So.. Does anyone have a good way to have project cars in CO?

[willo]

So when I was rebuilding my RVs engine, I didn't bother to license it. A year later I went in to get it licensed and they made me pay the licensing fee for the entire time I was working on it.

In Colorado is there a good way to take a car off the road for a year (or whatever)? I'm talking about situations like when I decided to rebuild the entire suspension of one of my cars for a year. I just gave in and kept it licensed, but it seems silly. If it won't be on the road, why the heck would I license it?

When I asked the DMV people they didn't have a way. I'm wondering if anyone here has found a way to do so?

So far the only way I've thought of is to re-title the car. (Like say I buy it, then sell it to my wife or something when I'm ready to license it.)

[Blackjeep]

I had the same problem with a cheap little trailer that I use for my dirt bikes. didn't use it for a couple of years and whamo- they want $150 in penalties PLUS the registration. Well... I may or may not have sold it for $1 to my daughter and then the next year she may or may not have sold it back to me for the same sum.

[newracer]

You can do the selling thing but if they catch you you'll be paying even more. It is total BS.

[willo]

In my old state I could title a vehicle and license whenever I was ready. You'd get late fees if you came in to renew.

[Hypoid]

Colorado wants that pound of flesh. I transferred title on a vehicle I purchased a few years earlier. Along with the title fees, I had to pay property tax for the years the vehicle sat idle.

[Bob]

Wow, what about a trailer used only on private property? Does that still need to be registered every year? I have a little utility trailer that I let lapse last year because we never use it on the roads anymore.

[alanmikkelsen]

Not to rub salt in a wound, but in Montana, all trailers receive a lifetime "permanent" plate and any vehicle older than 11 years can buy a "permanent" plate, also. I have 8 trailers, including a fifth wheel RV and a 2006 Duramax that have permanents tags on them. :2thumbup:

[Hypoid]

Wow, what about a trailer used only on private property? Does that still need to be registered every year? I have a little utility trailer that I let lapse last year because we never use it on the roads anymore.If you use "legal roadways," you need legal proof of ownership and taxes paid. *If you on your own property, your bidness is your bidness.*

*DISCLAIMER: I am not an Attorney, my response is only speculative.*

[Bob]

If you use "legal roadways," you need legal proof of ownership and taxes paid. *If you on your own property, your bidness is your bidness.*

*DISCLAIMER: I am not an Attorney, my response is only speculative.*
That's what I thought, but last week I contacted the county to ask. Turns out there isn't any exception for vehicles used only on private property. If at some point in the future the trailer is re-registered then all the back taxes would be due plus a penalty. I asked what happens if the trailer is never re-registered and eventually gets scrapped, and in that case no taxes are collected.