Missouri has be a bit steamed right now.
So, I recently moved here - I'm settled in and started working, so I figured it's about time that I get a Missouri drivers license and register my car here.
The drivers license was no problem. Aside from the rude clerk, all I needed was a passport, my old drivers license, and my SSN. They even transfered my motorcycle permit without any trouble.
So, I take my documents over to the registration counter. When I get to the desk, the lady politely informs me that I will need to get a tax receipt from the county collections office, and I will need to have a safety inspection preformed on my car. She says "everywhere does inspection, like a Midas or Jiffy Lube".
So I call the county collections office to find out what paperwork I need to file, and what I'll need to bring. Apparently, I have to bring documentation (old utility bills are preferred) going back
two years that proves I was not a Missouri resident. If I can't prove that I didn't live here, I will be charged two years of back taxes.
I'm pretty pissed off at this point, because I burned all my utility bills older then one year before I moved. I didn't see the point of dragging that crap around. Eventually, I did find an old bank statement from mid-2006. I got off work early one day and drove to the collections office. It didn't cost anything, all I had to do is show them the date and address of my old bank statement.
On to the safety inspection. I went to about
6 different car chains before I found one that had a shop which preformed safety inspections. No Midas, Jiffy Lube, Nationwide CarCare, or several others did it. One Firestone shop in the city does preform it, and the guy told me I'd have to drop it off.
So I go by last Sunday - but the guy who does inspections was out - drinking and watching the super bowl. Whatever, I don't expect places to be open 7 days a week. So I go back yesterday. They take my info and say "We will call your cell phone when it's done. It will take 4 hours."
Sigh.
I come back
five and a half hours later and ask about the car. The manager comes out and explains that he's very sorry, but my car wasn't done - the paperwork wasn't filed right and no one ever preformed the inspection. But, he will give me a free oil change, and get the car in the shop right then. Okay, whatever; mistakes happen.
Twenty minutes go by and then the mechanic comes into the waiting area. "I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that your car is done. The bad news is that it failed."
Problems:
- One bulb in one side of tail light out.
- Front lower ball joints have too much play
- Bad rear wheel bearing, passengers side
Cost to repair: $350 after a 25% discount (since they forgot about the car)
Now I'm going to do the work myself. Parts were about $85, and will be in on Monday. I have no quarrel with the wheel bearing - I was surprised how much play it had developed in the 6 months since I last checked it. The ball joints? Eh, a ball joint separation at 70mph isn't pretty, but they didn't have THAT much play in them.
The best part? If I don't get the work done in 20 days, I get fined. And if I don't register my car within 30 days of getting the tax receipt, I have to get a new one, and get fined.
My fiancee doesn't have any documentation that she lived out of state for the last two years. We're debating whether it would be cheaper to pay back taxes, or for me to "buy" her car for $1 and have it re-titled.
Aaaannnddd... to top it off, I got my natural gas bill. Apparently there is a $12/month "customer charge". $12 a month for the privilege to have gas service. That's $150 a year even if I use no natural gas. Great.
So; how's your day going?
