Baurspotting vs. DMV Part V: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus

Ok, up bright and early Friday morning, June 28, ready for Round Four of this chess match with CT DMV.

June 29, 2013

You will recall that Thursday, June 27, I was rebuffed once again, this time by the Winsted CT DMV, because my VIN check form was not completed properly by the VIN check station. You may further recall that, since I am 80 miles from home babysitting for my infant grandson,  I am also 80 miles away from the VIN check station and the BMW.

However, my VIN check form is now properly completed (magically!), and .... well, let us just leave it at that.  Wink wink, nudge nudge.

I arrive at the DMV by 8:15 am, avoiding the 7:45am opening crush, and I am assigned a number.  Not too bad for a Friday morning, only 13 folks ahead of me for registrations!

I do a quick survey of the scene:  four windows open, two (#6 and 7) primarily serving driver license renewals, and two (#3 and 4) serving primarily car registrations.  #3 is the same lady who denied me yesterday. Right next to her in  window #4 is the DMV Building Supervisor.  (I overheard her announcing this to some clients at her window).  She seems competent and professional, and also quite friendly and cheery.  If I had a choice, this would be the window I would choose.  But I have no choice, it is simply a matter of random luck of the draw.  Well, here's hoping I get #4!

Window #6 is a complete unknown to me, although she seems to be the primary driver license person.  Window #7, however, I immediately recognize as the Pit Bull who was handling the information window yesterday, and I personally witnessed her dealing with several unfortunate clients in a most high-handed and arrogant fashion.  I don't want window #7.

So, as I am sitting awaiting my turn, this is how I rank the four available windows, most favorable to least favorable:  #4 is tops, followed by #6, then in swiftly declining preference, are the Pit Bull in #7 and my Thursday rejector in Window #3.

The line is moving fast, and the next thing you know, my number is up next.   Window #6 has disappeared, probably on a break!  (Have you noticed that they take a lot of breaks at DMV?)   #3, 4 and 7 all have customers that are nearly finished.  Who will I get?  I am actively rooting for #4, and I can hear her coaching a customer through the procedure in spite of the fact that he is apparently lacking some item!  Now I KNOW she is the one I want.... but she is being so nice to him that is taking FOREVER!  Come on, baby, let's keep that line moving!

Suddenly, Bing!  And my number is up.  Please report to Window..... #3!    Shoot!  Double day um!  Worst case scenario.  This could get ugly.

I am greeted at Window #3 very positively, and she immediately remembers that I was here with her yesterday.  (Day um again!)  I acknowledge that, and smile, proffering my paperwork.  She accepts it, asking no questions, and I, in turn, offer no explanation.  The Pas de Deux has begun.  "If it ain't broke, don't fix it' applies at DMV too, btw.

She began to process the paperwork, while I stood there doing my best to contain my giddy excitement.  (It's working!)   I threw out a couple of mundane (distracting ) pleasantries, such as how nice it was to find the DMV so deserted on a Friday morning, and inquiring about the signs I saw for the 6 year driver license renewals.  I was thinking it was something new, but it turns out MY license (which she held in her hand) was renewed the last time for six years, and it was now coming up for renewal in October.

Then, she floored me with a question:  "Would you like to renew your license now, as long as you are here?  It will save you another trip to DMV."   Duh, now THERE is a no-brainer!  I asked if it meant getting into line again and waiting.  "Oh no", she said cheerily,"I can do it here right now. It will only take a minute."

Well, I'll be damned!  Just when I think I am bound to get screwed AGAIN by DMV, they go and offer to do me a favor..... and TOTALLY  redeem themselves, to quote Jeff Daniels in DUMB AND DUMBER.

So... of course I said yes! Five minutes later---- I swear this is true---- I emerge from the Winsted DMV with not only my 2002 registration and transferred Early American plates in hand, but also my brand new renewed drivers license, good for six more years!

This was such a happy, and unexpected, outcome, that it was almost enough to make me regret some of the nasty things I may have said in Parts I-IV of this story.  I said.... ALMOST.    ;)

So, yes, Virginia, there apparently IS a Santa Claus, after all.  And he sometimes hangs out at the unlikeliest of places:  the CT DMV!!

