jopottie

Sorry to post this when I'm sure this has been asked so many times before - however I am confused as everything I read seems to conflict.

We own a home in SW Florida and are currently spending approx 5 - 6 months a year over here at the moment. We'll be moving over with an L1A visa in the next 12 - 18 months if all goes to plan but in the meantime we are over for 5 - 6 weeks at a time in order to get the wheels in motion re. setting up our US branch of our business. It is becoming very costly hiring a car for such long periods of time and we've decided we'd like to buy one to leave in our garage to save us some money and also to give us one less thing to sort out when we do eventually move over.

Some of the posts I've read say car insurance is not possible unless you are a FL resident, others say it is possible if you get a FL driving license but you have to give this up every time you leave the US and reapply when you come back, others say it is possible to get insurance with a UK license. Aarrrrgh!!

I have tried to call the Department of Motor Vehicles in FL but can never seem to get through to anyone and I thought in the meantime some of you knowledgeable people may be able to help….

Here’s hoping

Joanna

ALBRUZ

You can get insurance for a owned car in florida on a British driving licence but only for 4 weeks at a time, This was offered to me a few years ago by Geico so just give them a ring and ask them about it as it might have changed now.Also ring Progressive and Esurance as these companies can also probably help you

You can get a FL driving licence after taking the written computer test and taking the driving test which are both very easy.Get the driving handbook which is like our highway code. You can order it off the internet. You do not need to take the drug awateness course. You can take the trest in a hire car as long as you have the hire car documents with you to prove you are insured for the car

However your driving Fl licence will only last 3 months if on a visa waiver or 6 months if on a b1/b2 visa.You have to renew it everytime you go to florida which used to cost about 20 dollars but now costs about 50 dollars after the massive rises in September of this year.Also they will not give it to you over the DMV counter as they issue you a paper tempoary licence valid for 30 days and you proper licence is mailed from Tallahase within about three weeks. It is a real pain having to renew your licence every 3 or 6 months. Also note you will get charged 15 dollars extra if you renew it after the expiry date and if you do not renew it within 12 months of its expiry date you might have to resit both the written and practical test. They also test your eyes every time you renew your licence

Also you will have to get the newly bought car tagged at a local tax office for which you need to provide an insurance certificate. The actual tag(licence plate) costs about 50 dollars a year and has to be renewed on the car owners birthday. Please note when you go to tag the car at the local tax office you will need to pay sales tax on the car you have bought (if bought privately) which is about 5 or 6% of the car cost depending upon which county you live. If you buy from a car dealer they will sort out thetax and tag for you but of course will charge you for this

Also note that even with a Florida driving licence you will be considered as first time drivers (Your uk driving record is normaly not recognised although some people say that some insurance companies will take it into account) and the car insurance cost will be very high probablly around 1000 dollars for six months basic cover.

For example myself and wife have insurance on a basic sedan car and have had FL driving licences for 3.5 years and our insurance cost for basic cover is 550 dollars for 6 months


Hope this is of some use to you

Alan

scrubbedexpat099

I take it you are using the VWP

Sounds like you are running it tight on your visits, you may well have issues.