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Not necessry if the car is "California compliant," and newer cars purchased in NY, NJ, PA and other states meet CA air pollution rules.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BBMW
NYC cars meet CA standards. There are a few states that do.
In point of fact the OP should just ship everything fly out there rent a car for a few days, till he can buy his own car, unless he explicitly wants the experience of driving cross country.
I did not know that. Good to know for future reference.
Sure, go for it. I've done the cross country drive and it can be fun. If you go in winter, take the more southerly route to avoid any storms.
The only thing is that buying a new car a month before you leave may mean you waste the registration fee (since you only use it for a month before re-registering in a new state).
Since I have a CA license, would I need a NY license to buy a new car in NY state?
I wouldn't think so, all you would need is the money. Being that this is a new car it probably already is California compliant. Since you have a California drivers license it must have an address. You might be able to get temporary plates for the car so you will be able to drive cross country and then register it in California when you arrive. Best to check with the car dealer they usually take care of the registration process for you so when you arrive to pick up your new car all you have to do is drive away. If you do have to register it in New York they will re-imburse you on the registration fees once you move to California. This is pro-rated so it may only cost you a few dollars if the New York registration is only used for a couple of weeks. That's what happened to us when we moved to Arizona, I was re-imbursed for the unused time that was left on my New York registration. Have fun driving cross country it is an adventure. Be sure to figure out where you'll be after a days driving and make hotel reservations at those destination points in advance. Some of the hotels we stopped at were turning people away that didn't have reservations as they were already booked up.
Keep in mind NYC is one of the worst places in the country to buy a used car. Used vehicles around here tend to have a lot more wear and tear than cars in other states, particularly California which is one of the best.
This.
You would be paying a premium to have a car of unknown reliability that you are immediately going to put over 2,000 mi. on going cross country. I would rent a car, or better yet, rent a U-haul/Ryder box van to save on your shipping costs and then buy a car in California which will be cheaper, less rust/better suspension, and definitely CA compliant, and 2,000 miles less on the engine.
The used car market in southern CA is robust, and you will have a wide selection of cars from a wider span of years and models and a huge direct-from-owner marketplace rather than having to go to a used car lot if you don't want to.
I would buy a car if I were moving from CA to NY, but not the other way around.
I don't think that it makes any sense to buy a brand new car only to immediately considerably depreciate its value by driving it across the country.
At least by buying a new car you can pretty much be sure that you will not have any breakdowns on the way. If God forbid that does happen at least the vehicle can be towed to a dealer and the repairs made under the warranty. The vehicle depreciates the moment it leaves the showroom regardless of miles. The benefit of buying a new car is that if the owner takes proper care of the vehicle it could last them a long time. With a used car it's anybody's guess how the car was previously maintained unless the buyer has a thorough mechanical inspection done on the vehicle. Even better if the buyer knows and works on cars. Issues can still come up. Even properly maintained vehicles will have normal wear and tear. I still have the 2500 HD truck that I bought new in 2001 and have not had any problems with it and it still looks and runs as good as the day I bought it. I expect that it will give me many more years of dependable service. Being a "car guy" and having restored cars, I do take exceptionally good care of it.
Last edited by Ex New Yorker; 12-02-2014 at 11:11 AM..
You would be paying a premium to have a car of unknown reliability that you are immediately going to put over 2,000 mi. on going cross country. I would rent a car, or better yet, rent a U-haul/Ryder box van to save on your shipping costs and then buy a car in California which will be cheaper, less rust/better suspension, and definitely CA compliant, and 2,000 miles less on the engine.
The used car market in southern CA is robust, and you will have a wide selection of cars from a wider span of years and models and a huge direct-from-owner marketplace rather than having to go to a used car lot if you don't want to.
I would buy a car if I were moving from CA to NY, but not the other way around.
Great Advice! Actually, the best advise yet.
We had all of our vehicles (4) shipped across country, rented a box truck and drove. It really wasn't that expensive to rent the truck. In it we had all the things we needed until the moving truck arrived. Since we owned a home we had one tractor trailer loaded with our belongings and there were certain items that they would not take. The box truck came in real handy.
Last edited by Ex New Yorker; 12-02-2014 at 11:08 AM..
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