Arizona Registration

RichRich

Well-Known Member
I went to a few different DMV's and I can't stress to anyone enough that if registering in Arizona to stay away from the Mesa DMV branch. They were absolutely awful. It is well worth the extra drive to go to the Glendale MVD. Officers were fantastic and much more helpful, polite, professional....etc.

Address is 16380 N 59th Ave, Glendale, AZ 85306

Another tip is to get the original donor title in your name prior to registration. It will be titled as a dismantled vehicle. Make sure whatever name signed off the title matches the front or you have some power of attorney paperwork giving them the authority to sign over the title.


1: You need to go around back of the building to the inspection area and get signed in for a LEVEL 2 inspection. Cost will be $25 for the inspection plus $5 for the VIN plate. It seems somewhat disorganized in there but walk up to the desk and ask anyone behind it to get on the Level 2 inspection list. Bring in all your paperwork (MCO and Donor Title) A typical wait time will be apx 2-3 hours. You can pull your car off the trailer after you get signed in. They had me park the car in a little coned off area labeled as "MVD USE ONLY" I recommend getting there very early, they said that people start lining up around 6 to 6:30am. They are open from 8am to 3pm Monday through Friday

2: They will call your name and tell you to drive your car to an inspection bay.

3: Since this will be registered as "Special Construction" and the laws are so vague the only thing they were concerned with is making sure the engine matches the title of the donor and they briefly looked at the MCO from DFGoblin. They were unconcerned with the serial plate that was mounted on the frame from DF.

4: They did not look at any of the working headlights, turn signals/brake lights or horn.
I did not have most of my panels on either, no side panels, no fenders, no fire wall, no wind shield.

5: After they ensure that the paperwork matches your engine and transmission, they will print out a VIN plate right there and attach it somewhere visible on the frame. Be prepared, if your frame is powder coated/painted they will take a bit of sand paper to it to smooth it prior to adhesion. They made it very clear that the vin plate must always stay attached and if it ever starts to peel DO NOT take it off, take it to the inspection station and have a new one printed.

6: Take the paperwork that they give you around front to the MVD. At this time I went to a 3rd party Tags and Title place because they were too busy up front but they will want to see the original invoice so they can charge tax when they register it, I just brought in my invoice that matched the invoice number on the MCO. Since it is a special construction you will not need any emission stuff. Pay the registration and be on your way with your new title and plates.

It took me ALL DAY to get mine registered but it will be much faster and easier for you if you learn from my mistakes and just head straight to the Glendale office.

If I seemed to have missed anything or you have any other questions that I didn't cover please feel free to send me a message and I will be glad to help
 
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LS2GTO

Member
I agree with Richrich. I took my goblin to get inspected in Tucson, where I live, and the Tucson branch had no idea what to do with the goblin. They ended up not passing my inspection and refunded my money.

After reading RichRich's recommendation, I drove the goblin up to Glendale and got it inspected. They passed it no problem. I would recommend just going to the Glendale branch and not waste your time dealing with another location that has no idea what they are doing.
 

Brian74

Goblin Guru
I agree with Richrich. I took my goblin to get inspected in Tucson, where I live, and the Tucson branch had no idea what to do with the goblin. They ended up not passing my inspection and refunded my money.

After reading RichRich's recommendation, I drove the goblin up to Glendale and got it inspected. They passed it no problem. I would recommend just going to the Glendale branch and not waste your time dealing with another location that has no idea what they are doing.
Awesome; another Tucson build...

Good to know. I had figured Tucson would have been easier. Did you go through a local Tucson title service for everything besides the inspection?
 

LS2GTO

Member
Awesome; another Tucson build...

