Driving a newly bought unregistered car from Houston to Louisiana (rental car, sales)

[Freshgraduate09]

Hopefully I'll get the help I need here as I'm just logged in after being hiatus for 7 years. Hi ya'll

I'm a foreigner who used to live in the US and have since left for few years now.I'm planning a move to central Louisiana area.

I thought about landing in Houston, buying a used car from private seller , activating auto insurance (used to be protected by Allstate), and driving to my new home. It is an 3 hours plus drive. I will then register my car in Louisiana.

I have an expired (normal Class D) driving license from a different state and a valid driving license from my home country (printed in English). I will then hopefully get a LA driving license with my expired out-of-state driving license or hopefully not to be tested again. Could anyone chip in on what I'm overlooking legal wise?

I have never been to Houston or Louisiana. So, I don't know how vigilant polices are or anything I need to watch out. But my few interactions with police on the roads elsewhere were positive and courteous. Or please feel free to suggest any possible ways I should go about this.

The reason of landing in Houston is mainly due to the abundant choices on Craigslist for a car model that I'm set my eyes on getting, and secondary, it is for cheaper airfare compared to the other smaller ones. I'm traveling alone in case it's part of the considerations.

Thanks for your insight.

[Parnassia]

If it was me, I'd get my LA residence address settled first because you'll need that for everything else. Then get my US driver's license in LA. It will be an accepted form of official ID regardless. I don't know if you'll need to take a driving test but I'm sure you'll need to take the written one...you don't have a current US license anywhere. Then deal with buying a car. I think you'd save yourself endless headaches.

If the car you choose is used, it is registered to the seller and the registration is current, they should provide you with the documentation you need to change title/registration into your name. Carry that document with you on the drive to LA and take it in to the DMV as soon as you can. There may be a grace period to give you some minimum time within which you need to change the plates. If the seller can't provide it don't buy the car. Lots of potential headaches compounded by the need to transfer to another state, plus, the other headache for you...no current US driver's license and no residence address.

Actually, the very first thing you should do is check LA's DMV website for how to get licensed and how to buy, register, and license a used car. Get the information from the horse's mouth, not social media. They usually have instructions for these common transactions.

If you buy the car from a dealership they probably can provide you a temp tag/transit permit that acts sort of like a short term registration to let you drive it to LA.

[sluggermatt15]

If your license is expired for more than six month, you will have to retest.

[Freshgraduate09]

Originally Posted by Parnassia

If it was me, I'd get my LA residence address settled first because you'll need that for everything else. Then get my US driver's license in LA. It will be an accepted form of official ID regardless. I don't know if you'll need to take a driving test but I'm sure you'll need to take the written one...you don't have a current US license anywhere. Then deal with buying a car. I think you'd save yourself endless headaches.

I'll be alone in Louisiana and given how unacessible places are in the US, especially outside of metropolitan cities, I don't think living without a car is the way I need to get myself started again this time.
When I first got to my collegetown living in the dorm, There was no need for car to get settled. But, not as an adult living in the town or city that needs to drive to work and places.

Originally Posted by Parnassia

If the car you choose is used, it is registered to the seller and the registration is current, they should provide you with the documentation you need to change title/registration into your name. Carry that document with you on the drive to LA and take it in to the DMV as soon as you can. There may be a grace period to give you some minimum time within which you need to change the plates. If the seller can't provide it don't buy the car. Lots of potential headaches compounded by the need to transfer to another state, plus, the other headache for you...no current US driver's license and no residence address.

I'm planning to get a used car. If I understand what you mean to say, I can ask if the seller willing to leave his license plate with me or you meant something else?

I had owned few cars, bought from private sellers, when I was living in different states in the US previously. I understand there needs to be a clean title and bill of sales on my hands before I can register my vehicle at the DMV.

I have checked with multiple sources that driving with an overseas driver license is allowed for a short grace period after landing to the US, provided it is printed in English. So, I am not worried about driving on the road.

[Freshgraduate09]

Originally Posted by sluggermatt15

If your license is expired for more than six month, you will have to retest.

Do you mean the MCQs exam or driving test?

