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Rant: How the hell do you guys deal with the DMV?!

M

mrzuzzo

New member
Joined
Dec 9, 2013
Location
Los Gatos Hills
Moto(s)
The one outside of Starbucks
Name
Victor
Alright, here is my rant.

So I move to California from abroad, so now I have to redo my licenses for both car and bike as well as get registrations for car and bike. This involves a minimum of 5 visits to the DMV.

I'm not going to go into the waiting in line BS, because I'm sure you're all used to it and think that that is how it's supposed to be. But I'll tell you, I've lived in Canada and Russia and California DMV wait times are at least 2-3 times bigger than any other DMV I've ever been to.

The written tests are a joke, more like common sense tests. Got 100% on both the moto and auto.

Went yesterday to the Fremont office for my auto driving test. I had an appointment. Regardless, I still waited over 1.5 hours in lines!!! I failed because a pedestrian was letting me through an intersection, and apparently you have to give right of way no matter what. OK, lesson learned. But 1.5 hours in line for an *appointment*?!? You have to be kidding me.

This morning I went to the Redwood City DMV to get my M1. I have my learners permit and DL-389 in hand (completed the MSF). Get there at 7:30am, already a ton of people in line. Spend almost 2 hours in line, get to the end, and learn that the computer system is down *STATEWIDE* and they won't be accepting license applications. The clerk said that this is not an unusual occurrence. Are they fucking kidding me?! I spent so much of my time in line over the holidays to walk away with jack shit!

The incompetence of the DMV is absolutely staggering!!!

This government can overthrow governments half way across the fucking globe yet they can't organize a proper DMV for their own citizens! Incredible!
 
Welcome to California. :laughing :toothless :smoking :barf :wtf :Pirate :Bap
 
Apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way about the local DMV, this guy took it to the next level:

Carranza, whose vehicle had been towed by San Francisco police in October 2011, due to an expired registration, reportedly paid fines at the DMV office but could not get his car released. On April 23, 2012, he allegedly filled a bottle with oil or gas, randomly selected what he thought was an employee’s vehicle and poured the liquid over two tires before lighting them on fire.
Click to expand...

http://www.smdailyjournal.com/artic...-arson-suspects-competency/1776425115303.html
 
Your post is well timed.
I'm headed over there today @ 2:00
(beginning cleansing thoughts now)
 
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Since when has Califorina's Army overthrown any foreign government? :wtf :laughing

In all seriousness, the DMV is typically only a hassle for those that make it one. Firstly, if you're planning on going to the DMV during the last two weeks of December, you should prepare yourself to wait. EVERYONE makes appointments during that time since many of them have the time off from work. Making an appointment doesn't always mean that you're going to be seen immediately when you show up. I can't even think of the last time that having an appointment anywhere outside of the dentist (not surprisingly) that ended with mean being seen at my exact appointment time. It's always 15-20 minutes after I show up and sign in. Is an hour and a half excessive for someone that had an appointment? Absolutely. Did you show up early, though? Factor that time in. Also, as I already stated, you and everyone else is trying to rush the DMV during the biggest period of time off every calendar year. Expect to have to wait some.

The California DMV has to deal with more people than any other state in this country and arguably far more people than many other countries have to deal with. There's more licensed drivers here than the rest of the country. It's not going to move like a raging torrent. We deal with it here because it's a fact of life in this state. Unless we decide to throw more money at the DMV, it's not going to change.
 
If your just doing paperwork show up at 4:30. It's amazin how fast they can get stuff done if they want to go home on time.
 
Kornholio said:
In all seriousness, the DMV is typically only a hassle for those that make it one. Firstly, if you're planning on going to the DMV during the last two weeks of December, you should prepare yourself to wait. EVERYONE makes appointments.
Click to expand...

I need a driving record print-out for work (among other things)
The timing is out of my control.
....and yes, I have an appointment.
 
A little friendliness goes a long way. The local DMV has regularly allowed me to hop up to the front of the appointment line if I just need a quick printout.

...yes, they do it for others too.
 
jmhamilton68 said:
If your just doing paperwork show up at 4:30. It's amazin how fast they can get stuff done if they want to go home on time.
Click to expand...

This all day long. That's my current plan today in fact! I still prepare myself for a quick nap though.
 
Kornholio said:
We deal with it here because it's a fact of life in this state. Unless we decide to throw more money at the DMV, it's not going to change.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it's not just a money issue, but a mismanagement problem as well. That is a very poor excuse.

Moscow has 12 million residents, Bay Area has 7 million. Moscow DMV is at least two times faster, and the taxes there are 3 times lower. I have strong suspicions that there is a mismanagement problem in the DMV.

Kornholio said:
A little friendliness goes a long way. The local DMV has regularly allowed me to hop up to the front of the appointment line if I just need a quick printout.

...yes, they do it for others too.
Click to expand...

Lucky you, I am always super-friendly at the DMV, yet haven't had much luck.



I just called the DMV at their toll-free number. The wait time is.... wait for it.... 1 hour and 15 minutes!!! Seriously?! *inserts face in palm*
 
mrzuzzo said:
The written tests are a joke, more like common sense tests. Got 100% on both the moto and auto.
Click to expand...
Did you mean to say you were very pleased to discover that in spite of some time waiting in queues, the Great State of California dispenses licenses to anyone with a pulse?

It seems your rant is unjustified.

BTW, check your spelling.
 
California DMV pretty much sucks compared to what I've dealt with in other parts of the country. Expensive and incompetent, although I have learned not all offices are created equal...I will actually take the extra time to drive all the way to Napa, because the wait times are significantly better, and the people working there were actually able to think on their own a little bit, which made some difficult/confusing things smooth sailing.
 
That's bullshit that they didn't make an announcement that they computer systems were down so that anyone that needed that could have bailed then. That being said, the past few years have been trouble free visits for me to DMV, never had to wait more than 20 minutes and almost always I'm completed with what I needed in 5...love having an appointment.
When this is your number, you know it's going to be a quick visit:
20130520_080905.jpg
 
i was living in portsmouth NH when i moved here in '07 and the goof at the counter looked at my transfer form and actually fucking said, verbatim, 'new hampshire? i think you messed up, what state is that in'?

welcome to californistan :)
 
I spent half a day at the Concord DMV when I moved to California in 2002.
I was the last person in the place other than employees after closing.
From noon to after closing with a trip to the weight scales in Bay Point/Concord border to weigh my truck, that was weird.
 
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