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Texas begins revoking titles for dune buggies, sand rails, and other kit cars
Texas begins revoking titles for dune buggies, sand rails, and other kit cars
Daniel Strohl on Nov 6th, 2017 at 8am
While Texas state officials claim to be looking into the matter, the state’s DMV has outlawed any rebodied vehicles and has started to revoke titles and registrations for dune buggies in the state, a move that has provoked Texan kit car enthusiasts to start lobbying the state to re-legalize the vehicles.
As far back as 2013, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles put a halt to registrations of newly built dune buggies, grandfathering in previously built and registered dune buggies. While some owners of Volkswagen-based fiberglass-bodied beach cars reported success registering their kit cars under the donor vehicle’s identity, the state DMV in March 2015 adopted Texas Administrative Rule 217.3 (6), which explicitly made any vehicle “designed or determined by the department to be a dune buggy” ineligible for title “regardless of the vehicle’s previous title and/or registration.” The only other vehicles that, as a group, the Texas Administrative Code specifies as ineligible for title are race cars, off-road vehicles, and flooded cars.
Starting earlier this year, the Texas DMV has sent letters to dune buggy and sand rail owners in the state alerting them that their titles have been revoked and that the owners have to surrender the vehicle’s original title, windshield sticker, and license plates to the DMV. The letters note that the state considers dune buggies and sand rails “designed for off-road usage and may not be legally operated for use on Texas streets or public roadways.”
....
Vincent Parisien, the president of the Manx Club, said that the title revocations and the ban on dune buggy registrations amounts to discrimination without merit. “We’re not about making the streets more dangerous,” he said. “Our members are willing to go through all the same safety standards as other cars.” ... However, as Parisien pointed out, a number of Texan dune buggy enthusiasts have already resorted to selling their vehicles out of state, and others have parked their dune buggies fearing both the devaluation of their vehicles and the risk of facing legal trouble if they were to drive them on the streets.
....
UPDATE: The Save the Texas Dune Buggy Facebook group has distributed a petition for Texas dune buggy owners to sign and postmark to the Texas DMV by November 9.
UPDATE (7.November 2017): The GoFundMe campaign surpassed its $6,000 goal overnight and now stands at $6,110.
Daniel Strohl on Nov 6th, 2017 at 8am
While Texas state officials claim to be looking into the matter, the state’s DMV has outlawed any rebodied vehicles and has started to revoke titles and registrations for dune buggies in the state, a move that has provoked Texan kit car enthusiasts to start lobbying the state to re-legalize the vehicles.
As far back as 2013, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles put a halt to registrations of newly built dune buggies, grandfathering in previously built and registered dune buggies. While some owners of Volkswagen-based fiberglass-bodied beach cars reported success registering their kit cars under the donor vehicle’s identity, the state DMV in March 2015 adopted Texas Administrative Rule 217.3 (6), which explicitly made any vehicle “designed or determined by the department to be a dune buggy” ineligible for title “regardless of the vehicle’s previous title and/or registration.” The only other vehicles that, as a group, the Texas Administrative Code specifies as ineligible for title are race cars, off-road vehicles, and flooded cars.
Starting earlier this year, the Texas DMV has sent letters to dune buggy and sand rail owners in the state alerting them that their titles have been revoked and that the owners have to surrender the vehicle’s original title, windshield sticker, and license plates to the DMV. The letters note that the state considers dune buggies and sand rails “designed for off-road usage and may not be legally operated for use on Texas streets or public roadways.”
....
Vincent Parisien, the president of the Manx Club, said that the title revocations and the ban on dune buggy registrations amounts to discrimination without merit. “We’re not about making the streets more dangerous,” he said. “Our members are willing to go through all the same safety standards as other cars.” ... However, as Parisien pointed out, a number of Texan dune buggy enthusiasts have already resorted to selling their vehicles out of state, and others have parked their dune buggies fearing both the devaluation of their vehicles and the risk of facing legal trouble if they were to drive them on the streets.
....
UPDATE: The Save the Texas Dune Buggy Facebook group has distributed a petition for Texas dune buggy owners to sign and postmark to the Texas DMV by November 9.
UPDATE (7.November 2017): The GoFundMe campaign surpassed its $6,000 goal overnight and now stands at $6,110.
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