I never paid too close of an attention to my vehicle’s registration fees, because I always knew it was something I had to do, just like car insurance. I am 30 years old, and I have had 6 different cars in my life so far, all have been different makes and models and the registration fee for my cars have ranged anywhere between $80 to $130 a year. Recently my wife got a new job working for an auto manufacturer, one of the Big Three to be exact. With her new job, fortunately she was able to get a nice pay increase and she wanted to get a new car from that same OEM to support the company she works for.
After several trips to the dealerships, she finally decided to lease an SUV from this automaker, and it was not a cheap one at all. Now normally we try to be very careful with our spending, but every once in a while it is nice to splurge on something without feeling bad for it. We decided on a two year lease for her car which is definitely a “Luxury” type vehicle.
With my wife’s birthday around the corner, we got the registration renewal forms in the mail over the weekend and I almost dropped to the floor when I saw a registration fee of $226. I leased a 2008 Lincoln MKZ a few years back, a $30,000 car, and my fee was about $130, so how can it possibly be that much more for her vehicle. I decided to do some research on this and maybe shed some light on this topic since I’m not sure how many people are aware of this.
We live in Michigan, so I went on the secretary of state website and I was able to find a little bit of information. Now I know essentially what registration fees are for. They register your car to keep it in their system, incase a cop pulls up behind you they can pull up your record etc. I don’t disagree with the process or the reasoning for registering the vehicle. The secretary of state website in Michigan states clearly that the registration fee for a vehicle is calculated based on a percentage of the car’s Manufactured Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) and you would pay the highest registration fee the first year. The second and third years your fee would drop by 10% each year and then stay the same after that for the life of the vehicle. Looking into it a bit further, most of the states are the same, but the percentage collected is very different since they are dependent on state laws and regulations.
According to the Detroit News, state legislature is trying to increase registration fees yet again, in a way to collect revenue to fix the roads around the state. I was angry last night thinking about it, thinking to myself “Just another way for the government to get your hard earned income”. Although that may be true, this is another way for the government to tax the “rich” a higher amount. I don’t consider us rich, but our car is very nice and like I said earlier, we don’t splurge often but we decided to in this case. The more I thought about it today, the less angry I became and the more understanding.
When I was younger and made minimum wage I was all for taxing the rich a higher percentage than the middle and lower class folk, and as I grew older and had success in my profession I got away from that mentality more and more without even realizing it. Entering vehicle registration in the system at a secretary of state office isn’t more difficult if the car is worth more, but it is just another way to increase the state’s income by taxing the richer a much higher rate, which after all is said and done, I tend to agree with.
I would love some input on this topic. Anyone come across a registration fee that was just outrageous? I’m curious how much higher the rate is in states like New York or California.
$226 would be totally normal in California and for a luxury car you would pay much more here…I’ve only had two cars, my first car was a Jeep Grand Cherokee (bought used) and the registration ranged from $100-$170 each year. Cost of registration in CA doesn’t always go down each year, it can fluctuate. I bought a Mazda3 new in 2008 and my registration has been over $200 every year! I am hoping this year it will be just under $200.
wow, maybe I should not complain about the registration fee we just paid, I had an idea that it might be more expensive in other states. Thanks for stopping by
Why do they tax high ceiling of amounts for renewal of registration? Many people right now just choose to bean outlaw because of the price range of the fees to be paid.