Originally Posted by Bob

It does depend on the state. Title I think is around $60? Inspection is $30 annually.

Up in Maine though, plates were about $20 odd and inspection was about $12.

If you wanted a vanity plate, that was only another extra $20 which is why everyone has one. Down in MA, it's something like $100 a year every November to register is, so if you buy the car now and register it, you'll have to register it again in a months time. That goes for all special plates such as getting a trailer or a commercial plate, though the rates are obviously different.

Originally Posted by Jsmth321

Vanity plates here have some sort of annual fee, not sure what it is but not many around so must be high enough to turn people off getting them.

California can be pretty pricey dor annual registration, unless they changed things its all based on value of the car.

Originally Posted by Pulaski

You can get leases that have more than 12,000 miles per year, I have seen up to 20,000 miles per year, but they get a bit pricy. Leases often have add-on fees at the end too, for external scratches and dings, and internal stains and wear, or for non-OEM tyres, or worn more than 60%. Generally I would not recommend a lease for most people, though they do work for some people. If you buy a car you can take it to Carmax (large national used car dealer), and they will give you a cash price for it (good for 7 days & 300 miles IIRC), including paying off the balance of the loan secured on it. Other used car dealers often do the same sort of thing. Get the quote a couple of days before you leave, take your wife and luggage to the airport on the day you fly, then drive to the dealer to "cash in" your car and take a taxi/uber to the airport. Take a look at International Autosource. They're great for buying, not so competitive for leasing, but you can buy on credit terms not usually available to a new immigrant. You must sign the contract and pay the deposit before you arrive in the US. It is also a good way to kick-start your credit building process. BTW we don't have any Km's in the US. If you want to keep using them you will need to bring your own supply with you.

Originally Posted by RickyOtto

Leasing seems like a big $13k hit to me to build credit, and that there must be lots of other decent ways to build up credit without such an indulgent "playing of the game"?!!?

Originally Posted by RickyOtto

My wife and I are arriving in Houston next month both with zero credit. I can afford to buy a Ford Edge / Escape that's a couple of years old ($22k), rather than leasing a new one through International Autosource ($35k value and $490 a month)

Buying a second hand car (sadly IA don't sell second hand cars) seems like the more economically shrewd choice to me. However my wife (an American whose credit has reset to zero from being out of the country for so long) is unsure about whether there may be value in taking the lease option to build up our credit score.

Leasing seems like a big $13k hit to me to build credit, and that there must be lots of other decent ways to build up credit without such an indulgent "playing of the game"?!!?

Originally Posted by petitefrancaise

Bob, is it possible to get a car loan with zero credit history? Interest might be a tad high...

Originally Posted by S Folinsky

California used to require registration on a calendar year basis. About 40 years back it was converted to annual basis from when the car was first registered in California. So the plates will have TWO tags -- the on on the left is the month and the one on the right is for the year of expiration. The yearly tag is color coded -- it was yellow for 2015 and is now red for tags expiring in 2016. So, it is possible for the traffic cop to see at a glance if the tags are current. One of our cars has "MAR 2016" and the other "SEP 2016."