How I Changed A Red Versa To STEEMIT-Plated
Since the car I introduced in yesterday's Finally Introducing Myself post became a bit of a wow, I wanted to share how I turned the Versa I bought into "Steemit Plated."
Tricky Start
When I bought the car, the dealer was good enough get the car registered in my name and to supply a new license plate free of charge. In Ontario, you have to jump through a few hoops after you buy a car to drive it. You not only have to get it registered in your name, you also need to buy enough insurance to comply with Ontario's mandatory-insurance regime.
If you're buying a car peer-to-peer, you have to see to both of these yourself. The Government of Ontario will not issue you a license plate for the car unless you have it registered in your name and you have proof of insurance. So, the dealer did provide me a real service by registering and getting a new plate through his own insurance.
So much of a service, I bobbled things a bit. :) Since this was my first car and I had never bought insurance, I figgered that the insurance company would take its time processing my order and getting the proof of insurance to me. (This proved to be right.) Until then, my plan was to drive the car home and let it cool its tires in the driveway until the insurance came through.
Turns out, I was doing it wrong. I was supposed to have my own insurance before I drove it off the dealer lot. The dealer informed me of this. I replied that I was only going to drive it home and not drive it again until I got the insurance card. He ended up cautioning me several times before I ended up driving it from lot to home.
I'm sure he was trying to be responsible - but part of my mind was smiling at the sound of the same guy who sold me the car telling me that it was dangerous for me to make that one drive without insurance. :)
The plate he supplied me with was standard issue:
Getting The STEEMIT Plates
In Ontario, this kind of plate is a "vanity plate": it cost about three hundred and fifty bucks. Money well spent.
Given that the wheels of government grind slowly, I had to wait about two weeks before the plates were delivered: a little bit longer than it took me to get my road-legal proof of insurance. Because I live in my parents' basement, and because my dad has the same first name as me, there was a bit of unintended comedy when Purolator delivered the plates.
Getting The Plate Changed: I Thought I was Clever...
Before I could put them on, I had to exchange the CDKV plates for the STEEMITs at a branch of "Service Ontario." Having had to go there before, I remembered very well how long the line-ups were.
So I thought I was being clever by selecting a nearby one that opened its doors at 9 AM on Saturday. I would set off at 8:40 AM, get there early, whip in and whip out. Who else would show up at such an early hour on the day after Friday night?
As my luck would have it, a lot of people. Before the doors opened, the lineup stretched the width of the parking lot! I didn't get a pic of that line, but this pic after the doors opened gives you some idea of the crowd:
A Pleasant Surprise
When the doors opened, I was in line at the other side of the parking lot. I had stiffened my jaw in anticipation of a loooong wait. Blessedly, that proved to not be the case. Even though the line was packed, it moved swiftly. That picture above, I took at ~9:15 AM. At that time, I was nearing the front of the line. I hardly had time to rue the fact that the line would have been a lot shorter had I showed up at ~9:30.
When I got to a clerk, I found out why. She was really quick:
So quick, I'm sure she didn't notice me taking the picture. :)
As it shows, she was in the middle of registering the STEEMIT plate to my Versa. Since I handed in the standard-issue plates, I got a sticker for my new plates free.
Not long afterwards, I was using a screwdriver to screw on the new plates. The drive home from Service Ontario was the first time everyone saw:
And the rest is bound to be history!
Now that is a vanity plate worth having!
Thanks a lot! No need to be scared if you see me coming down the road; I'm not that bad a driver. :-)
Hahaha! I love this @nxtblg!
Ok, I'm also in Ontario and I have personally bought and sold many cars in my day. The reason the dealer was cautioning you is because if you got pulled over by the police without being able to produce proof of insurance, you would be heavily fined and risk demerit points against your license to legally drive. Usually, you have to show proof of insurance before a plate is even issued...that's quite the service the dealer provided.
