MNLARS

With trepidation I went to a county service office and was glad to get the new 2019 tags for the car, fast. I still cannot understand why something apparently so simple as car registration can be so screwed up.

And then there was this letter:

This might even be funny if it weren’t so aggravating

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: I recently wasted my second afternoon in five months at my local Driver and Vehicle Services office. Ba-dum bum!

Actually, this is my third visit in the last 10 months. You see, I made the mistake of buying a new-to-me vehicle in the state of Minnesota in 2017. My first visit, about a month after purchase, was to exchange the regular plates for loon plates. I was told that my truck was still registered in Texas, so I wouldn’t be able to make the switch that day. OK, that mistake was on me. I expected too much

On my next visit, about five months later, I was actually able to physically hold the plates before they were taken from me. It seems that when my truck was finally registered in the Minnesota Licensing and Registration System (MNLARS), the year entered for the expiration of my tabs was 218 rather than 2018. Now, I could have gone full prima donna about the *$*#*$ computer programmer who would create a program that would allow someone to enter three digits into a field that, for the next 7,982 years, requires exactly four digits. But, I held my tongue. The person behind the counter at DVS said they would contact the IT department to correct the erroneous expiry year.

Finally. This week. My tabs expire this month (or maybe they expired 1,800 years ago). I was again able to hold the precious loon plates and my new tabs before the computer beeped and told my attendant that the transaction could not be completed as the expiry year for my tabs was invalid. As a consolation prize, I was given a 60-day temporary tab to affix to my back window. I was a little less reserved with the people behind the counter than during the previous visit, but I was also explicit in telling them that I was not mad at them — that I felt the state had let us all down.

It wasn’t until I got home that I noticed that the license plate number and VIN on my 60-day temporary tabs were both incorrect. To be continued …

Jeffrey R. Brace, Minnetonka

http://www.startribune.com/readers-write-wcco-radio-and-the-minnesota-twins-mnlars-food-shelf-visits-farming-buffer-zones-tobacco-settlement-mother-s-day/482430021/

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This is really crazy. When we came to Minnesota in 2002, our vehicles were still registered in California but we had no problem in getting MN plates. Or is it the Loon?

Later this year it will be time for me to renew my driver's license. Hope not to get entangled in a bizarre world.