former military 4x4 jeep and he did not ask any more questions. Thought i was busted a few times as he kept messing up one thing or another just hoping he would not ask any more questions like what a Jeep M35 4x4 looks like, after printing 2 titles that were wrong i thought he had it right and left, get in the parking lot to read that my GVW was 1,799lbs and not 17,999lbs and had to go back and get that fixed. Overall took about 2 hours, typical DMV waiting and such.

Insurance is handled by our policy that does home, auto, and such, High Point Insurance. They said they would do anything with 2 axles and found my project quite amusing, so i got lucky that our existing policy is able to cover it, however its the normal we wont cover your truck damage wise but we will cover what ever else might happen. Its a little high at about $450 a year but for no restrictions of how i use it, store it or who drives it (i'm 22 and both my father and I drive it plus my g/f sometimes) its worth the additional cost in my opinion.

One thing that grinds my gears in NJ is their, "We dont care how old it is, where it comes from, what it looks like.. It better have a title if you want it registered." Seeing that many states do not do titles past 20 years makes a royal PITA and the DMV loves to just say no title no service. Out of state vehicles need a bill of sale, transferable registration or proof of a former registration, VIN etch, pictures of VIN and vehicle. Honestly it depends on the person working that you get, some like to help some do not at all. Personally, i try to be the nicest guy they have all day as many become a lot more helpful when they do not have someone talking back to them and yelling at them, and i also bring a folder of any relevant information that i might need which i stated above. Sometimes it helps to have additional information but DO NOT give them more than they request as you can easily talk yourself into a no go.
Hope this helps any future NJ owners

What was the wait time from gl for that paperwork vs the nj paperwork and how was registering it since nj has that 10 day limitation on titling

aheilmann68 said:

What was the wait time from gl for that paperwork vs the nj paperwork and how was registering it since nj has that 10 day limitation on titling

Click to expand...

When I submitted my paperwork to GL it took approx. 6 weeks. I just submitted paperwork to GL again for another truck.
NJ DMV took 20 minutes to issue title. No issues. I have never had an issue with DMV enforcing the 10 titleing requirement.