I would like to suggest that a clear lexan cover for this license plate would be a good investment. You can get these at Canadian Tire. Go for the lexan, it's a little more expensive but it won't yellow or crack as badly as a plastic or carbon-fibre plate protector, over time. This will save your Steemit Plate from stone chips and road-wear as time marches on.
Worth protecting it because when the plate becomes hard to read, you'll have to pay the same $+ inflation to have the plate replaced, otherwise you can be charged for this too...
(Welcome to car ownership in Ontario.) LOL!
Thanks a lot for the advice, and for the resteem. Nice to meet a fellow Ontarian!
I figured as much. I was just going for a cheap wisecrack. ;)
I certainly know where Canadian Tire is, having blown hundreds of dollars there already. :) Thanks for the tip.
Also, thanks for the well-informed comment.
It is absolutely my pleasure!
Your car is awesome and plates looks very Good. Your post inspired me a lot and on ward I will work with more dedication.
Thanks for sharing such a fruitful information.
Keep sharing please!!!
thats like a great post sir..
i like your post..@nxtblg
I really want to be like this success in steemit
Lolz wow this is great dude! Nice plates you got there. Congratulations man... @dee-y over and out
Thanks you! I really enjoyed getting it. :)
I can't wait to own my own car, i too want to feel that feeling of owning something am proud of. Although that clerk lady is really really to be awarded for doing her job swiftly.
Good for you! Despite what the hipsters say, owning a car is good for you. For one, you learn how to maintain it; you learn to take responsibility for it.
Carry on go ahed love you all
Well, you could have paid for your insurance with some STEEM. Now, are you the only one in Ontario with this plate? Looks super cool @nxtblg!
I really didn't want to...
Yep! Every plate has to be unique, and that includes vanity plates. The only (apparent) exception are Graphic License Plates, like this sample:
The side graphic represents Radio Amateurs of Canada. It's one of over 60 options. These can be duplicated so long as the text of each plate is unique.
Nice! So if I move to Ontario I guess I'll have to get some of these graphic license plates and put the Steemit logo on the left side. I checked the collection. My favorite one is the 'Ducks Unlimited'.
Amazing! Our plates as so dull comparing the the options you have out there.
You could do that, although it would be unofficial.
One intriguing possibility is an official graphic: one officially approved by the Government of Ontario.
The graphics page says, and I quote:
Now, that's intriguing! I wonder how long it'll be before the Blockchain Association of Canada explores the possibility...
Aha! Now I got it. You need to apply so that your organization logo is included. Well, you'll definitely get a lot of love here if you decide to apply for the Steemit logo approved for the list of the graphic licence plates.
It sure would be interesting to try. But the government being what it is, I'd go nowhere unless I had an "organization" explicitly behind me.
I can assure you that the government has not heard of "permissionless'. ;-)
I agree. Well, then it depends on the guys behind Steemit to support it. It has to be initiated first though... and guys like you and me are usually becoming such kind of initiators.
It was a nice talk! Need to go to bed, because it's 3:33 a.m. here.. :O
Enjoy a great night out there @nxtblg! :)
You too! I'm winding up for the night myself.
World of Photography Beta V1.0
>Learn more here<
Thank you for participating in #vehiclephotography, the weekly selection will be released on Thursday.
You have earned 5.05 XP for sharing your photo!
Daily photos: 1/2
Daily comments: 0/5
Multiplier: 1.01
Server time: 00:26:39
Total XP: 6.05/100.00
Total Photos: 1
Total comments: 1
Total contest wins: 0
Follow: @photocontests
Join the Discord channel: click!
Play and win SBD: @fairlotto
Learn how to program Steem-Python applications: @steempytutorials
Developed and sponsored by: @juliank
Just aswell you didnt have an accident on your way home from the lot. I do like your registration plate. Maybe your the 1st person to have one that would make it unique :)
Oh, I was careful. As I said in the post, I'm sure that the dealer was fulfilling a responsibility by dissuading me.
He tried anyway lol
I guess I will have to be on the lookout for that steemit plate haha