[1qwikbird]

I have initiated the process with the NJ Motor Vehicle Commision to apply for Collector Status for my 1999 Firebird. (No laughing...) In NJ there are 2 types of antique/collector status. The first is the Historic or QQ tags. Car must be over 25yrs old, with heavy restrictions on when, where you drive.

The second is Collector tags for which the car must be at least 10yrs old but not greater than 25yrs old and you are limited to 3,000 miles annually, but you can drive anywhere, anytime. You then get to skip going through State Inspection (still responsible for self-inspection), but have to provide a letter from a car club or the vehicle manufacturer stating the vehicle has some element of collectibility (is that even a word?) or low production totals. So I call Pontiac and ask them to put together a letter with production numbers based on my VIN. Surprisingly, I got a nice letter from them (after a couple of tries) breaking down the #'s for my car based on engine and tranny. Turns out my car is pretty "rare" (not collectible rare, but not many made type rare). So I'm feeling pretty good about satisfying the NJ MVC requirement, but now I have to secure some type of collector insurance and this is where I am worried. I have no problem meeting the annual mileage requirement and can store the car in my garage, so none of that is a problem.

My hang-up is they all seem to mention racing. Now the only "racing" I do is autox events (SCCA mostly). My car is stock appearing from the outside, but I do have a 4pt bolt in bar, primarily to support the Kirkey Intermediate RR seats. How do I best handle this situation? I have no expectations of coverage while participating in an autox event. Anyone have experience dealing with this? I'd prefer to not lie on the application (that's grounds for fraud). Is autox seen as racing? One of the applications I have seen on line doesn't use the word racing, but instead uses "timed event"?

My main motivation for this is to save a few $, get better coverage (with an a stated value) and skip the whole state inspection crap (in NJ what a PITA it is). This year I failed for a gas cap????? I don't drive the car on a daily basis, don't drive it during the winter months (mid Nov to mid March) so it's not a big deal to comply, except the whole "racing" issue and when they ask for pictures and see the roll-bar......

Anyone been through this in NJ or other states?

Thanks
Chris

[slowTA]

All I can say is that I'm happy I was grandfathered when they changed it to this more restrictive nonsense.

If this helps, I have the car insured as a recreational use vehicle. So that means weekends, not for work, or to work on a regular basis. They ask for proof of insurance but I don't know of anything that specifically states 'collector' insurance. Go figure.

So what happens when the car passes the 25 year mark? Does it have to get QQ plates? Since it is grandfathered since before the new restrictions do I have to comply with that? All of my friends' old cars are QQ and FAR from stock. Can we assume that they're grandfathered too? This is such a mess.

Also mine failed for a gas cap before I registered it as a collector, the o-ring was all cracked up so it wont seal, vent toxic fumes....

This post has been edited by slowTA: Jan 21 2010, 12:20 AM

[1qwikbird]

All I can say is that I'm happy I was grandfathered when they changed it to this more restrictive nonsense.

If this helps, I have the car insured as a recreational use vehicle. So that means weekends, not for work, or to work on a regular basis. They ask for proof of insurance but I don't know of anything that specifically states 'collector' insurance. Go figure.

So what happens when the car passes the 25 year mark? Does it have to get QQ plates? Since it is grandfathered since before the new restrictions do I have to comply with that? All of my friends' old cars are QQ and FAR from stock. Can we assume that they're grandfathered too? This is such a mess.

Also mine failed for a gas cap before I registered it as a collector, the o-ring was all cracked up so it wont seal, vent toxic fumes....

Do you have collector status with the DMV (triangle sticker?) or just a recreational use insurance policy?

If you got the collector status (from the DMC/MVC) prior to 2007 (I think) then you can keep the status for as long as you own the car.

I have collector status on my 1970 Nova and am grandfathered in, so I am not forced into QQ tags even though the car is now 40years old. But if you obtained the collector status after 2007, then when the car hits 25 years old then yes they will force it into QQ status, which is very restrictive, but not often enforced. Who do you use for insurance if you don't mind me asking?

Chris