Don't you just love the DMV?

For those in other countries, this is our Department of Motor Vehicles.

The DMV is definitely its own entity. I had to go there in person and so this past Friday, I went. You can now look on-line and see what the average wait time is. I checked before I left and it was 20 minutes without an appointment. Okay, so off I go. I got there and the wait had increased to 40 minutes.
So,I waited 40 minutes. Then, I got to talk with a young lady who was nice and helpful and her native language is English. I was feeling hopeful. But she had trouble processing my transaction. She needed a password which she didn't have. She had to talk to the supervisor, who looked like a typical DMV employee. Ths supervisor had to call Sacramento. Uh-oh! That was going to take time. I sat down. 20 minutes later, the problem was resolved. Turns out that there was a problem with their own tracking numbers because they didn't match.
I did get a good laugh out of this. The woman who was sitting next to my helpful representative was wearing a DMV logo shirt. Would you wear a DMV shirt and go out in public?

I will hand it to the DMV, some are getting their acts in order compared to other states. As much as people are going crazy on the threat of "RealID" the steps to set it up is certainly improving customer service at many DMVs.

For example, I absolutely hated going to the ones in Michigan. Most days I would have to take the afternoon off just to go renew my license or something like that. Once it came to my turn I was always in and out of there...just sometimes it took a couple of hours to do that. Plus their network system was down 1/2 the times I would go there.

Moving to NJ was a completely different scenerio. Hardly any waiting and everything that I ordered was given to me right there. No problems just as long as I had everything on hand.

oh i hate the dmv. with our new imigration laws it makes things 10 times harder now. i have to take roman to renew his id next week. we tried a couple weeks ago but after standing in line for an hour we get to the window and their computer network went down. i was so irritated. now we are gonna try it again while he is on layoff next week so we have the whole day to wait if needed.

Ours is the BMV rather than DMV in Indiana, and they're usually really good here in town.

Wait time usually isn't really long, thankfully. Back home where my parents live, it's a nightmare, and has always been so. Long wait times, people are lined up early in the morning, etc.

Arizona has speeded things up, considerably. Since we have "lifetime" drivers' licenses, no more going in every 3-4 years to renew. Six years ago, after my divorce was final, I had to go in person to change my name, have a new picture taken and have the "corrective lenses" restriction removed (I had LASIK surgery). This took about half an hour. I remember the days when a trip to the DMV was an all-day affair and one brought a sandwich, pillow and blanket.

Address changes and tag renewals can be done online, paid by credit/debit card.

I just renewed my license this year. Since I've never had a moving violation *knock wood* I got to renew by mail/online!

I use to drive out to Flemington, NJ from where ever I was living, sometimes 2 hours! For one reason, ever heard of Flemington,NJ? Many people from NJ haven't either! The line there is 1-2 people, you were in and out in 15 minutes! Of course depending on what you are there for, it could be quicker , or longer.......

I used to go to teh Dmv In Daly City and San Mateo when I lived in the Bay Area. It would take for ever at both but I prefer San Mateo. The one here in Modesto takes for ever too. We use Triple A for Regs its fast.

I renewed my license last year in person, and it was an all afternoon extravaganza. I should be able to renew it for the next couple of years by mail. Thank God. I hate going to the DMV. The one in the town where I live, has this rude, bleached blond bimbo who works at the desk, who chews gum and smacks it, and talks so loud that everyone in the place can hear whatever your business is. I just cringe when she calls my number....

The local DMV has installed (I'm sure at taxpayers expense) a digital system for issuing a number depending on the service you wanted and then waiting for that number. It was a confusing system so they stopped using it. It seems if you go on a tuesday -Thursday mid morning/afternoon the wait wasn't to bad but its always a wait!!

The last few times I got to go to the BMV (it's called that in Ohio too) I was in and out, in fact, I had to go in early January to renew my registration and I was out in 5 minutes!! I was amazed becuase I have experienced the hour wait times

The problem with the Indiana BMV is that they have decided that Indiana must switch plate designs every three years, cool concept, but with every design change you get a new plate number, just when I thought I had mine memorized, I have to go and relearn it!!! I will admit that the current driver license design looks pretty sharp though.

Went two weeks ago, no initial wait once in the door, had to wait a few minutes here and there for them to process written test and some other info though, that was Thursday afternoon around 4pm. I was impressed!

Originally Posted by swooshfinn

The problem with the Indiana BMV is that they have decided that Indiana must switch plate designs every three years, cool concept, but with every design change you get a new plate number, just when I thought I had mine memorized, I have to go and relearn it!!! I will admit that the current driver license design looks pretty sharp though.

Went two weeks ago, no initial wait once in the door, had to wait a few minutes here and there for them to process written test and some other info though, that was Thursday afternoon around 4pm. I was impressed!

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Do you go to the West Lafayette branch? That's the one I always go to, since it seems that it's quicker and easier than the Lafayette one. (Btw, I'm from Lafayette).

My DH gets the Purdue plate, so his never changes unless he doesn't renew the right one. The only issue we have is they can never get the county right. Last year (with the new system), they had me down for Lake County, when I had not only registered my car in Tipp, but got my title there as well.

When he renewed online, he put Tipp as his county, but the registration he got has him down for Kosciusko county.