Good to know. I had figured Tucson would have been easier. Did you go through a local Tucson title service for everything besides the inspection?
I haven't gotten the title paperwork done yet. I will be doing it in Tucson this coming week.
 

askiles

Goblin Guru
Good morning guys! So yesterday I went, had the Goblin inspected, assigned a VIN, titled, and registered it. All within 3 hours. It was a pretty easy and fairly painless process. I ended up going to the ADOT inspection location at Broadway and the I-10 in Tempe. I had a 10:20 appointment, got there at 9:55, and they got me right in. I was the only one there. I went over the car with them real quick, let them know what it was, presented them with the invoice for the kit, and the title from the Cobalt donor. 30 minutes later they were done and assigned a VIN to it. Luckily I am also law enforcement, so they were more than cool with me. Having said that, they were 2 younger officers who really liked the car, so they would have been cool as it was. Then I took the paperwork to the MVD, in and out. Easy peasy.
 

askiles

Goblin Guru
When BaltimoreHokie liked your post, it's was like putting a pin into a voodoo doll. In this case, a nail in your tire on your drive back from the MVD. :)
LMAO!!! Arizona is a great state to have cars in for the most part! Very lenient. No emissions for these special construction vehicles either.
 

Desert Sasqwatch

Goblin Guru
Andy, is the license plate cost going to be determined on total cost to build the car, on the cost of the kit invoice, or an estimated cost? We know this will make a difference here in sunny AZ.
 

askiles

Goblin Guru
Andy, is the license plate cost going to be determined on total cost to build the car, on the cost of the kit invoice, or an estimated cost? We know this will make a difference here in sunny AZ.
The dollar amount that went on the title was the dollar amount from the DF invoice. That’s the dollar amount the registration was based on. Just upwards of $9k.
 

Desert Sasqwatch

Goblin Guru
That's the closest one, dang! Wonder if it would be worth driving an hour further to go to Glendale or slightly closer to Scottsdale?

What kind of shenanigans where they pulling? Guessing no one wanted to class a Goblin as anything other than a sandrail?
 

AZmoto

Well-Known Member
Dune buggy is a sub classification under Special Construction Vehicles. Kit Car is the correct sub classification we are looking for but that field doesn't exist on the paperwork I received. My car is listed as a SPECON vehicle but there is a field for body style in which it says ATV. If you look up the body style codes you will find ATV is listed under the motorcycle section. He also marked it as a 6 cylinder. I didn't receive the paperwork until the officer was gone. I pointed out the mistakes to the lady that gave me the forms and she said that I would be able to get it corrected when I registered it. We'll see...

In general the Mesa DMV didn't want anything to do with a Goblin. As soon as we pulled into the inspection lane the officer took one look at it and said "I can't do this". I asked why not and he said "you don't have safety equipment" and walked into the back office. I walked into the customer area and peaked through the little hole in the two way mirror where the receptionist sits and could see her talking to the officer. He was complaining to her about a lack of safety equipment and she kept telling him "that's not your job". Finally he brought out another officer to look at the car and he started complaining to him. The other officer went through a brief checklist of items (headlights, mirrors, brake lights, turn signals, etc.) and said it looks like everything is here. The original officer then complained that it didn't have fenders to which the other officer replied that it doesn't need fenders just tread on the tires.

I then offered up that Glendale had done a couple of these cars. The second officer said the to the first "why don't you just call Glendale?". The original officer then went back inside for awhile and came out with my sticker. He never once looked at my receipts or checked the engine id. By the time I got my paperwork with the mistakes he was long gone.
 

Desert Sasqwatch

Goblin Guru
OMG, doesn't sound like Mesa is the place to go. Hopefully you can get it straightened out after you get you registration paperwork back. Almost make me think about going the Montana route. o_O:oops:
 

G Atsma

Goblin Guru
I think that Mesa officer needs his name put here, as it seems others in that office are better advised than he is
 

Rttoys

Goblin Guru
I hate cops/inspectors like this. They think anything that’s out of the norm is going to kill a bus full of nuns and puppies. :rolleyes: It’s a “safe” vehicle that’s going to mostly travel 2000 miles a year. Get over it. :eek:
 
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