2001-2007 Avanti Registration/Title/Inspection/Insurance

[studegary]

I have a strong interest in 2001-2007 Avantis. This includes a current offer on one.



They were sold new with both Avanti and Pontiac/Ford paperwork and numbers.



I forsee problems with getting a title and registration as an Avanti in NY. If I am succssful, this leads to another problem with the NY State inspection. The dash (viewed through the windshield) VIN is for the Pontiac/Ford and not for an Avanti. For the annual NY State inspection the car's OBD II port is hooked up to the state's computer in Albany and the bar code is read on the registration sticker on the windshield with a scanner hooked to the computer. The car's computer will state that it is a Pontiac/Ford and not an Avanti and the sticker bar code will state what it is registered as.



If it is titled/registered as a Pontiac/Ford, rather than an Avanti, this leads to valuation and identification problems. In the case of a loss, you would only be able to collect the meager value of a used 2001-2002 Pontiac or 2005-2007 Ford. If it is possible to get specialty insurance as an Avanti, then it could not be registered as a Ford/Pontiac for state inspection purposes.



I guess those that do not have state inspections, or at least not the kind where there has to be a computer hook-up between the car's OBD II and the state's computer, have it much easier.



I hope that I have spelled out enough to define my potential problems with purchasing one of these cars. I would appreciate comments and especially personal experience with these items.

[SN-60]

A friend of mine here in Massachusetts, who purchased a 2002 Avanti brand new from the factory, went through hell getting it registered because of the problems your concerned with.

Eventually though, it all worked out, and he's been using the car as his everyday driver for years....Has just over 200K on it now.

Personally, I don't care for these later "Avantis". (In other words, if I wanted a Pontiac Firebird, I'd buy one!!)

[studegary]

A friend of mine here in Massachusetts, who purchased a 2002 Avanti brand new from the factory, went through hell getting it registered because of the problems your concerned with.

Eventually though, it all worked out, and he's been using the car as his everyday driver for years....Has just over 200K on it now.

Personally, I don't care for these later "Avantis". (In other words, if I wanted a Pontiac Firebird, I'd buy one!!)

Does Mass. have annual inspections where later cars are hooked up to the state's computer? If not, then you only have the initial problem when first registering it. I could see dealing with this one time problem.

I can't stand the look of that vintage of Firebird, particularly the snoot, but I like the Avanti.

[SN-60]

Yes, Massachusetts indeed does have annual vehicle inspections....and once he had the 2002 Avanti registered and insured, the annual inspections were never a problem.

[studegary]

Yes, Massachusetts indeed does have annual vehicle inspections....and once he had the 2002 Avanti registered and insured, the annual inspections were never a problem.

Mass. has annual inspections, but are they of the type where the car's computer (OBD II) is hooked, real time, to the state's computer (for cars new enough to have OBD II)?

[SN-60]

Mass. has annual inspections, but are they of the type where the car's computer (OBD II) is hooked, real time, to the state's computer (for cars new enough to have OBD II)?

Absolutely!...(although vehicles built prior to 1997 are excluded from this emissions check)

[studegary]

Absolutely!...(although vehicles built prior to 1997 are excluded from this emissions check)

Do you know if he has his Avanti registered/titled/inspected as an Avanti or a Pontiac?

[Avantict]

You can get the vehicle registered as Avanti in some states and after a great deal of effort and agony. No regular insurance company will touch the vehicle as an Avanti so you will end up insuring it as a firebird or mustang. There are collector car insurance companies that will take the car for agreed value if its not a daily driver and they understand the conversion process. Ideally you need to have another vehicle insured with them in order to attempt to get the agreed value coverage. Bottom line in my view leave the registration as either a firebird or mustang if you intend to use the car as a daily driver as I do or understand that unfortunately if the car is totaled you will suffer a loss.