So we had an experience I thought I might share, and that's how...well, let me tell the story.

Back in September we bought a 2021 Mazda CX-5 to replace our 2019 CX-5 that had been totaled in a head-on collision (everyone OK though Mary Ann did have seatbelt bruises). Because the car was totaled, we essentially sold the old CX-5 to Allstate and with the proceeds bought the new CX-5. Kudos to Ray Price for getting us the same car as we had, a CX-5 Signature in Eternal Blue, and luck for it arriving in Baltimore almost to the day we needed it.

Having bought both CX-5s from Ray Price, we get state inspections for free, not only for the CX-5 but also our 1990 Miata, When the service advisor whose name I can't remember went to check the registration and insurance. Things didn't match up. The insurance card was correct, but the registration/plate for the Miata--note: ILLIINI--came up as the CX-5. What's more, the the plate that had been on the CX-5--ILLINII--wasn't on anything. And there was no registration for the Miata.

A switch had occurred when we bought the 2021 CX-5. Our CX-5 and the Miata are both in Ray Price's computer system. What's more, because we owned another Mazda--the 1990 Miata--we got a loyalty bonus of several hundred dollars. Apparently the registration for the CX-5 was recorded as ILLIINI, the records somehow treating the Miata, as a trade-in when it came to handling the plates. ILLINII, the "number," just wasn't applied to anything.

We were able to get the insurance straightened out over the phone, thanks to our service advisor. But the license plates... We areAAA members and the nice lady at the Stroudsburg office was able to make the changes. The registration for the CX-5, ILLIINI, which had been on the Miata, stayed on the CX-5. The "unregistered" Miata--I have been driving with NO REGISTRATION since October--got new registration using ILLINII. I physically moved ILLINII from the CX-5 and put it on the Miata, and took ILLIINI off the Miata and replaced ILLINII opn the CX-5.

Confusing? You should have seen it while we were still trying to figure it out. But all turned out well. We just have to remember which plate is on which car. Here's what the two plates looked like when we originally got ILLINII for the CX-5.