Community Chat

[faeriemoon]

It's a cesspool.  Fortunately most trips can be avoided by going to AAA.

[Desertdi]

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@patbz wrote:

When we moved to Arizona nine years ago, we couldn't get over how much better our DMV was than the DMV in California.  In our small town we got 3 cars registered, (including final--not temporary plates), Drivers licenses (laminated), registered to vote, all in under an hour.  All interactions since have also been swiftly and professionally executed.  California DMV was the opposite side of the coin. There were long lines at our small city office (a couple of hours) and another city (two hrs from us) would routinely fail drivers on their first test (word got around, so many of "them" would drive to our city and wait in our lines).  Customers got temporary licenses, plates, and you couldn't register renew online.  I actually thought of writing to Governor Brown about how he could improve California's DMV.  

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@patbz   I also moved from CA to AZ.    I go to the DMV in Scottsdale.........nice new building, plenty of parking, lots of chairs in the waiting room.........relatively speedy service with fairly pleasant clerks......AND a clean bathroom !!!!!  

[RetRN]

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@CelticCrafter wrote:

I think the first question on the employment application is can you be meaner than a junkyard dog...

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No kidding--I would add are you lazy, rude, and nasty? If yes, you're hired.

[chickenbutt]

It's ok.  I find that if I'm nice to them they are nice back, 99.9% of the time.

You can make an appointment, which is good except that I forgot last time and was there for at least an hour.

One good thing was that we have eight year drivers licenses now so I don't have to go back until 2023.   Hoping that won't have to happen anyway, but I love that it's not just 4 years.   They only offered the 8yr thing to people with even-number year DOB, so my husband could only get a 4yr one still.

We can do the auto renewal online (I've been doing that for years), so that's really great.  I go down to a gas station down the street to get my smog cert, come home and punch out the registration renewal online, as the data from the smog cert is already there attached to my car.

[Isobel Archer]

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@Mz iMac wrote:

Ours is so bad that State troopers guard the place inside & out.  Has been like this since my state went paperless, jumping hoops to prove you are a US citizen-a 7 point system & photos was implimented.  Instead of paper licences we now have cardboard licences.  You have to get them laminated yourself.

Lines always stretched outside & down the block.  Really crazy.

I am so glad I am at that magic age I can renew my licence through the mail every 7 yrs.

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So when you get older, you can just renew by mail - no eye test or anything.  That's kind of scary when you think about it.

[bonnielu]

Small town, rural.  No problem here.  Except the NO PROBLEM is catching on and we have visitors from other areas these days.  I did have a look-see into city DMV's and I am so grateful to be living where I do.  

[tucsongal]

Love our DMV  because I never have to go. Moved here in 2000, my license expires in 2023!

[Caligurll]

I don't have any problems with mine (CA) because I do everything on line.

[Catty2]

Last time I was there a woman came around to ask who was just renewing their driver's license.  We were moved to the front of the line.  (I'm in AZ too) 

[chickenbutt]

Ours has had, for a while now, a number system.  As soon as you come in you go to this one line.   You tell the guy what you're there for and he assigns you a number.

There are probably about 40 windows in the whole place (all around the perimeter) and your number will come up (screens hanging from the ceiling) for a specific window and you have x amount of time to go to that window and take your turn.    I can't even imagine how they are in large cities!

If you have an appointment, you still go into that first line to identify yourself, and you just get preferential so that your number is called before others without an appointment.