Navigating the Paperwork Maze

There are some things in this modern life of ours that are guaranteed to cause stress in the form of paperwork: Getting married and changing your name on every blessed legal document in the world, insurance claims, and anything involving the Department of Motor Vehicles. I have personally dealt with all of these things and, at the moment, am deep in the throes of that last one.

See, A. and I did decide to get a Subaru Outback to replace my trusty-but-rusty old Nissan. It just kind of happened that the approximate year and price range we were looking for was the same as the Outback my mother had. And when I was talking to my dad about what we were looking for, he asked if I wanted to buy my mother's car. She was looking for a newer car anyway, so it seemed fortuitous for us all. Her car is in good condition and she's owned it for all but two of its years, so I knew it had been treated nicely. After some online haggling, we agreed on a price* and all that remained was to get it from Arizona to New York.

My father very kindly took care of finding a car shipping broker and setting up the details (and also very kindly tacked on the shipping costs to the overall price of the car, but did NOT charge me for his services in setting it all up, so I'll accept that). Then my parents signed the title over to me and shipped it Certified Mail.

And then our postman refused to walk up the driveway on Saturday when he was deterred by the Deterrent, so that the title is now sitting at the post office awaiting our pick-up. Annoying.

ANYWAY.

Once I have the title in my hot little hands, I can then begin the real paper chase. Calling the insurance company to get the car on our insurance, then having them fax the appropriate paperwork to A.'s handy home office. Printing out the registration form from the DMV website and filling it out, along with a form for sales tax exemption because the vehicle was purchased from a family member. Gathering all the various papers and forms of identification together and getting to the DMV to actually register the thing.

I don't know about you, but my record for actually having everything I need to get a transaction completed at the DMV the first time I go in is not very good. I will endeavor to do it this time, because I now have Cubby to deal with, so I do not have the luxury of driving to and from the Small City more than once.

And then, finally, after jumping through all the bureaucratic hoops, me and my shiny new/used car will drive off into the sunset. I hope.

* Not joking. This is a business transaction, and I was not going to accept the first selling price offered. Even if it was offered by my own father. Family ties are no excuse for ignorant business dealings.