All's well that ends well.   ;)


The complete 5 part series:
The whole sordid story is really too long to post completely in here, so here it is broken up into digestible segments.
Enjoy!

Baurspotting vs. DMV: A Tragedy In Four Parts. OK Maybe Five.

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV: A Tragedy In Four Parts. OK Maybe Five.

Baurspotting vs. DMV Part II: Curses, Foiled Again!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part II: Curses, Foiled Again!

Baurspotting vs. DMV III: Old Age and Cunning Triumph Over Bureaucracy and Red Tape!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV III: Old Age and Cunning Triumph Over Bureaucracy and Red Tape!


Baurspotting vs. DMV Part IV: The Empire Strikes Back!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part IV: The Empire Strikes Back!

Baurspotting vs. DMV Part V: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part V: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus

Baurspotting vs. DMV Part IV: The Empire Strikes Back!

Is it over yet?  No, sadly, it is not.

Driving around the 'work in progress' with my temporary plates.  Pic by Brian Schuch.

You may have seen my earlier post in which I mention that I had gotten my temporary plates.   Having temp plates allows me to drive the car for a set number of days, during which time I must get the car's VIN checked.  The VIN check is required to provide proof and protection against the registration of a stolen car, for example.

So far, so good.

Thursday, June 27, 2013.  I have taken two days off from work to allow my wife and I to visit our 20 month old grandson, and babysit him for a couple of days while his parents work.   A Labor of Love.  Since I already have the time off, I thought I may be able to take an hour or so to go to the local DMV office (not my usual office.... this one is across the state), to get my permanent plate for the 1973 2002.

1:30pm.  The baby is down for a nap, my wife will stay with him, so I take the opportunity to gather my paperwork together and head out to the DMV.  I have all that is required (VIN check form completed and signed, previous registration form complete showing paid sales tax, and, of course, my Bill of Sale and insurance card.

Everything appears to be in good order..... what could possibly go wrong?

Famous last words.  ;)

Ugh!  Another triumph for Murphy's Law!  I didn't see this one coming, folks!

I arrive at DMV, get my number at the check in window, and prepare to hunker down for what appears to be another 1 1/2 hour wait, at least.  No biggie, I have everything I need, I believe, so one more go-round with DMV staff is a manageable thing.  One more and I am done.

Ha!

Done IN is more like it.

After 1 1/2 hours on the bench, I approach the window in turn to find...... the VIN check guy didn't complete the form properly!  What?  there is a section in which he is supposed to note where on the car he found the VIN numbers during his check, apparently,  and he left them blank!  I am not familiar with the form, so I didnt know he had to do this!  I thought he knew what he was doing, and that it was complete!

Day um!

And, despite my pleading and cajoling with the DMV clerk, she said there is nothing she can do until the VIN checker properly completes the form.  She suggests that I take it back to him.   I explain to her that the shop is 80 miles away, and I wont be back there for a few days.  She suggested that I take the car to a local guy, pay another 10 bucks and just redo the VIN check.  I explained to her that unfortunately the car itself was ALSO 80  miles away at home, so this was impossible.  She smiled weakly at me and said, "Sorry.  If there was anything I could do, I would do it.  But there isnt.  The form simply needs to be completed."  I told her I knew where he found the VINs, because I found them FOR him!  Could I just tell her where they were, and fill it in myself.

Ha!  Yeah, right!  No way, Jose.  The Empire has struck back!

Curses, foiled again..... AGAIN!

;)

I have now spent over 5 hours sitting in three separate DMV offices, not to mention the travel time and the time spent for the VIN check.... and still no permanent plates on my car!

Now it looks like I may may be forced to resort to my fall-back, Fail-Safe resources once again.  My politeness, patience, cajolery, even begging and good faith efforts to comply with DMV's requirements have all failed me.

I believe it is time once again for the tried and true techniques that have worked without fail for me:   Old Age and Treachery!

;)

Stay tuned!


The complete 5 part series:
The whole sordid story is really too long to post completely in here, so here it is broken up into digestible segments.
Enjoy!

Baurspotting vs. DMV: A Tragedy In Four Parts. OK Maybe Five.

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV: A Tragedy In Four Parts. OK Maybe Five.

