Hey all - I just relocated to NJ from Long Island and have to change over licenses and registrations, et al. I was reading on the NJ DMV site that I can register my GTA as a collector car and not have to get it inspected. It should pass, except for the visual since I removed A.I.R system. Passes smog in NY anyway. The page says , "Submit a letter from the vehicle manufacturer, recognized car club or a collector organization attesting to the vehicle’s limited production status. Must be printed on official letterhead." Who does this PHS? I imagine that will take a while and negate any cost advantages of not having the car inspected. Is it worth it to register the car this way since I drive the car less than 1000 miles per year? Any insight into the NJ "system" would be appreciated.

Most of the Grand National guys that I know here in New Jersey go with Grundy collector car insurance, cuz they are simply the best. Reach out to them, tell them you reside in New Jersey, and they will walk you through the entire process step by step. I'm thinking about going w/them for my '90 GTA as well...;

http://www.grundy.com/

Thanks - I've had American Hobbyist insurance (which is now American Collector or something) since I acquired the car in '02. I've been happy with them so far and they were great to deal with as the car was being restored and the value was changing. Grundy wouldn't deal with me until the car was finished, but I needed insurance during the process - not just at the end. I was more interested in the NJ DMV side of things as I have already changed the insurance to reflect my new address.

you used to be able to just go to the DMV, fill out a card and have collector status, no questions asked, didnt even have to show proof of collector insurance. well, that "was" the way things were done here in NJ, until about a year and a half ago. now to get collector car status, you have to apply to the state office. You have to prove, with documentation or a letter from an nationally recognized car club/organization, that the car is rare, limited production, ect. I do not know how exactly you determine what club or organization is acceptable for this requirement, and have never seen any info on it. 88gta, its not really that rare, but it is a t5 car, might be able to BS your way in. I guess PHS could do it, but again, the car is not that rare

I used to have my ta setup this way, had it that way for 6 years, before all thei new bullcrap started, but i let my status expire last January and lost my status, now im screwed until next year when the car is 25 and is a historic car. yeah thats important you HAVE to renew on time or you have to start allover again. I think its a 180 dollar ticket for failure to inspect. But if you obey the speed limit and be carefull where you screw around, you shouldn't have a problem, and if you do, play dumb and maybe get a warning?

I currently dont have an valid inspection, expired january 09. I drive the car a little more than you do, never had any problems. You can still register the car, and get insurance, since the collector thing is not the registration, its a status for you inspection, you dont get a different plate, or title on the registration card, just a triangular windo sticker, which you can see in this crappy pic, its green, had orange and blue too.


anyway, if you can get the application from DMV, and a paper from PHS, apply and see what happens. Maybe you will get lucky.

for that matter, take the car through inspection, it might pass if you still have the cat on the car, the techs at the station are not always the brightest tools int he shed, might not even notice the lack of AIR.

It has a cat and is basically stock except for the flowmaster and lack of A.I.R. I figure I'll just register it as a "regular" car and try to get it through the inspection without anyone noticing the A.I.R system. If I have a problem, maybe I can circle back around and try the collector thing. There were only 809 t5s in '88. It shouldn't be too tough to sell the "limited" nature of a car with a production run of less than 1000 units.

well, again, who determines rare? is 1000 rare in their book? or is 50 rare? Its just the typical vague NJ policies at work again. Like i said, give it a shot and see what happens. Lastime i had a vehicle of ago the the inspection station, they didnt even open the hood.

Although hope is not a strategy, that's what I'm hoping will happen. I have three cars to bring there. I'll bring the GTA second or last, or not at all, after I get a feel for the process. Thanks for the input.

My dad is using http://www.americancollectors.com/ on his early 70's drag nova and his 87 grand national, I know the GN is appraised at $35,000 by the company and he pays next to nothing a year for insurance... like $400 a year for the GN.
You have to have a clean license for 3-4 years, no tickets or accidents. Anybody that drives the car must be at least 22 and have a clean record also if I recall correctly.

The collector plates are very picky, the state police have given people tickets who can't prove they are driving to a car show.

I had classic insurance for a few months. Its just as cheap and you just get a different inspection sticker. For the inspection they either take the car around the block or ask you to do it and they confirm that the odometer still works. That's it.

~Matt

This is why I pointed out Grundy because they will do everything for you, and provide you with whatever documentation you may need. My TTA, which is essentially a GTA w/LC2, had a production run of over 1000, and is considered rare. They base the model that they are looking at for that particular year, not collectively (meaning not 82-92). I already spoke to them about my '90 GTA, which has a production run of roughly the same units as yours, 1000 (this is including Canadian cars), and they already said that mine qualified because it is a GTA. You already said that you don't drive the car that much, but if you ever did decide to, simply get your hands on a second cluster, then swap them back and forth when it comes time for them to check the odometer. Either that, or pay an independent shop to pass you....

i would suggest going through a private station for an inspection if you are lacking AIR.....NJ is a PITA when it comes to emmisions standards....everything must be there, and in most state stations the people that work there are knowledgeable and they look for that kind of stuff

Definitely get classic insurance. I only dropped mine because you have to keep the car in a garage. They charged me $150 for the whole year with 10,000 allowed miles. Inspection is literally them checking just your odometer.

~Matt

yeah, while it lasted, collector status in NJ was great, no inspection, just an odo check. But its a lot harder to get now than it was 2 years ago.

I dont think it was intended to be taken this way, but you have to take the car to a state inspection station for collector, you cant do it as a private shop

yeah.....NJ takes the fun out of everything

I think I'm going to forego the collector status and just do it straight. I don't really want the 3k/yr restriction even though I haven't driven it that much in the past. I only have an 8 mile commute now and can see myself using it daily in the nice weather in the spring and summer. I may need private station suggestions in the Hillsborough area if I see that the state facility is going to be a problem. I have an '04 Mustang GT to do first. I'll use that as a proxy for how the process goes.

Hey I live in hillsborough. The STS in Princeton on rt 206 is usually good for private inspection. One of my buddies works at a former Jeep/Chrysler dealer. They used to do inspections so I'll ask if they still do.

~Matt

I have classic registration on my 84 TA, and insurance through Hagerty. Hagerty has no mileage restrictions for classic cars, and inspection is not required in NJ for classic cars. However, you are required to go through inspection with collector registration, and most insurance companies will only allow 3000 miles per year.

last 2 inspections ive had done in the state facility (june 09 and april 08) did not pop the hood. this was in south jersey near woodbury heights. so if your ODB reads everything clear and you pass the sniffer, you should be fine with no AIR

ive been on the phone all day trying to work out insurance. don't have a garage, so i can't get collectors. and geico only does depreciating value insurance, so im screwed if the car gets totaled.