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Kind of obvious that you need driver licence... this comment even insults me a bit.
About insurance in europe when you insure you insure car itself and when you sell it insurance comes with car and you have few day's to change insurance (if it has anu money left on it) for your name or make new one, how different is insurance process in US?
BTW car registration how is it expires every year?
Kind of obvious that you need driver licence... this comment even insults me a bit.
About insurance in europe when you insure you insure car itself and when you sell it insurance comes with car and you have few day's to change insurance (if it has anu money left on it) for your name or make new one, how different is insurance process in US?
BTW car registration how is it expires every year?
Sorry, just that there are MANY people out there that do not have a drivers license and they do drive. When you buy a car from a dealer they usually want a copy of your license BEFORE they will even let you take one for a test drive. When you buy from an individual that is not the case. Even if you DO have a drivers license it would be wise to take a drivers ed course HERE to know the rules of driving in the states.
No, the insurance does NOT come with the car. You are responsible for obtaining the insurance for the cars you own. Most states have laws that make it a requirement to have liability insurance on your car for it to be inspected and registered. When you get the title changed over to your name you will need to show proof of insurance in YOUR name. The seller will call the day they sell the car and drop it from their coverage. They are not going to be responsible for the car or any damage you may cause to another car once you take possession of it. The insurance that can cover your car for a few days till you have it added to YOUR policy is ONLY if you ALREADY have a car insurance policy and you traded cars or added one. In this case your getting an entirely new policy. Best to contact an insurance agent before you buy something and get a quote on the rates of the cars your interested in. Since it will be a used car most insurance companies require that you bring it by their office for them to get a picture of it for their records.
As for the registration you will need to do this ASAP. Waiting a week or two is not a good move. Some sellers (smart ones) will require that the buyer meet them at the local tax office to sign the title over and then the buyer registers the car right then. I would never sell a car to a stranger without meeting them at the tax office to insure they DID register the car in their name. There have been too many cases where someone has sold a car and the buyer did not register the car or change the title and they committed a crime or got many tickets and did not pay them and it came back on the previous owner.
Registration expires every year because it is a tax much like the income tax. You pay yearly for the privelege to drive a car on the streets in the town/city/state you live in. They use this money to maintain the roads. It is also when they verify that you still have insurance on the car if your in a state w/ mandatory insurance.
In some states you can register a car for 2 years at a time. Here in Va, you just pay double the fee and the plates are good for 2 years.
In Texas our plates are good for 7 years but you have to register the car every year. We used to have a sticker to place on the plates but now it is in the window w/ the inspection sticker.
Registration in neighboring Louisiana is every 4 years and the new sticker for the plate comes with it. I'm sure that the process veries from state to state. Like all states, you must purchase insurance for your car from an agent. Failure to do so can result in revocation of driver's licence. Like the other person said- too many people drive without a license, a suspended license usually for like a dwi conviction, or no insurance. You would be surprised at what people think they can do and actually do get away with. If I tried such, the cops would find ME!LOL
In Texas our plates are good for 7 years but you have to register the car every year. We used to have a sticker to place on the plates but now it is in the window w/ the inspection sticker.
Mmmm, different here. They use stickers to validate the plates but the actual metal Virginia plates can be used as long as they are legible. I have a set of "bicentennial" plates from 1976 that I still use on one of my cars.
Mmmm, different here. They use stickers to validate the plates but the actual metal Virginia plates can be used as long as they are legible. I have a set of "bicentennial" plates from 1976 that I still use on one of my cars.
Well, I do have antique cars that have original plates from the year they were made (1969 & 1968) but that is a total different animal than your everyday "daily driver". We have to find the plates and then take them to the tax office and they take a picture of them, run the number, verify they are in good shape (right colors, number legible, etc) and then assign them to that car. We can keep those plates w/ those cars forever. They also don't have to be registered every year. HOWEVER, we are only allowed to drive the car for: to and from car shows, maint., etc. You can't use it as a "daily driver".
Well, I do have antique cars that have original plates from the year they were made (1969 & 1968) but that is a total different animal than your everyday "daily driver". We have to find the plates and then take them to the tax office and they take a picture of them, run the number, verify they are in good shape (right colors, number legible, etc) and then assign them to that car. We can keep those plates w/ those cars forever. They also don't have to be registered every year. HOWEVER, we are only allowed to drive the car for: to and from car shows, maint., etc. You can't use it as a "daily driver".
Yes, they do the same thing here....they call them "vintage" plates. However, you have a choice...you can pay a one-time fee and they are permanent, albeit with the restricted use you mentioned, or you can elect to pay the normal yearly registration fee and drive the car without restriction.
Incidentally, I've turned some good coin on the vintage plates! One of my late father's businesses was a Texaco service station and every year when the new plates were due to be mounted, dozens of little old ladies would come into the station to have my dad's guys put them on for them. Pop used to throw their old ones into big boxes in the back room for some unspecified later use. He never threw anything out so I ended up with thousands of sets of Virginia plates....from 1947 thru 1972. '72 was the last year that VA stamped the year on the plates, they went to stickers for 1973.
Some of those plates are in such good condition that they fetch $200 or more for the older ones.
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We have to find the plates and then take them to the tax office and they take a picture of them, run the number, verify they are in good shape (right colors, number legible, etc) and then assign them to that car. We can keep those plates w/ those cars forever. They also don't have to be registered every year. HOWEVER, we are only allowed to drive the car for: to and from car shows, maint., etc. You can't use it as a "daily driver".
