Toll Road Transponder
 

So I got my toll road transponder today. I hate the thing, but it saves me $3.50 a trip in video toll and the toll road saves 10-15 minutes on the way home. Normally these mount on the windshield beside the mirror, but I have never had one in a convertable before. Do I need to hide it while parking the car in public, or just close the roof and not worry?

Not sure on the toll process where you live but here in Texas they register your car plates in the system so when you pass it always takes a photo of your plates and if the car sticker does not register in their system the photo of your plates completes your toll process.

I never attached mine to the windshield and pull it out of my center console when on toll roads and place on my dash but sometimes have forgotten and never received any notice in the mail and see they deduct my toll from my account.

I just attach mine next to the rear view mirror and close the top when the car is parked. I wouldn't leave my top down anyway as somebody could do anything to the car when the top is down and you're not around. Not to mention the sun beats up the leather.

I don't know how creative you are, but you can google articles that talk about taking apart the transponder and putting the guts inside your dash or someplace else where it will still receive the signal. I was looking into that, but found out that all Illinois needed was my plates so i just roll without it.

In Texas our transponders are stickers. Yours might be a thin box you double-stick to the inside of the windshield.

No one will steal it.

I painted mine black (rattle can of matte black paint from Home Depot) and then affixed it to the windshield so it wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb... those things are FUGLY.

BTW, they say not to put it in the window tinted area, but it works fine up there and reduces the visual look of the thing.

i use toll tags up and down 95, indiana toll road, etc. (EZ Pass)

i don't mount it on the windshield. i just keep it in the arm cubby or in the radio cubby.

when i'm coming up to a toll gate just reach in and hold it up if the top's down. or place it on the dashboard if the top's up.

your car is registered on the tag (it should be anyway) so in the event you forget someone will look up the plate and see the associated tag and charge the account. occasionally not an issue, but if you use this as the default, they'll eventually catch on and start sending you letters / notices / citations.

I had one velcro'd to the back side of my mirror by the previous owner and I didn't even notice it until about 4 months later.

Is there any residual value to these so that I should send it back in or just trash it?

I don't use toll roads.

they are generally stored value transponders. the account keeps $ on it, as you pass through a tollbooth, the toll is deducted from the available balance. when it gets to a low threshold, the account's credit card is charged a refill amount.

on the EZ pass, the low balance is $10 with an auto-replenishment of $35.

some transponders also have a "deposit" that is kept with the card and refunded once it's returned.

however, since it was the previous owner's i would say to you there is no value, but the previous owner would probably like to have it back. if you can, contact him. if not, contact the operator and tell them you have it. they'd probably like to have it back.