Baurspotting vs. DMV Part II: Curses, Foiled Again!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part II: Curses, Foiled Again!

Baurspotting vs. DMV III: Old Age and Cunning Triumph Over Bureaucracy and Red Tape!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV III: Old Age and Cunning Triumph Over Bureaucracy and Red Tape!


Baurspotting vs. DMV Part IV: The Empire Strikes Back!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part IV: The Empire Strikes Back!

Baurspotting vs. DMV Part V: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part V: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus

Baurspotting vs. DMV III: Old Age and Cunning Triumph Over Bureaucracy and Red Tape!

 If I didn't know better, I might think that all the various state Motor Vehicle Departments were in league with each other.  

You may recall from my first post in this series that my attempt to register my 1973 BMW 2002 was shot down at my local DMV, because I inadvertently shared an expired registration form provided by the seller.  I naively believed that it might be helpful to show the seller's name on an official Rhode Island form.  Instead, because the registration showed an expiration date of 2008, the DMV clerk informed me that I would now have to provide proof from RI that this seller was the owner of record.

So, the following morning I contacted Rhode Island Motor Vehicles.  I explained what I needed to them, and I was referred to their Records and Research office in Cranston.  And guess what? There are two ways to deal with this office, their recording says:  1)  you can come to the office in person, present your request with proper ID and forms, and they will give you what you need;  2) you can complete their online form and mail it to them.  They will check their records and send a response. 

These are the ONLY two ways to deal with this office.  They do not answer the phone.  The only way to talk to a live person in this office---- let's say you were unclear on what materials you had to present to them----- is to appear there yourself.  If you failed to present the proper materials, you could be sent home empty-handed, and then have to make another trip.

Well there is just no way that I am going to drive all the way to Cranston, RI for this, and I notice that there is no response time listed for mailed in requests. Who knows how long it would take them to respond, or to tell me that I improperly dotted an 'i' on the form, and needed to re-submit a NEW form!  Ugh!  I needed to find a better way around this bureaucracy.  

I decided that the only way to beat them at their own game was to resort to cunning and devious means of my own!

My mistake was in allowing the DMV clerk to see that RI registration.  I gathered up my paper work again, and set out for the OTHER local DMV office, to avoid the possibility of encountering the same DMV clerk if I returned to Old Saybrook.  

Upon entering the Norwich DMV I was presented with my assigned number:  D688!!  The very same number I had been assigned in Old Saybrook.  What are the chances of this?  I decided that this is a good sign:  I was being given the opportunity for a do-over!

Sure enough, my ploy worked like a charm! The clerk this time was very pleasant and nice, checked through the very same paperwork as the previous clerk---- except for the old RI registration.  I was promptly issued a temporary plate, and when I asked this person the same question about getting the VIN checked, she reached into a file cubbiehole, and produced a list of places which could do the VIN check.  The Meineke shop that I had been previously told could NOT do it, was listed as an approved site for all VIN checks!  Not only that, but also included in that list was another approved shop for VIN checks..... less than 3 miles from my house!

Whoa!

That means that the clerk in Old Saybrook was either ignorant, or she deliberately lied to me in saying I had to go to the DMV in Hamden or Willimantic!   Both, incidentally, are an hour's drive for me.  To describe me as being a little annoyed with her would be a gross understatement.  Her conduct was unacceptable.

But, I am happy.  I did have to wait 1/ 1/2 hours for the second time at the DMV, but at least I had temporary plates to show for it this time!



However, ufortunately, the story doesn't end here.  I still have to actually get the VIN checked, and I will then need to return to the DMV to transfer my permanent Early American plate.

Stay tuned for the next installment:  "Baurspotting vs. DMV  Part IV:  The Empire Strikes Back!"

;)

The complete 5 part series:
The whole sordid story is really too long to post completely in here, so here it is broken up into digestible segments.
Enjoy!

Baurspotting vs. DMV: A Tragedy In Four Parts. OK Maybe Five.

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV: A Tragedy In Four Parts. OK Maybe Five.

Baurspotting vs. DMV Part II: Curses, Foiled Again!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part II: Curses, Foiled Again!

Baurspotting vs. DMV III: Old Age and Cunning Triumph Over Bureaucracy and Red Tape!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV III: Old Age and Cunning Triumph Over Bureaucracy and Red Tape!


