RE: [Chrysler300] Re:Chrysler 300s & California Black plates

["Bob Jasinski" <rpjasin@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Wayne and all,
 
I agree with with what you posted on California black plate cars up to a
point. My experience, having lived in California since 1978, and looking at
many old cars, is that the plates are most likely original. I'm not talking
about show cars or restored cars, but the average old car, built between
1963 and 1970 that comes up for sale.  Cars that are mostly original,
needing work or full restoration, with black plates, probably have had them
on since they were first registered, especially if the plate is in the same
condition as the car. 
 
Now keep in mind that typically a car as described will have additional
documentation, such as outdated registration  papers in the glove box,
insurance cards, and or receipts from service done in California.  In other
words, in doing due diligence when purchasing a car of this type, the black
plate car is a good start, but you have to take it further to determine if
the car had the plates on it since new, and therefore indicates a true
California car.  Also, the actual condition of the plate will tell a story
on it's own.  A perfect black plate on a rough, rusty, eastern car will be a
dead give away.
 
Bob J

  _____  

From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Wayne Graefen
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2007 7:01 AM
To: Intl 300; jpmiklas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Chrysler300] Re:Chrysler 300s & California Black plates



I have a tidbit to add to the CA "black plate" mystique. I lived out there
something like 25 years. Californians would love to continue the idea that
"if it has black CA plates on it, then it was ALWAYS a California car". That
is baloney. The CA Dept. of Motor Vehicles continually changes and tweaks
their laws as if every resident of that state was an absolute criminal
trying to take advantage. Walk into any DMV and try to offer an honest,
legitimate explanation of your registration needs or problem and it is like
fresh meat to a pack of piranhas. Oh, there is the extremely rare employee
who is not like that, but the system most certainly treated me that way.
They have so many laws on the books covering so many circumstances that
there are at least three ways to get the simplest of things done but the
person on the other side of the counter may not know the law you are
referencing.
But I've digressed from the black plate issue. There have been periods of
time as laws came and went during which it was either legal to put loose
black plates onto a car that never had them or there were loop holes they
had not closed that allowed it to happen. So the continuous CA registration
is a myth. I personally got old black CA plates that had been on my shelf
for 20 years or so put onto a car with much more recent but expired CA
plates. I took in another black pair and had them put on a car from Arizona.
And a DeSoto that had its original black plates in the box in the trunk but
the car had resided in Arkansas for over 30 years was re-registered on those
old CA black plates.
All this to say nothing of collector car dealers both in and out of
California who can get another couple of thousand dollars for a "Calif.
black plate car" just by hanging a swap meet pair of plates onto their
inventory.
Are all those old plates valuable? You betcha. Whether they are CA plates or
your home state. I'm in Texas now and at a summer swap meet saw a pair of
1940 Texas plates in just restorable condition with a $1000 price tag.
Fortunately I had purchased a pair for my Ford a couple years earlier for
$85.

Wayne 

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