I just moved to alexandria, va for a new job.
Anything i should know regarding the laws?
I heard something about tints, but nothing for sure. what mods are checked during inspection?

Currently, my car is registered under my dads name in PA. he has a seperate insurance policy just for my car, and i pay all the expenses. I was thinking about transfering it to my name as a gift in VA, but now im not sure if its the best idea. i am in an apartment, and may move again within a year. passing inspection and might have to remove tints. this personal property tax is insane. and then ill have to put a lisence plate on the front of the car.
im thinking it might be better to register the car to my parents address in PA under my name and get my own insurance. I was quoted for about $120 there.

what else
recommend any good Acura dealers in the area? I live across the street from a honda dealer, and i was told they will do warranty work also but not sure.

any other recommendations?

 

Having tinted windows won't fail you for inspection as long as the 3rd brake light is not tinted.

I've had my windows tinted for 4 months here and haven't had any issues (Norfolk) they don't sniff your exhaust they just check to make sure a cat is there.

Welcome to the commonwealth

 

My brake light is tinted, but i have the LEDs in the spoiler, so im good there

 

tint laws: 50% front, 35% rear; it is not enforced at inspection. i think you made a thread before about your impending move here...i posted there as well. tint tix will be enforced without a primary offense in fairfax, loudon and the state troopers. this is all pending whether the officer is in a bad mood or not or if it happens to be tint tix day (the officers actually have the tint meter to measure and collect revenues). they will also enforce the front tag as well. i have tint on both cars. i have not been bothered by the po-po nor does the inspection station care.

emissions rules are different here in No. VA than they are in other parts of VA (some parts do not have emissions). no sniffer test. they will do the OBDII plug in check for codes, CELs, visible smoke from the exhaust, and possibly an actual visual of your exhaust system.

i'm not sure you can register and insure your car to your parents address IF the car is physically here and will be driven HERE. if anything happens the insurance company will want to know why you are in the DC area.

an annual safety inspection is required. all this stuff is on the VA DMV website. this checks for lights, window operation, brakes, tires etc.

aftermarket exhausts-better not be obscenely loud. the laws are interpreted as no aftermarket exhausts. however it can be argued that this is NOT explicitly stated. nor is it stated that exhaust noise cannot exceed a certain dB level. the law simply states that the exhaust noise may not exceed the OEM specs and must be equivilant to OEM. it is not unheard of to get a tix for a loud exhaust.

personal property tax...doesn't matter. you live here, you pay property tax here. i think you have 15 or 30 days to register your car with DMV and the city of alexandria (please refer to the city of alexandria website for further details).

good luck at the new job and welcome to VA.

 

any preferences as to where to get my car servicedin northern VA? oil is due soon.
I am very close to Sheehy Honda, but not sure if i should go there. Im having trouble with my TPMS system failing. would like to get it checked out and fixed under the warranty

 

The dealer in Chantilly, VA is excellent and they close at 12 midnight.
Of course, it's a dealer so they will charge dealer prices but I've had nothing but good luck w/ them after my purchase of my RL.

 

^^ the guys over at pohanka will take care of you (and possibly your wallet). no, seriously, i've gone there for the life of my car. nothing but good experiences (most of the time, only some minor car washing issues -as in DON'T WASH...but i'm really anal/OCD about my paint and they know that).

depending on what service you need...if it's an A service...ask for an oil change. the price difference in what you say you want done is astronomical ($45 oil change compared to a $120 A service). if you want the name of my SA shoot me a PM...he'll take care of you.

radley's parking lot is painfully small . tight spaces and my car really don't mix. not taking any chances.

if you'd like to meet up with other acuraziners....the great falls meet is on jan 13th. the thread is in the regionals section. check it out.

 

DO NOT come down to Crown Acura

 

Ive not dealt with many dealerships to determine good and bad but from personal experience Radley Acura in Falls Church, VA has been pretty good to me and mah baby lol

 

Falls Church VA is closer than Chantilly..

 

Let me know what you think, I'm hoping all is well.

 

radley is closer to me, but i still go out to chantilly for service hell i drove out to manassas just to have a tire installed (i have a tire shop a mile from my house). i'm anal. after having bad experiences at big box shops, and a turn off sales experience at radley...pohanka has been the most consistent in terms of taking care of me (sales and service). it just depends on how particular you are and what your experiences have been. i'll pay a little extra for good service.

 

Yep I hear you about having good service.
It's just that traffic around here is killer.

 

it's all in the timing of the traffic...but yeah...traffic is horrendous around here