get collector plates, avoid emissions testing

[one bad bg]

this is only for those who have patience and want to do a lot of research. heres the basic run down of what i did.
i did a lot of seaching on the net: i have a 98 ob ltd 30 aniv. ok not so special. more research: found out they only made a a few thousand with blk leather interior (which i have) ok so now were at kinda special status. more research: subaru only made 1200 ltd 30th aniv with a 5mt (which i have). now comes the fun part. your state whatever it is has a book of vehicles that automaticaly qualify for collector plates IE my neighbors 98 trans am. but no state has any subaru in that book. so you have to prove to them that your car is collector worthy. in ohio if your car isnt in the book, heres what you have to prove to get collector plates: 1-you have more than 15k invested in aftermarket performance parts(sorry guys no audio performance only) 2-you can prove that your car was 1 in less than 2500. so since my car is 1 in 1200 i could get collector plates. now how does one prove that other than internet research. well, i call SOA headquaters, told them my situation and gave them my vin and vwala, 2 weeks later in the mail i had a signed slip from SOA with all my vehicle details and vin and saying it was 1 in 1200 made. so now all i have to do is send this slip and the collector plate form to columbus and they send me collector plates. unfortunatly i recently blew my engine so i will not be getting the plates but i figured i would pass this bit of info on to all my fellow subie owners. theres only one catch with this. even though they dont limit you on annual miliage, you do have to show proof of ownership of another vehicle as the collector cannot be your primary vehicle. but now with your new collector plates, if your state has emission testing, your exempt so cut those cats off and get a nice free flowing exhaust and mod away.

[Grafton]

glad there are no emissions tests in WV thats a big hassle

[one bad bg]

even though theres no emissions in some of your states, how sweet would it be to have collector plates on your car. people would look at it and think wtf?

[Grafton]

the WTF would be funny but how many zillion white BD L's are there ? theres a ton of them here thats for sure

[ouch1011]

So, is that either the car has >$15k invested in aftermarket parts OR it is very rare, or does it have to be both? We don't have emissions testing where I live, but we do in some areas of the state, and with our current tree-hugging governor, we very well may have emissions testing sometime while I own this car. And, while it will probably have a cat when I'm done, it may or may not be emissions compliant. So it might be good to know.

[one bad bg]

in ohio its OR. but you need to check your state laws. like i said i did a few months research before i called SOA to get the certificate. mainly cause i didnt want to sound like an idiot when i called them saying my car is 1 in 1200 and they laugh at me and say them made 50,000 of them or something.

[98outbackpdx]

So, is that either the car has >$15k invested in aftermarket parts OR it is very rare, or does it have to be both? We don't have emissions testing where I live, but we do in some areas of the state, and with our current tree-hugging governor, we very well may have emissions testing sometime while I own this car. And, while it will probably have a cat when I'm done, it may or may not be emissions compliant. So it might be good to know.

i believe that it is 2011 or 2012 when there is emissions testing in ALL of oregon

[one bad bg]

i loved living in fl. no emissions. but the cost of living down there is insane for this economy. so thats why when i moved up here i started researching loopholes to get an average car exempt from echeck.

[Kraziken]

How do you prove the $15k of aftermarket parts spent?

I think I'm there already, but if they ask for receipts, I'm going to have a tough time with that. :grin:

[one bad bg]

you said it.....receipts.. lol. and the 15k is ohio, you might want to check your state. it could be 10k or maybe 20k i dont know. i just know its 15k for ohio.

[immortal1kon]

i feel like the 97 gt in a 5spd is hard to find on the east coast or in my area anyway. if there are anyfor sale they are usually automatic and any color but silver..... sounds like something to look into. i know before i sold my first car (vw 89 gti) it was on the verge of becoming a classic car (25 years old) and that qaulifies you to skip all emmisions. op is something to look into though cause if you get one car in that book then i think that sets a precedent for everyone with that car and anyone who wants those plates will beable to get them.

[Coldsong]

I may be mistaken but isnt there mileage restrictions and what not that go along with collector plates? Since you get to bypass a lot of regular restrictions. And I know they get you cheap full coverage insurance but thats also a limited mileage stipulation?

So while you may get the perks, it would be possible that you could get in some trouble for using a collectors vehicle as a DD?

[one bad bg]

in ohio theres no miliage restriction, i think i mentioned that in OP. but you would need to check your state to see if there is. thats what i meant by a lot of research to do before you decide to do it. oh btw if someone has a 98 dark green wagon and you want collector plates, im parting out my car, i can sell you my dash with the vin on it and give you the certificate that says its 1 in 1200 lol. it will save you some time in your research.

[Huffer]

in ohio theres no miliage restriction, i think i mentioned that in OP. but you would need to check your state to see if there is. thats what i meant by a lot of research to do before you decide to do it. oh btw if someone has a 98 dark green wagon and you want collector plates, im parting out my car, i can sell you my dash with the vin on it and give you the certificate that says its 1 in 1200 lol. it will save you some time in your research.

You forget the VIN# is also stamped on the firewall, and on the manufacturer sticker on the door... and selling VIN#s like that isn't legal.

[one bad bg]

ok so buy my driver door too. 0:)