Baurspotting vs. DMV Part IV: The Empire Strikes Back!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part IV: The Empire Strikes Back!

Baurspotting vs. DMV Part V: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part V: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus

Baurspotting vs. DMV Part II: Curses, Foiled Again!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

3:30pm.  I have just left work, brimming with optimism, headed for the Old Saybrook office of the CT DMV.  I am confident that I have all the necessary paperwork, completed in advance.  My last DMV experience, in October 2012, was a stunning success in that I was able to enter the office, fill out the paperwork, wait for my number to be called, complete the transaction at the DMV window, and get back into the car headed home......... all in the space of 20 minutes!  Incredible, right?  I am hoping for a repeat performance.

Not only that, but the DMV clerk that day actually asked us how our experienc at the DMV had gone!  The DMV doing customer relations??!!!  What planet am I ON?

It was with these thoughts in mind that I headed into the DMV just before 4pm, and I was immediately struck by a sea of faces, wall to wall, waiting their turn.  An auspicious beginning.  Next I found that DMV has again cleverly revised their waiting system.

This DMV office used to be basically divided into two sections,with those seeking driver licenses and renewals on one side, and those seeking car registrations on the other.  It worked fairly well, and when the lines got too long, they would send a staff out from behind the counter to check the paperwork of the folks in the line, to see if there was a way to expedite the process.  I suspect that the old system must have been working too well, and DMV, fearing that their reputation for surliness, arrogance and confounded confusion might be at risk, had to make a change.

With this new system, everyone now must go to the single information window, wait in line, state your business, and, if all your paperwork is completed, they give you a number, coded by category: A for drivers licenses, D for car registrations, and I have no idea what C was for.  If your paperwork has not been filled out yet, you must go to a desk and complete it, then return to the back of the line for the information window.  Only then will you be given a number.

So, here's how it works:  enter DMV, (1) wait in line 10-15 minutes only to find out that you have to go spend (2) 10-15 minutes filling out the paperwork you need, then wait (3) another 10-15 minutes in the information line again to finally get assigned your number.  These three little 15 minute waiting periods are best considered as a warm-up, btw, because now that you actually have an assigned number, you are now in for some serious, Major League waiting.  Trying though this all may be, don't give up.  To paraphrase John Paul Jones, "We have not yet begun to....WAIT!!!"

I am pretty sure I know the system on which the DMV models their operations, and their customer relations training:  the Soviet Central Registry of Vehicles!  You will recall that the Russians finally got so fed up with their system in the early '90s, that they tossed out their whole government!  What you may NOT know, is that the initial spark for that revolution started from a dispute in their Moscow DMV that just spiralled out of control!  Or so I am told, and I, for one, believe it!

So, I am given Number D688, and I immediately check the message board to see that they are currently serving.... D656!  Lordy.  32 car registrations ahead of me.... and that doesnt count the A and the C categories.  It is now 4pm, and the office closes at 5:30.  Will we make it?

One hour goes by.  DMV is now serving D672.  At this rate they will get to me at 6pm.... 1/2 hour after scheduled closing.  Not looking good.

But magically, they call my number at 5:25pm.  I scramble up to the counter, wanting to make this as quick and as painless as possible---for them and for me!  I have two transactions:  register the 1973 2002, and transfer the Early American plate from my old Mercedes diesel to the newly registered '02.  The clerk asks,"OK, what have you got for paperwork?  We want to get you out of here on time."  Rather than fumble through my two folders of paper work, I just place them both on the counter for her, saying basically ... take what you need, it is all here.

Rookie mistake!

Note to self:  Never ever give the DMV any more than the minimum that they specifically ask for.

I had the essential paperwork all clipped together.  When the clerk lifted that out of the folder, she spotted an old RI registration underneath, provided by the seller, in case I needed it.  (RI does not issue titles for cars earlier than 2001, or so.) She picks up the registration, looks it over and says, "this registration is expired. ".  I responded that yes, he sold the car to me last year.    DMV:   "But the registration expired in 2008.  How do I know he was the last person to register or own it?"  I said he had it off the road because he was working on it. She said, "Well, I am sorry."

My heart began to sink.

