2010/01/14/email to Tax Assessor about Nissan

Hi, I emailed you earlier about a different matter.

Just now I received a notice that the Durham County vehicle tax has not been paid on my 1987 Nissan Maxima.

I did attempt to pay it on time, but the web site refused to let me do so because the inspection had not been completed. (Today I attempted again to pay the bill, but the web site will not let me in without a username and password. I have to assume this is a temporary problem, and I will try again in a few days.)

I had previously attempted to get it inspected, but the inspection failed due to a damaged rear tail light. This light has been damaged since 2006, so I was rather caught off-guard by this problem. The damage is visually quite minor and does not really affect the light's safety; there is a photo of the damage here:

http://htyp.org/File:100_0349_2006-11-17_smashed_Nissan_tail-light.web.jpg

Nonetheless, I have twice attempted to obtain a replacement -- once through AAA and once through a local authorized dealer, and I have searched extensively online for the part as well (either new or used), but have not yet been able to find it. Apparently only the original equipment will suffice, and there is no way to simply repair or patch the damage which will satisfy the inspection requirement.

Currently the car is undriveable due to electrical problems, and I am waiting until I can obtain a replacement tail-light before getting the other problems fixed (not much point in spending a lot of money fixing it if I can't legally drive it home afterwards).

Please let me know what I need to do in order to avoid any legal difficulties with this vehicle.

Thank you,