Driving and car matters for UK incomers to Fort Worth (Howe: sales, lease)

[Tigerlily64]

I have been doing some research into getting a car and driving when I move to Fort Worth in three weeks time. Seems that very few insurers take into consideration any previous foreign driving history although I did find that Geico and Progressive have both said they do. Seems also that I can purchase a car and insure and drive it initially with my UK and International driving licenses although the insurers are likely to stipulate that I gain a Texas state driving license within a period of time (about 30 days it seems).

I have found the Texas Dept. of Motor Vehicles website and have downloaded the Texas Drivers Handbook to do some swotting up! However what it doesn't tell me is whether the written part of the process is a multiple choice exercise or something else? There also seems to be some conflicting info around on whether a UK fully licensed driver needs to actually take the driving and written tests as well as the vision test or whether they can just take the vision one.

I am also struggling to make out exactly what the car buying process involves in terms of title, taxes, inspections etc for a used car either privately bought or through a dealer. Seems to be some confusing info on these things.

Has anyone reading this been through this process (or knows someone who has) and can advise on good insurers who might take consideration of previous non USA driving history and the Texas driving test for an UK import?! Also clarify the buying process and what the buyer needs to do in terms of all the paperwork?

Thanks very much.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

It is far easier to buy from a dealer as they do all the paperwork. A new car does not need an inspection for at least a year- could be longer depending on the state. A used car may well have an inspection sticker that is still good.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[Guingirl]

Sending you a name of a man that we just dealt with with our recent purchase. He is an Austrailian man who was very honest and we really enjoyed working with. We actually bidded out our lease and he was the most straightforward of all of the dealerships.

I am positive that he will be able to help you and he mostly deals with internet customers so you can email him directly. I will send it to you in a PM

[Jenyphero]

I can't help you with the insurance policy on previous non-US driving history. I have had Progressive for years. Fortunately I've only had to use them once when someone hit me, but they were really fast at responding and I do like them. It was only a fender bender though, not a big accident, so I don't know how they would be in the event that ever happens (God forbid!).

In buying a car from a dealership, they will run a credit check on you first. Make sure your credit score is good before you go. If it isn't, they will do one of two things: deny you outright, or ask that you find a co-signer/co-buyer. In the event that you have all the cash upfront to pay for the entire cost of the vehicle, this probably isn't an issue. You could also skip the dealer financing and take out a loan from a bank before you go. They will also check your credit, but you could use the loan as a bargaining tool. Say the dealer wants to charge $30K for a car, but you only have a $25K loan. You could say, "hey, this is all I can afford". Another note about dealers: Most of them work on commission, so try not to show too much excitement over a car. Look around, even if you find one you really love. Scope that model out at other dealers and haggle. Cars are marked up and you can usually get the dealership to knock off several thousand if you play your cards right.

If you buy from a private owner, they will require all the money up front, usually cash or money order only. You should also check their price against the "blue book value". You can find that info on the web. You just need to put in the year, model, mileage, and condition of the vehicle and it will show you how much it's valued at. If the owner is saavy, they already know the blue book value and probably won't take anything less than that. But they are also probably trying to sell it over blue book value to try to make a profit, so you can come armed with knowledge. You'll also want to ask how many accidents it has been in, dealer or private. I think dealers are required to provide that information up front, but that might just be a California thing.

Titles from the dealership arrive only after you have paid off the vehicle in full. Up until that time, the title is retained by the bank/finance corporation that owns the vehicle (you are paying on a loan to get the title and full-ownership). If you buy from a private owner, check that the title is in that owners name before you hand over any money, and also don't buy one that doesn't have a title! The title should have a place for the owner to sign off that he is selling it to you, and then it is your responsibility to submit it to the state to get it in your name.

I'm going to follow this thread. I'll be relocating to Texas next month and will have to transfer my registration out there, so I'd also like to know what registration costs and what kind of vehicle inspections I need. I have to get a bi-annual smog check here, and my 2006 Pilot costs $340 to register each year. I'm really hoping it's a lot less in Texas because I just registered in in November in California!

[Tigerlily64]

Thank you all for your input so far. I have been on ebay just to try and get a feel for the prices and many of the dealers in the DFW area appear to use ebay as a shop window too. They mention sales taxes etc so does this mean that the prices I see advertised on a classified advert (as opposed to an auction price) is n ot the "on-the-road" price of the vehicle but just the start point and then a whole heap of other costs will need to be added?

Apart from the title document and the vehicle inspection doc, what other paperwork is there? What are the costs of transferring the title to the new owner and the cost of the annual vehicle inspection? I guess there is some sort of road tax paid annually like there is here in the UK?

[Guingirl]

No road tax, but there are "taxes" included in the price of gasoline. You will have to deal with the gallon vs litre thing . Currently it is 2.90 or so a gallon to buy gasoline (that would be an all inclusive price). Sales tax is a percentage of everything that you buy, it is defined by each state and then generally the city adds a little on it. In our area it is 8.25% Kinda like a VAT tax.

Edit: Each year you need an inspection and I want to say they are around 60.00 and car registration is every year and is about 75.00. Not sure if that is dependent upon the car or an across the board price. In California it is based on the value of the car and boy, I hated seeing those bills!!

[Guingirl]

Originally Posted by Jenyphero

my 2006 Pilot costs $340 to register each year. I'm really hoping it's a lot less in Texas because I just registered in in November in California!

Yep...it will be!! Our 2008 Armada's was 75.00 last year. Equivalently it would have probable been around 600.00 in California.

[fwjeff]

If you want a used car I would suggest checking into carmax. There is one in Fort Worth east of downtown. They are a national chain.

Search results at carmax.com

[Tigerlily64]

Originally Posted by fwjeff

If you want a used car I would suggest checking into carmax. There is one in Fort Worth east of downtown. They are a national chain.

Search results at carmax.com

Great! Thanks for this

[jcamber]

I went through the transition of moving to the US and having my driving history ignored while setting up insurance. I had my originating insurance company write a letter and that seemed to make a difference but do expect a higher rate because after all, the insurance company is trusting that what they are being told by your insurer is accurate. To give you a ballpark, it usually costs $500-600 for 6 months to insure an average car. I was paying $200 a MONTH so about twice as much and this went on for about a year, until I had my own US driving history established.

Same thing goes with credit. Nobody really is willing to give you a credit card until a year after you've lived in the US, regardless of income! anyway, a bit of a chicken and egg situation but it normalizes after some time.

Good luck with your move!