"You are going to have to obtain a letter from the RI DMV stating that he was the last person to register it."  A letter from their DMV, that could take months, I said.  Well, she said, now that I have seen that old form, there is no way around it.

Seeking her sympathetic side, I said that I was hoping to have it ready for a car event next weekend.  "And you waited until NOW to register it?", she replied.  Uh oh.  Do I detect a note of sarcasm there?  I can see my chances are now dropping like a stone.  I told her that I have been working on it until now to get it ready.

I told her the seller gave me the form to HELP me, not to sabotage me!  No dice, cold as ice.  I knew I was lost, so I went 'all in":  "Could we just start again and I will remove that form from the packet?"

No way, of course.

It is now 5:30pm, and they are closing.  As a parting shot, she offered, "I could have only given you a temp plate anyway.  You have to have a VIN check, and because the car is so old, you have to go to DMV in Hamden or Willimantic for that."

"Can't I have it done at Meineke near my work?  They have done them for me before."  "No," she replied, "they can't do a car that old.  You have to have DMV do it."

This DMV clerk is just not cutting me ANY slack.  Was it something I said?  ;)

At about this point, I recalled the blue sign I had seen posted in the DMV earlier, and I instantly understood why they needed to post it!


I left the premises, quietly simmering, down, but not vanquished.  "He that fights and runs away, lives to fight another day."  1 1/2 hours in DMV plus travel time with nary a license plate nor even a scrap of paper to show for it.

Bummer, dude!

But never under estimate the ability of Old Age and Treachery to overcome Bureaucracy and Red Tape!

;)

Stay tuned for Part III!  



The complete 5 part series:
The whole sordid story is really too long to post completely in here, so here it is broken up into digestible segments.
Enjoy!

Baurspotting vs. DMV: A Tragedy In Four Parts. OK Maybe Five.

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV: A Tragedy In Four Parts. OK Maybe Five.

Baurspotting vs. DMV Part II: Curses, Foiled Again!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part II: Curses, Foiled Again!

Baurspotting vs. DMV III: Old Age and Cunning Triumph Over Bureaucracy and Red Tape!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV III: Old Age and Cunning Triumph Over Bureaucracy and Red Tape!


Baurspotting vs. DMV Part IV: The Empire Strikes Back!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part IV: The Empire Strikes Back!

Baurspotting vs. DMV Part V: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part V: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus

Baurspotting vs. DMV: A Tragedy In Four Parts. OK Maybe Five.

Part I:  PROLOGUE

Ah, yes.  This is a match you have all been waiting for, right?  

We will start off with a sign that is posted in all Connecticut DMV offices.  

Why do you suppose the DMV would feel the need to post a sign like this?  I had the opportunity to gain a little first-hand insight into that last week.  It ain't a pretty picture.  You have been warned!

;)

PROLOGUE

Who doesn't have tale of woe, a nightmare encounter, or worse, to tell about their experience at their local DMV?  The Department of Motor Vehicles.   Different states have slightly different names (e.g. Motor Vehicle Registry, "A rose by any other name, etc. etc.), but , with a few exceptions, their MO crosses state lines, and probably International borders!   Some theories hold that the Secret Rulers of the World are the Illuminati, but I suspect that even the Illuminati can do very little without the sanction of the International Association of Motor Vehicle Registries!

I know I sure do have a few DMV stories over the years..... and here is a new chapter!

Problems with the DMV are nothing new, of course.  Ancient Pompei, to give just one example, had strict regulations on the axle length of Pompeian carts and wagons.  There were actually stone barriers set up in the streets which prevented the passage of any wheeled vehicle with an unapproved axle length.  The reason for this was economic:  a merchant bringing his goods by wheeled cart to the gates of Pompei could not enter the city, but he must first off-load his goods into a Pompei-approved cart for entrance to the streets of Pompei.  This effectively kept 'foreign' merchants from competing with the merchants of Pompeii.  Those street barriers can still be seen today in Pompei.

One of my earliest memories of my Dad was going with him to the New London branch of the CT DMV when I was about 8 years old......

