Q: Dear Honk: Last year, I paid $254 to register my 2017 Chevy through the Department of Motor Vehicles website. This year, I paid $317 for the SAME car! There was a $7.95 charge for postage and something like a $50 processing fee to some third party. What the heck is going on!?! I mean, Sacramento being awful is a given — but HOW do those folks get away with raising a NEW tax!?! Next year, I’ll go into the AAA office.
– A Glendora resident
A: Sounds like you stumbled onto a business partner of the DMV — and not the DMV itself.
The least expensive way is to go to the DMV website directly, or into a AAA branch.
Years ago, while gumshoeing for info for the ol’ column, Honk ended up on a website a few times that looked like the DMV’s but wasn’t.
A DMV official once told Honk to pass this tip along to readers: Make sure there is a “gov” in the website address; the Golden State’s DMV is at dmv.ca.gov.
And, yes, if you prefer, you can go to AAA.
The only added cost will be a 2.3% surcharge if using a Visa or MasterCard, said Marie Montgomery Nordhues, an Auto Club spokesperson.
The DMV can have a small fee as well.
Q: Hello Honk: As a frequent traveler from Los Angeles County to Kern County, I’m surprised and frustrated to see that the only rest stop on the 5 Freeway through the Grapevine has been closed for the last few months. Both northbound and southbound rest stops are closed. I would be somewhat appeased if at least one were open, but both being closed is really aggravating. It’s the only rest stop between me and my destination, and at my age, a bathroom stop is a necessity. Any insight would be appreciated.
– Tom Sullivan, Lakewood
A: Honk knows the feeling.
Caltrans struggles to keep many of its rest areas — which Honk has always found welcoming when not shuttered — open.
Twenty or so of the 80-plus in the state were closed this week.
Many are aging and in remote spots so a bit difficult to service; budget constraints have hurt at times, as well.
Those Tejon Pass rest stops closed on May 13 and are scheduled to reopen in August, next year.
“They are doing a full construction to upgrade the water and the wastewater facilities,” said Tami Cox, a Caltrans spokesperson.
Those systems seem to be a common problem with rest areas. Then, the future will look bright for that pair, which straddle the 5 Freeway between Gorman and Lebec and were built in the 1960s.
Before heading out to the asphalt jungle, a traveler can check on the status of rest areas and other stuff online at quickmap.dot.ca.gov. The Caltrans site can be a bit tricky at first: Make sure on the menu in the top-left corner you have only marked what you want, say “Rest Areas” under “Travel Facilities.”
Otherwise, the map can be as confusing as looking at a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting from just a foot away.
Speaking of confusing — at first glance, one Tejon Pass rest stop appears open, but it isn’t. Cox said Caltrans is trying to fix the glitch.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk