scrubbedexpat027

So, I need to buy a car pretty soon as my rental is costing me a bomb.

I don't have a US license yet (just a UK one) and I'm living in an extended stay hotel at the moment. Would either of those facts cause me any problems buying a car out here.

What do I need to do / pay for in addition to the cost of the car? There's no separate road tax is there?

Anyone know of any decent dealers in or around my area (Stevenson Ranch) preferably that I can check out online first?

Finally, any suggestions for a good reliable car for the money? Must have 5 seats, no too old (reliability / warranty my highest priority), up to $15K.

Thanks in advance for any info.

fatbrit

Haha!

md95065

There are taxes and documentation fees that have to be paid if you buy a car (either new or used) from a dealer in California. Note that there are both state and local taxes involved and the precise rate will depend on where you live not where you buy the car.

There is also an annual vehicle registration fee but if you buy a use car that has a current California registration you will just get whatever time is left on the current registration and you won't have anything to pay until the renewal date.

What you care about is the "out the door" price which is quite a bit more than the price that you negotiate based on the "sticker price".

If you buy a $13,750 car from a dealer in California you might get some change back out of $15,000 but quite probably not enough to fill the tank with gas ...

scrubbedexpat027

ok cheers. Don't worry, I wasn't nieve enough to think there weren't any taxes I just meant that it wasn't the same process as buying a tax disc and shoving it in the car window.

md95065

Oh, and you should get some insurance quotes before buying the vehicle since that is something else that you will have to factor in to your initial expenditure.

(and remember that US insurance companies quote premiums for 6 month, not 12 months so that ridiculously expensive quote that you just got is actually twice as expensive as you first thought it was because it was only for 6 months not a year ...)

penguinsix

The car price is nothing.

Insurance will be the killer. Without a permanent address let alone a credit rating you can expect to pay near "uber-high risk driver" rates. I'd start talking to some insurance companies first before picking out a make and model of a car as you may find something really nice might cost a heck of a lot more than basic and practical.

scrubbedexpat027

Good point. You're right. I'd better get onto that first.

Bob

Really? That's good going as it gets voided on transfer of title in MA.

Other costs, which might not apply in CA, or might be minimal, but car inspection, cost of getting the plates punched.

The cost of the title but that might be included with all the dealer work.

But yeah, car insurance is the biggest hassle because with no US driving history or credit history, you'll be treated worse off than some 15 year old on a learners permit

guitarmaan

I read somewhere that US insurers recognise UK no claims bonus. Is that not true then?

Bob

That'll be a sales pitch and nothing more.

They might look at a clean UK license and treat that as having a no US history, which is one step up from having a bad history or being treated as a 15 year old, being treated as a 18 year old instead.

md95065

When used vehicles are sold in California they normally keep their existing license plates unless the seller had custom plates and wants to keep them to transfer to another vehicle.

There are fees for smog inspection, document preparation and title transfer but they are pretty minimal. Last year I bought a used vehicle in exactly the price range that the OP is considering, and the total for all of those fees was only $113.

Bob

No wonder CA is broke, that barely covers annual registration down my way

And it costs a little more the first year too.

md95065

Yes, but that amount doesn't include the annual registration because a used vehicle is normally already registered and still has some time to run on the current registration and that transfers to the new owner.

lansbury

Farmers did here in Oregon when we first insured a car just after arriving. But it isn't just the no claims part they want, that shows no accidents, they also wanted a copy of the previous three years insurance certificates. The discount was in part on being previously insured. Fortunately I had kept those, but they were somewhere mid Atlantic in our shipping container. So when I had them and took them to the agent, Farmers then gave us the discount and reduced the premium.

guitarmaan

ok so some companies actually do.

My next step is finding one in Florida ....