(You need to know that my Dad ran a business that dealt with the public on a daily basis.   He ran a Sunoco Service Station.  He was a friendly, gregarious type, full of funny stories and jokes, which he frequently shared with his customers.  It was a full serve station, before that term had even been coined.  We did every windshield, checked the oil, water and battery for every customer. And service with a smile.  He was open 24/7 365 days.... So I can tell you where I was every holiday from the time I was about 15 until well after college!  Anyway, the bottom line to the success of the enterprise was unfailingly friendly full service.... Give folks another reason to come back, in addition to the competitive price.  The exact opposite of the business model in place at the Department of Motor Vehicles!)

..... So back to my story of my dad and the DMV.   Just before we went inside the DMV office, my dad stopped and took me aside.   He said, in a quite serious tone, "Tom before we go in, there is one thing I want you to know".  I anticipated the usual parental admonishment to be on my best behavior, but he caught me completely off-guard when he said,  "The Department of Motor Vehicles is the one place I NEVER come out of with a smile on my face."  !!! I didn't really understand it then...... but   ... I sure do now!  :)
That was in the late 1950's, mind you!  Some things never change.

And here we are, approximately 55 years later, and I can personally attest to the truth of  his statement, based on the events of Thursday, June 20, 2013.


Stay tuned for "Baurspotting vs. DMV  Part II:  Curses, Foiled Again!"  Soon to come!

Here is the complete 5 part series:

The whole sordid story is really too long to post completely in here, so here it is broken up into digestible segments.
Enjoy!

Baurspotting vs. DMV: A Tragedy In Four Parts. OK Maybe Five.

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV: A Tragedy In Four Parts. OK Maybe Five.

Baurspotting vs. DMV Part II: Curses, Foiled Again!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part II: Curses, Foiled Again!

Baurspotting vs. DMV III: Old Age and Cunning Triumph Over Bureaucracy and Red Tape!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV III: Old Age and Cunning Triumph Over Bureaucracy and Red Tape!


Baurspotting vs. DMV Part IV: The Empire Strikes Back!

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part IV: The Empire Strikes Back!

Baurspotting vs. DMV Part V: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus

Baurspotting: Baurspotting vs. DMV Part V: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus

Project Journal Update: Temporary Plates!

Despite the best efforts of the DMV to stymie my registration application, I succeeded in obtaining a temporary plate.   Once I get a VIN check, I will get a regular registration.   

(To follow my trials and tribulations at the DMV, check out this series of posts.  Parts I and II are up, more to follow soon.)

http://baurspotting.blogspot.com/2013/06/baurspotting-vs-dmv-tragedy-in-four.html  

CT DMV refused to give me the temp plate Thursday afternoon.  They forced me to become cunning and devious, and find a work-around.  And, as you can see in the pic above.... I got it!

That whole story is in the works, but suffice it say that... old age and treachery triumph over bureaucracy and red tape in the end!

;)

Stay tuned for that story!  Soon come, mon!

Cramped quarters.

Three of the fleet (of eight):  1973 2002, 1991 325ix 5 speed, 1989 325iC (convertible).

Three of the fleet:  (right to left) 1973 2002, 1991 325ix 5 speed, 1989 325iC (convertible).

Three of the fleet:  (right to left) 1973 2002, 1991 325ix 5 speed, 1989 325iC (convertible).

A work in progress.  Yeah, I ran out of grey primer, so I made do with what was on hand.

While getting my VIN check  (required for cars purchased out of state in order to obtain normal CT registration), look what stopped in for gas from North Carolina!  Yes, that is an M5.  I chatted with the owner, who is the former owner of two 1971 2002s.  

The old and the new!

WTF Department: Awesome Single Wheel Motorcycle VIDEO!

One of the great things about sites like Facebook and the various forums is that it gives us so many diverse
 connections to interesting things happening---- that we might not hear about otherwise.  So thanks to all the
 Baurspotters out there, and today our special thanks goes to Richard Stern, an '02 owner, for spotting and 
sharing this little item in Facebook today.

Enjoy!

Viral Videos: Awesome single-wheel motorcycle

7 minutes

Most people ride around on four wheels. Cars are easy, safe and convenient. Bikers choose the thrill of two wheels. But only the most hardcore opt for this awesome motor-unicycle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Z1YoCfm7nxU




http://videos.komando.com/watch/3487/viral-videos-awesome-single-wheel-motorcycle