Vanity plates

because I loved the Farside comics.

I have had the same plate number on both my vehicles since 1973. The numbers were my police unit number and my car has the letter M on it while the truck has an N. Everything else is the same except the last letter.

If I ever get one it will be RTFM, or FFS RTFM. I just can't bring myself to give the state a penny more than I absolutely have to. Standard plates are $151 here. It's an extra $123 first time around, then $13 annually (as of 2023) in addition to the $151 annual fee.

State of illinoise.

I wouldn't mind the cost of a vanity plate if it applied only to the initial purchase. But I refuse to even think about getting one since they are more expensive at each renewal.

Call me frugal.

I'm a railroad enthusiast and my home state of PA has a rich railroad history. I have a PA rail themed plate which honors that history.

It's a Grateful Dead tune, and my buddy said it's a deep cut so many won't get it. Another buddy said I'm really surprised no one in PA took that. Because it's gone in CA, NY, etc.

I was gonna put a Dead sticker on my car, but then I said, people can guess what it means, that's fine.

PA is one time fee only, so why not. I think some states charge more on a recurring basis.

If this were the case in PA, I wouldn't have gotten it. If I understand NJ, they charge a recurring fee on specialized plates which PA does not (sports, organizations, etc.), but like PA, a one time for a personalized plate is collected. NJ's fee is $50, and PA's is now $97?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mine was not that just earlier this year, I'll check for the exact number.

edit: I paid $85 in April. Looking back, what was I thinking

I just questioned myself and why I would have paid $85 back in April, one-time, when across the river it's $50, one-time.

$151 a year? Wow. Ours is now $50, and it used to be $37. They offer a 2 year renewal in PA, exactly 2X the cost. I always found that dumb. There's a new county local use fee. I thought the SCOTUS shot down such bogus fees classified under use.

BB KING

PA Law:

What's surprising to me is that most counties didn't jump on that right away, my county, Delaware County, didn't start charging it until recently.

It used to be $101 for a long time, then they raised it. The fat man in springfield always looking at ways to shore up the coffers. In some states (AZ?) renewal fees are based on year of vehicle, with a decrement each year.

If your vanity plate meaning is significant (to you), then it's worth the additional fee I suppose. I will definitely get something different once I move to a freer state.

Here's mine.

https://i.postimg.cc/wvJDDGN6/Jeep.png

If you go on Facebook you'll find The Far Side group. Funny as hell.

Phil

people like myself are very fortunate, live in PA and work in NJ, in that we only pay PA income tax, AND, my township charges 1% to those working in the township, so that we get some minimal amount off the property tax.

I paid such a 1% tax when I worked near the airport but in Delaware County up to 2010.

If it's going to be mismanaged, it's better to be low and mismanaged imho....

Forget which year but Christie tried to get PA residents to pay NJ state income tax which was nearly double, then he quietly abandoned the plan over a Thanksgiving holiday. Wasn't even in the news.

The only consolation is our school district has made serious strides over the past 15 years. It was once ranked in the 1000's, now getting closer to 500's....my wife said people are literally moving into the apartments to enroll in school, which apparently was not anticipated. Some children don't speak English which makes it hard it seems on both the school and the kids alike.

I was thinking about another vanity plate but at $97, probably not. Really, surprised looking back I did $85!! And the screw was rusted holding the old plate which I had installed in 2016, head of screw snapped off, I couldn't even drill it out (it goes into a weld nut on the trunk).

Do you mean this, https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2016/11/chr...?

From the PA/NJ Reciprocal Income Tax Agreement

"Compensation paid to Pennsylvania residents employed in New Jersey is not subject to New Jersey Income Tax under the terms of the Reciprocal Personal Income Tax Agreement between the states.

Similarly, New Jersey residents are not subject to Pennsylvania income tax either. Compensation means salaries, wages, tips, fees, commissions, bonuses, and other payments received for services rendered as an employee."

That's what Christie tried to knock off, but it failed.

I remember it because although I spent 99% of my time in PA, including picking up my truck, my employers address was in NJ so if he had knocked it off it would have affected me.

What's a sad statement about NJ even 17 years ago...my wife's aunt lives in NJ exit 135, and worked in Manhattan. I asked her how the taxation went.

She said they get a credit for what they pay NYS.

That credit, is deducted from what they would owe NJ, and they only pay the difference. That's truly sad.

To be clear, they don't pay the City of NY tax, just NYS. When living in NJ, and working in NYC.

I've never paid the Phila Wage Tax, but my wife has. If I read it properly, each township in PA has an income tax filing, and the form is sent to a private co in Pittsburgh? I only heard about this during the pandemic. I asked a friend who is 59 years old if he files such a tax, and he said no. So I said I'm not bothering.

The reason I saw it, was the county website stated that although the federal and state income tax deadlines were extended due to the pandemic, the township was not and due 4/15/20. Whatever it was already 21 years for me and 43 for my friend, no need to start in 2020.

Anyone hazard a guess as to why that was my vanity plate?

986 is a Porsche Boxster, so maybe a year 2000 Boxster

Apparently vanity plates are popular in our legislative district. We found this out during a visit at the state capitol with our senator. It was a "meet and greet", type of thing and Jonathan had asked him a question along the lines of, "Can you share with us an example of something that you planned to vote a certain way on, but upon learning more about, changed your position?".

He said there had been a bill regarding vanity plates that he didn't think was that important. it was to lower the cost, or expand the options or something. But after the topic was brought up, he started to notice just how many of his constituents had vanity plates (reminded me of discovering the game of "slug-bug" as a kid. I didn't know or care about what a Volkswagen bug was... until I learned I could hit my little sister without getting in trouble, as long as I yelled "slug-bug, no hit backs!" first). So he voted in favor of the bill because, while he still didn't find vanity plates personally important, the people he represented did.

I've never had vanity plates.

I do have an acquaintance who should have put a bit more thought into it before she got hers. Her last name is Harley and she wanted to get plates that said, Harleygirl. But, due to the popularity of Harley-Davidson, all possibilities with "Harley" were taken, so she went with "Hrlygrl"...which means something very different! I was the first person to point that out to her, the day she got them, which is probably why we remain merely acquaintances rather than friends.

~Angela

Spot on. I acquired the car new in 2000 and sold it about a year ago. Lots of fun, especially in top down weather.

That's funny. I have a Harley and wanted a plate that says I'm sober. Tried a lot of combos and came up with "EXDRK" someone said to me what's that ex dork? Man o man, I was online later that day to get a different one, and still have it today "XDRNK" (we are only allowed 5 characters on a motorcycle tag in PA)

Got my plate
https://i.postimg.cc/02dhh8tr/2017-11-06-15-08-40.jpg

I fell the same way. NY charges for vanity plates at every registration. They even charge if you want to get the new Excelsior plates (which is the new standard plate), with an additional charge to keep you old number.

This is why I never got them. They already bleed us dry for little benifit.