[Sculptor]

Some states don't recognize foreign licenses as I remember, so you would be considered driving without a license. In many states the plates on a sold used car have to be removed by the seller and returned, so unless you HAVE plates to go on it, you would be driving a non plated "STOP ME NOW!!" car you'd be lucky to get out of the city with, without being stopped by police.
The seller removing plates protects them, because if they leave plates on the car and you get tickets etc, parking violations they go after the registered owner whose information matches the plate number, and if they owe a bunch of fines for tickets and you park your newly bought car with the same plates on it it had, it can be towed and impounded- they go by what number is on the plate.



If you watch "parking wars" on youtube they film in a couple of states, and Ive watched it enough to know the above and that they can arrest someone driving without a valid license, or without registration on their car, and the car gets towed.
I am not sure you can even get insurance on a car that isnt registered yet, and that you dont have a valid US license for, the "guest" thing you mention is typically so a visitor can rent a car for their vacation, nobody here visiting from another country BUYS a car.


I do remember there being a temp registration thing called a "trip permit" that I had to get at the DMV to drive a vehicle home that I bought which of course had no plates on it.
I would as some said- establish your LA residence address FIRST and everything else is easier after that. You may or may not be able to get insurance until you actually buy the vehicle since the insurance premium goes by vehicle make, model, age etc


I would buy a used car from a DEALER not some random car seller you find in a newspaper ad or something, a LOT of pitfalls with private sales in your case, the car could be stolen, maybe it CANT be registered for some reason, a dealer can provide temp dealer tags so you can drive it 30 days usually

[Freshgraduate09]

Originally Posted by Sculptor

I would buy a used car from a DEALER not some random car seller you find in a newspaper ad or something, a LOT of pitfalls with private sales in your case, the car could be stolen, maybe it CANT be registered for some reason, a dealer can provide temp dealer tags so you can drive it 30 days usually

Great valuable info here so far..Sounds to me buying from a dealer promises the least stress with the temp dealer tag...I might need to be ready for the few hundreds dollars extra that I'm hoping to save from private seller

[Threestep2]

Your old driver's license was tied to your visa. Which visa do you plan to use to move to Lousiana with? Pull up LA DMV and you get details on how to obtain a driver's license. Generally you can drive with a valid foreign license up to one year in the US but it depends on your visa.
Buying a used car on Craigslist can work or not. It is a private "as is" deal.

[Freshgraduate09]

After reviewing the few comments here along with few others I got from other platforms and sub, the main concern here seems to be the insurance and license plate if I were just buying from a private seller.

The second options I can think of is getting a rental car in Houston and driving it to my new town. A nearby airport that closes to the town is still one hour away or two regardless of which direction.
Would that still work?

[NorthofHere]

Originally Posted by Freshgraduate09

Hopefully I'll get the help I need here as I'm just logged in after being hiatus for 7 years. Hi ya'll

I'm a foreigner who used to live in the US and have since left for few years now.I'm planning a move to central Louisiana area.

I thought about landing in Houston, buying a used car from private seller , activating auto insurance (used to be protected by Allstate), and driving to my new home. It is an 3 hours plus drive. I will then register my car in Louisiana.

I have an expired (normal Class D) driving license from a different state and a valid driving license from my home country (printed in English). I will then hopefully get a LA driving license with my expired out-of-state driving license or hopefully not to be tested again. Could anyone chip in on what I'm overlooking legal wise?

I have never been to Houston or Louisiana. So, I don't know how vigilant polices are or anything I need to watch out. But my few interactions with police on the roads elsewhere were positive and courteous. Or please feel free to suggest any possible ways I should go about this.

The reason of landing in Houston is mainly due to the abundant choices on Craigslist for a car model that I'm set my eyes on getting, and secondary, it is for cheaper airfare compared to the other smaller ones. I'm traveling alone in case it's part of the considerations.

Thanks for your insight.

When is this trip planned and from what country? Currently there is a ban on people coming from or have been in several countries including Great Britain, France, Germany. We have friends that live here part of the time from Germany and they can't come back at the moment. No idea when it will be lifted.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...countries.html