fletchstock

Hello all,

My wife and I have just moved to Riverside, California on a J1/J2 Visa and naively thought we may be able to manage without a car... we were wrong!

Having searched around it seems there is conflicting advice about weather we can drive in California on our British driving licences. Can anyone with experience shed any light on it for us? We have tried contacting the DMV to ask but with 2-3 hour phone waiting queues and no support email address we are at a loss.

Also, are there any suggestions on where to look for a second hand car? we will be in California (riverside) for the next 2 years so only need a run around that we can drive into the ground. Also, any suggestions on insurance etc?

thanks for any help!
Pete

GeoffM

Assuming you are eligible for one (I have no idea on J1), just get a license and ignore the petty squabbling that goes on every time the question comes up. It'll just make your lives so much easier - not just driving!

As for cars... choose your poison. Plenty of used car dealerships around there being, shall we say, not the wealthiest of areas. Or consider a lease.

Welcome to the area - whereabouts roughly? We're "up the hill" but are down that way every so often.

MMcD

New California Residents

When you become a California resident and you want to drive in California, you must apply for a California driver license within 10 days. Residency is established in a variety of ways, including the following:

Being registered to vote in California elections.
Paying resident tuition at a California college or university.
Filing for a home owner's property tax exemption.
Receiving any other privilege or benefit not ordinarily extended to nonresidents.


The above is copied and pasted directly from the 2015 CA. Dept. of Motor Vehicles Driver Handbook.

I'd suggest you take a look at it - as you'll need to familiarize yourself with the local statutes/rules in order to pass the written test:

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/de...r_handbook_toc

(click on PDF version to link to/download it)

IlAlfie

I also interpreted that to mean that you should apply for your licence as soon as you can. You can't do it all in 10 days but you should at least show that you've made an attempt to get it sorted out in case you're stopped, like have booked the appointment for the written test or awaiting the practical. I actually didn't drive on my UK licence but waited until I had my CA one. But San Francisco is definitely doable without a car so it was no real hardship for us.

Pulaski

This.

As GeoffM said above, assuming you're eligible for one, it just makes sense to get one. It will save arguments and awkward questions if you're stopped by the police, and a lot of stress if you're involved in an accident when there could be questions about the validity of your UK license, and therefore the validity of your insurance. It will also serve as a handy-dandy ID, assuming your eligible for a "full" license (some states now make available "non-ID licenses", mostly to illegal aliens, so they can simultaneously issue licenses but remain within the requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act).

In any case the process of getting a license, while a little irritating, is hardly much of a challenge compared to the British driving test ordeal.

GeoffM

Just for buying beer. Hic.

sherbert

When we got pulled over in our first couple of weeks mister ossifer sir told us we had 30 days to get a license. J1s are eligible but you're going to have to take your test again (don't worry, it's easier than the cycling proficiency test and costs about 30$ and you can fail 3 times on that 30$ before you have to cough up again).

I think you'll find it impossible to get insurance without a US license. And hard to lease one without credit history. Secondhand cars are expensive here. We have a 2002 Toyota Solara (98,000), $5000 and a 2003 Mitsubishi Spyder (108,000), $3800 and we bought off craigslist. Be prepare for crooks, heaps of shit and be patient. Carfax is your friend. Steer clear of anything with a 'Salvage' note in the records (it's been written off by the insurance company). Good luck.

OCKF

Checkout Autotrader.com

Pulaski

The flip side to cars being expensive is that, unless you live in an area where they salt the roads heavily, it is remarkably difficult to "run a car into the ground". An Accord we bought new in 2002 is going to hit 290,000 (two hundred and ninety thousand) miles in the next couple of days! And it is far from a junky wreck, and still has its original exhaust and clutch, ...... and shocks, and starter motor, and alternator, among (most) other things. It is on its fourth set of tyres; the first three sets lasted an average of 80,000 miles each.

sherbert

Yes - both of our cars run like a dream and so far no major problem with any, apart from some peeling paint. The older Japanese brands are built like tanks and made to last. Steer clear of cheaper American brands.

username.exe

I second the Carfax recommendation.
When we started looking at cars on Craigslist, I was astonished at how many sellers were advertising information that was clearly FALSE when I double checked the vin on Carfax - mileage, accident history... the lot.
Some of the vehicles had clearly been subject to 'title washing', having been bounced across the US from state to state.

