

If the owners of each of the 13,456 antique car paid $5 today, the state would collect about $67,000. (The heavier the car, the greater the cost.)
ANTIQUE MOTORCYCLE PLATES REGISTRATION
The cost of registering an antique car in Rhode Island is $5, which pales in comparison to the typical registration cost of $60 to $2,568, depending on the weight of the vehicle. “You get more incentives,” he told Target 12. But he’s upfront about why he chose to register the car as an antique.


Onge, a Bristol resident who owns a Toyota Celica from the 1980s, has kept the car in pristine condition since he bought it brand-new 30 years ago. “Sometimes you see newer cars at antique car shows,” he said. Lincoln Chafee signed the bills into law in early July.Īsked whether he thought 1990s-vintage Civics and Accords should qualify as antiques, McCaffrey emphaized that even before his bill passed state law allowed cars to be registered as antiques once they reached 25 years old. Joe Shekarchi, another Warwick Democrat, and passed in less than a week. McCaffrey’s bill passed the Senate on June 11, 2014, about three months after he introduced it a House companion bill was introduced the following day by Rep. “That’s not the spirit of the law at all,” he said. McCaffrey said he pushed the change in order to give antique car enthusiasts more opportunity to show off their cars, not for people to use older cars on a regular basis. It is cheaper to register an antique car than a typical vehicle, and owners can ignore safety and emissions inspections. While the reasons for the rapid growth might be varied, there are clear financial and regulatory benefits to registering a car as an antique. And about a quarter were made between 19, including 15 Honda Civics, nine Honda Accords and a Subaru Legacy. More than half the 2,197 cars registered as antiques this year were manufactured between 19, according to the DMV. Target 12 also discovered many of the vehicles now being registered are mass-produced makes and models from recent decades that you’re unlikely to see in a classic car show. That pace of growth is more than double the 22% increase seen over the same length of time in the years before the law was changed.
ANTIQUE MOTORCYCLE PLATES LICENSE
Division of Motor Vehicles shows the number of active antique license plates has grown 52% to 13,456 since the law took effect in 2014, equaling about 2% of all passenger plates across the state. Michael McCaffrey, D-Warwick – have led to rapid growth in the number of antique license plate registrations in Rhode Island.ĭata provided to Target 12 by the R.I. That gave Rhode Island more relaxed rules on antiques than neighboring states.Ī Target 12 investigation reveals the looser restrictions – championed by Sen. But under Rhode Island state law, the two can be considered one and the same.Ī little-noticed law enacted in 2014 expanded the allowed uses of antique cars – defined as vehicles aged 25 years and older – to let people drive them for reasons other than exhibitions, parades and club activities. (WPRI) – For antique car hobbyists, a 1941 Cadillac 60 Special isn’t in the same class as a 1994 Honda Civic.
