Shoot man. That sucks, good luck with getting it fixed or whatever you decide to do.

 

This

Sorry to the OP

 

Sucks... But time for new paint & rims. Get a Custom Color. Make best of a bad thing.

 

^..... have you not read this? he has no insurance its not like rims and custom paint is cheap...

 

I bought my car and had insurance on it before i even had the title, registration, or plates.... lmao
all it takes is a phone call and vin number

 

That sux hardcore, I know everyone here is giving crap for not having insurance and admittedly that wasn't smart but I say you learned your lesson there. I remember when I was 18 and got my first RX-7, I wouldn't have had insurance on it right off if my mom hadn't stepped in since I was so excited to just drive it. Best of luck man.

On the police issue, I'm with RR on this. I've watched too much BS in police departments from small towns in the mountains to cities and it's not right but I don't see it changing so I just try to steer clear.

 

Yeah, from what I hear I'm sure NOVA fits that bill.

 

This sucks, sorry to hear about it. Honestly though, to hell with the car. Keep your money for school. If it's Cal Poly SLO you're going to then you are going to have the time of your life and no problem replacing the RX when you get out.

 

All of my encounters with the Fairfax County and Vienna police have been pretty straight.

Ken

 

That is sooo fucked up. I'm so sorry dude.

 

It is entirely possible it's a stereotype or misconception, but they're highly regarded elsewhere in the country as being traffic enforcement ***** and hardasses to deal with.

 

I've seen those posts here. All I can think of that is that I'm middle class, middle aged, caucasian, and try to put on good manners when stopped.

I have not been stopped in Leesburg, where the police are under orders to write at least enough tickets to cover their salaries.

FWIW, I fully believe your experience. And not too long ago one of the local PDs canned (and I believe prosecuted) an officer for perjury in a DWI case. But I just have not encountered any unprofessionalism myself. Even the guy who got me on a double (stop sign + 20 over the limit) was very cool.

Ken

 

As recently as a couple years ago I was in a "fixer upper" rx7 I had just built an engine for, and was posting for sale. As such I had no intention of paying the ~$100 registration and so forth for a car that would sell within 2-4 weeks time. I just slapped on a tag from another vehicle and took it for a test drive on some backroads. Not raising immortal hell either, just driving somewhat spiritedly. I drive by a residence that a cop lives at. It's nothing surprising for me, I drive by here periodically and his car is always parked in the same spot. If we say that the backroad is east/west, he parks almost perpendicular to it from the north, at say an 80 degree angle to the road. Except this time as I look over while cruising by doing about 15 over (the limits on the backroads are 30), he is in the car.

Needless to say about 30 seconds later, here he comes. Claims he got me on RADAR at 60mph. Gives me tickets for speeding, non registered vehicle, improper display of tags, no insurance, and I forget what else. You can imagine my disdain for this action in light of some of my above experiences with others who have caused property damage to me and walked away scott free.

Now, first...radar doesnt work at angles that high without extreme inaccuracy (if at all). Second, I wasnt going anywhere near that speed. Thirdly...there is a building and a school bus parked pretty close to his house, which blocks his view of oncoming traffic until approx 180 feet from him (I went back and measured). And doing the math that would have given him a VERY quick response time to see me and activate his radar *even if it did work at that angle* of less than 2 seconds. When I looked at him he was initially looking down and only looked up as I was right in front of his car. I knew he was lying.

But did that stop him from getting in court and testifying? The procedure says that the officer is supposed to visually track the vehicle for a minimum of 2 seconds and estimate its speed using their training, and only then are they supposed to *verify* that estimation with their radar equipment. The radar takes at least 1 full second to positively lock a speed if there are no extraneous circumstances...in this case it could have taken longer due to the angles involved (if it worked at all). And at the speed he accused me of, and the distance between the first time he could have observed me and his position, I would have been past him already in less than that amount of time. Yet he testified to exactly that.

There have also been instances of drugs being "found" in some other people's cars who get stopped in this area, people who I know are not druggies.

Hell, a couple years ago a state trooper let a **** actress blow him in his cruiser to get out of a ticket, and the news found out about it. The media never really publicized what happened to him though. He's probably still on the job.

 

Yes you definitely need to check into that. I know when I bought my car I checked my policy which said a new vehicle will be automatically covered under your current policy (assuming you had an active insurance policy on a different vehicle) for up to 30 days even if you hadn't told them about the new vehicle yet. Check your policy! Some may be less than 30, but I think most or all insurance companies cover a new vehicle for at least a couple of weeks until you get everything set up with them.

 

Am I missing something here? Did the OP leave his car unoccupied on the street with the engine running? If so, would insurance pay, even if he had insurance?

 

sorry to hear it. but dont spend that college money to fix the car. a degree is permanent while the car is temporary.

 

I know in new york you cannot even register a car let alone get plates until you show the DMV proof of insurance.

 

most likely not. honestly. i know if the keys are visible through the window its your fault entirely if your car is stolen. insurance will not pay.

so given that the car was left running and unattended. i doubt they would pay anyway

 

If it were in the street/on the curb, you may be right.

If it were in his driveway off of the street, I'd tend to side with the owner.

 

sounds like it was in the street. but still close enough to the property that it would be a really tough call...

 

Thanks for sharing, because I have a bad habit of leaveing my car unattended every morning waiting for it to warm up in my garage a never thinking to much about it. I'll start locking my doors anything could happen. I'll let that be a lesson learned for me. Good luck on your repairs!

 

so let me get this straight- you knowingly drove an unregistered, uninsured car, with tags from a different car, at a speed higher than the posted, past an area that is frequented by this cop and his patrol car and you think HE did something wrong?

 

why do we care, hes not posting anymore. this thread is DEAD.

 

His residence...his car is always parked there unoccupied. What are the odds. And don't give me that "at a speed higher than posted" bs. We all own sportscars, everybody speeds from time to time. I already mentioned that the limits are artificially low on these roads. They are backroads but will easily support 40-50mph in most areas unless you are driving a 72 pontiac lemans with the original suspension and brakes. I was driving at a reasonable speed for a clear day in that area.

Yes, I drove a car in that condition. I run a repair shop. I repair cars for people other than myself and for myself to resell later. I do not meet the state minimum requirements for an auto dealership (5 car sales per year) so I cannot get a dealer tag/insurance etc. How would you suggest I operate in this scenario?

You'd actually suggest that each time I tow home a non running car and fix it, that I pay all the registration fees etc. just so I can test drive it long enough to ensure that it is viable to post for sale? And when someone comes to look at the car and buy it, I should tell them it can't be driven?

And what about the project cars that customers bring to me to rebuild and get running? Most of my work is out of state so I can't just throw an engine together and let it idle in my driveway then call the customer and tell him it is okay to drive it 6 hours home without even test driving it for 5-10 miles. The car does not belong to me so I cannot personally register, tag or insure it. Some of these are older project cars that have sat for a while waiting for the owner to save up enough money to build it so they are not currently registered or insured. Again, what would you suggest I do? It has rarely been a major issue with non-dick cops after I explain that I am test driving a car I have repaired as part of my business and present my business card, then prove that my personal vehicles are insured as well.

Please, I'm eager to hear your explanation of how you would handle these situations.

 

first of sorry to hear this is sad how people can do stuff like this ... but it happens everyday ... and yes if it was in his driveway and got stolen he would be right to file a claim i had that happen to my dads truck a few years back and the insurance gave us a hard time but ended up paying