Monday, February 02, 2009

Paying Attention: You'e Doing It Wrong

One of the (theoretical) reasons I took today off was to get my emissions inspection done on my car.
Whenever you renew your vehicle registration in VA, you need to get the inspection done. It's one of the many things that makes car ownership in VA a pain, along with having to pay personal property tax on your car (and pay for a sticker that shows that you paid your property tax), getting an annual safety inspection done (and paying for a sticker that proves that you had your safety inspection done), and being required to have front and back license plates.
That last bit isn't a big deal, but in Michigan only a back plate is required, and it's been that way for years, so it's a mildly irritating deviation from what I'm accustomed to.
In Arizona, after you turn 25, your driver's license is valid until you turn 65, which is awesome, but here in VA, like in most places, it has to be renewed every four years. The one good thing that VA has as far as being a vehicle owner, though, is that you can choose to renew your vehicle for two years at a time.
This is why, when I took a look at my registration renewal form last night, I was annoyed to see that, for some reason, I was ineligible for a two-year renewal this time around.
I figured it must be some limited-time thing, and that after your car reaches a certain age it has to be renewed annually. This led to a lot of swearing and, "That was the only thing you did right when it comes to owning a car! Way to suck, Virginia!"
After my rant, though, I noticed something else written in bold, all-caps: EMISSIONS INSPECTION IS NOT REQ'D FOR THIS RENEWAL.
Oh.
...
Okay then.
I guess it would have helped if I'd looked at the form a little more carefully back when I got it.
So I pretty much took the day off for nothing.
But you know, I'm okay with that.

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