Ultimately we purchased via a small dealership who were regulated and offered a half-decent warranty (although not amazing). It was worth it for the peace of mind and not having to do russian roulette with a private seller.

fletchstock

We've got our licences now. The answer for anyone else who may need it is that you need to do a theory and a practical test again - both are easy (as long as you remember to drive on the right side of the road!) For anyone who already has an American driving licence but needs to change it to a CA driving licence the practical test will be wavered but this is not the case for UK drivers coming to CA.

For the written i read the free booklet given out at the DMV (the University my husband works at also gave us one) and downloaded an app to do test questions. The other half didn't bother with either and we both passed.

You need an appointment for the written test, easily made online. If you don't make an appointment expect to queue for quite a while. When you go to the DMV take your passport & most recent I-94. If you wear glasses take those too. You'll fill in a form, take an eye test (at a distance of about 5ft), they'll photocopy your forms and you'll have your photo taken. Then you'll do the test, it took me about 15 minutes and you can pause it to take a break if needed, it's all on a computer and once you're done they'll give you your permit.

Once you have your permit book an appointment for a behind the wheel test, we waited 4 weeks for an available appointment so you may as well book it ASAP (you can always cancel online) You will need your permit number to book the online test.

Once we had our permits we did a couple of driving lessons to ensure we knew the rules of the road and the local driving conditions. The driving lessons here are 2 hours long and we paid $80 a lesson. This was the cheapest we found in the area, the most expensive was $160!

Maneuvers - The only maneuvers we had to do was pull up at the side of the curb and reverse 100 ft. No turn in the road, parallel parking or reverse round a corner. On the test i was asked to do this but my Husband wasn't so it's not tested with everyone.

We didn't have a car so needed to take the test in the driving schools car. Not all driving schools offer this so check if you need it.
To do the practical test you'll need your passport and permit. Also insurance proof for the car and someone over the age of 21 with a valid licence (you can't drive alone with a permit) - If you do the test in the driving schools car the instructor will have these.

The wait to go on the test on the day lasted longer than the test itself. The test was 15 - 20 minutes, you'll be asked to point out certain functions in the car before setting off (headlights, horn, indicators etc) and then go on one of few routes they have from the DMV base. Once you're back they'll let you know if you've passed or not.

If you've passed they will give you a temporary licence (paper) until the card comes through the post.

Sorry this is so long but we couldn't find the definitive answer anywhere and wasted time standing in line at the DMV for nothing so hopefully this may help some others coming to California

fletchstock

Just to note that since we didn't have a car when we arrived we didn't need to worry about the 'apply in 10 days rule' as we weren't planning to drive anyway.

All i can say is it would be unlikely you'd be able to get a DMV appointment within 10 days even if you booked it as soon as you arrived. Holiday makers are able to drive on holiday for 30 days before the need for a special licence is needed.

Best advice is drive carefully, i think they drove more carefully out here than in the UK and when you attend the DMV for your first appointment ask them about if you're able to continue driving or not.

aardvark

If you're still looking for a car and you're in SoCal then I'm selling my little Golf right now. Lasted me my 1.5 years on J-1 for a little runaround and did my best to keep it going. Looking for $2000! (I'm leaving in 2 weeks so I need to sell it quickly!) Can PM me for the details if you like.

MoshiMoshi

Aardvark, if you need to sell in a hurry, try Carmax. They gave us a decent price for our J1 'runaround', and they make an offer that's valid for a week, so you can hang onto your car until the last moment (and/or wait to see if any private sales work out).