Funny. Sad. True. But mostly sad.

I have worked a great deal of my adult life in close conjunction with the automobile industry. Also did a bit of collections way back in the day - didn't like it, but learned a lot of really neat skills (like finding people who don't want to be found). This came in handy when I worked in car rental and needed to repo a car.

Those skills, plus the skills one acquires in over 14 years in sales and management, have given me some real advantages in business and in life.

One of these advantages is observation. 
Moreover, the understanding of what I am seeing at any moment. Understanding the motives of another person is an empowering feeling.

So one habitual thing I've seen over the years with regards to cars has to do with vehicle licensing and registration. When you see an expired tag, there are only a select number of reasons why the tag is expired, and you can tell why really quickly.

For the record, here in TN, tags expire on the last day of the month listed on the license plate itself. 

Also for the record, TN tags may be renewed any time in the 90 days prior to expiration. For example, if your tags are set to expire in February, you may renew them in December, January, or February.


Newly expired. 
You might see newly expired tags at any given time. The vehicle might be old or new. There is a slightly better chance you'll see a newly expired tag on a later model vehicle - usually 6 years old or newer.

So that new Cadillac you see in front of you with an expired tag... yeah, that's what I'm talking about here.

These are most commonly the result of forgetfulness mixed with at least a tad of procrastination.


Old expired.
These tags - which by definition have been expired more than six months - are intentionally expired. Tags like this are most often seen on much older vehicles: 20 years old or more in many cases. The owners are generally of "poor financial health" (i.e. - "broke"). They are intentionally gambling that most people do not pay attention to the fact that they are driving illegally. You won't see many of these, but they sure know how to avoid the cops, that's for sure!

So that 1990 Geo Metro with peeling used-to-be-red paint that's sputtering along at 40 mph and has an expired tag... yeah, that's what I'm talking about here.


Stupidly Expired. 
These are the tags over a month expired, but somewhat less than a year expired. Most often, you will see this on a slightly older model car. The owner is never in a good financial spot - but they are not intentionally trying to deceive, like the Old Expired car owners are. They are just hoping to get by until "some miracle" happens and they get enough money.

Enough money for what, you ask?

Glad you did. There's a couple of reasons they need money:
A) The owner doesn't have the money to repair the "check-engine" light so the vehicle can pass emissions testing.
B) The owner doesn't have enough money to pay for auto insurance so they can get the tags renewed.
C) The owner doesn't have the $50 or so it costs to get the tags themselves (in TN, tags range from about $20 to about $90 or more, depending on county - my county charges $49, so I went with that).

Sure, there could be other reasons, but those are the most likely.

So, suppose you see a slightly older Honda, driven by an individual who is so heavy, the poor car scrapes the ground when he gets in - I mean some 450 pound fatass who never saw a McDonalds he had the willpower to pass. The owner fantasizes about stepping out on his wife, but the only female that's glanced at him in the last dozen years was the hungry lioness at the zoo, which mistook him for a wayward hippopotamus. This car has tags that were due in February, and it's now almost May. Yeah... that's what I'm talking about here.


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