We are driving across America in July and think we have
found a car. We are two students from England - both 23.
Any information on what the next step would be - we realise
that insurance is pre-requisite - what other things are we
obligated to do before driving the car ? We've heard about
registration - what exactly does this involve, also what do
we do about the "title" of the car. Can anyone suggest any
good insurance companies - in the New York State area.
Finally, do we need to take a driving test, to get astate
licence or will an International licence suffice. Thanks
for any help in advance
Toby + George
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From your post it sounds as if you are buying a car for
your tour of the U.S. I'm not sure how long your trip is
going to be, but unless it is an extended tour I think its
cheaper to rent a car after you pay for insurance and TTL-
taxes, title, licenses. If you do buy a car and are
looking for car insurance find a cheaper state to insure it
in than New York. Insurance is usually based on where your
car is "garaged" in the U.S. so, if you don't live in the
U.S., i'm not sure how you are going to get car insurance.
As for your driver's licenses your probably o.k. with your
U.K. license. Aside from monetary costs, you are looking
at a lot of time in a department of motor vehicle office,
unless your buying from a dealer, to register your car.
Good luck and enjoy your trip in the U.S.
Above is correct about benefits of rentals. But if you want
to buy go through a dealer. The dealer will handle title etc.
Insurance should be with a company that is nationwide. I
recommend State Farm, Farmers or Allstate in that order. Not
the cheapest but there when needed.
First of all, buying is probably the way to go since 90% of car rental agencies require you to be over age 25 and the other 10% charge ridiculous rates for young drivers. Do you know anybody in the US who would be willing to claim the car is "garaged" at their house? Preferably someone who lives in a cheap (non-metropolitan) area. Anyway, the main thing to know is you really do have to call around. Call AT LEAST five insurance agencies. Since insurance is so idiosyncratic and depends on so many factors, the agency with the cheapest rate for Person A may well have the most expensive rate for Person B. It's a huge hassle, since you have to go through a 15-minute interview with each agency before you can get a quote, but it's worth it: the differences can be up to 50% of the price. Also, be aware that most insurance agencies require you to pay for 3 to 6 months worth of insurance in advance, and then refund you whatever hasn't been used when you cancel the policy. Title involves having the seller sign a document saying how much you paid for the car. Then you go to the department of motor vehicles and pay them a fee equal to sales tax on the price of the car (I think tax is 8% in new york state) plus a small fee for the license plate. If you're buying from an individual, you may be able to talk them into writing down that you paid less than you actually did for the car, since it doesn't affect them in any way.
Now you see why we are all considered slaves to our autmobiles...