money for nothing

July 31, 2009 10:12 AM

How can I contest a fixit ticket and not pay $500?

To make a long story short I got a fixit ticket on my car, took care of the problem but didn't realize I had to go to court. Fast forward to now I have an $800 bail from which they will kindly remove $300 if I pay in the next ten days. This is still a lot more than I can afford. I plan on trying to get a court date but don't have any idea what to expect and how to pay as little of this as possible. Any personal experience or advice appreciated! Cops were from Beverly Hills so it's Beverly Hills Court if that makes a difference.

posted by 12%juicepulp to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

This happened to a friend of mine - also in California, but Bay Area. He went to court, told his story and the judge extended the amount of time he had to resolve the ticket before they tacked on the (HUGE) late penalties - which is where the $500+ is coming from in your case. In the end, though, it's up to the judge.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 10:20 AM on July 31

If you go into court and talk straight with a judge about a ticket, any ticket, they will reduce the fine or work out some kind of deal. Be sure to bring the receipts for the repairs you made.
posted by P.o.B. at 11:20 AM on July 31

Yeah, make a court date and tell the judge you were unaware that it was anything more than a warning. Bring your receipts and that should cut it right down. They're trying to milk you on the easy payment thing, and while it's been awhile for me, I've plead both dumb and poor on different occasions and judges have been very receptive to a taking of responsibility.

You should see what they have to deal with on an hourly basis, so if you distinguish yourself from people who just don't care at all, "I got more time than money, yo. A couple weekends would be better than a fine," you'll probably get it cut down nicely. I mean really, a fix-it ticket usually doesn't have a fine at all.
posted by rhizome at 12:09 PM on July 31

Just as an addendum in case anyone finds this thread in a search I thought I'd post some lessons learned.

When you get a fixit ticket in California, after you make the needed repair you need to go to the POLICE and have them inspect your car. If you go to the court with some kind of evidence (photographic or whatever) that your car has been fixed they will not accept it, you need to bring something from the police stating that your car has been fixed.

If you have a failure to appear they will suspend your license EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SCHEDULED A NEW COURT DATE. If you want to avoid the hassle/$55 dollar fee for un-suspending your license at the DMV you should schedule your new court date for as soon as possible so that everything will be resolved BEFORE the suspension of your license goes into effect.

Finally, the judge does have the discretion to remove the gazillion dollar failure to appear fine but not the other fines, they can only give you payment plans or community service for those. It's worth noting that the act of scheduling a new court date quickly after receiving the failure to appear notice seemed to make my judge more sympathetic in terms of removing the huge fees.
posted by 12%juicepulp at 7:25 PM on November 1