Same here as well. I pay about $75 each year for plates and registration for four cars total.
If you buy a car out of state your first year’s fee includes the sales tax you would have paid had you bought the car in this state and the license and registration fee. In subsequent years you just pay the standard license and registration fee.
Are your car(s) registered as Historical Vehicles? If so, the VLF (Vehicle License Fee) is reduced from 0.65% of the value to a nominal amount ($2) per year (plus the other fixed components that probably bring it to close to $100). That’s the only explanation I can find on the dmv.ca.gov site that explains why I pay so much for my XK140 and you don’t. I’ve owned the XK140 for many years now, so the depreciation algorithm has reduced it’s value to the point that the VLF is now not too bad (still a couple of hundred $ though). I was never happy with the usage restrictions associated with Historical Vehicles “such as parades or historic vehicle club activities” though I understand that many folks pay them little heed and don’t have any problems. I confess that I wasn’t aware of the huge difference in annual registration costs for a CA Historical Vehicle and a regular registration until you mentioned your experience here, so you’ve done a service to me and maybe others by bringing it to our attention.
My last XK150 registration fees were $201, which included the $40 YOM plate fee (not antique plates).