Purchasing a vehicle - non-US resident

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1. With regards to proving to customs that we don't intend to sell the car in Canada, we would only have our flight tickets showing us flying from LA to New York and then back to London from Boston.

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I would think that your return ticket would be more than enough proof that you are planning to return to the US. Double checking with Custom's wouldn't hurt, but I would be very surprised if you had any problems.

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2. With regards to the permanent plat, we are driving from Seattle to Vancouver and through BC before retuning about 5 weeks later to the US and we could go via Seattle to pick up the permanent plates.

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This is a state by state thing, but most of the time, you can get your plates right away. You will probably have to go to the DMV office, instead of mailing your information in, but typically there is an option to get your plates immediately (it may be time consuming and slightly more expensive, however). If you do have to get a temporary plate, it generally is valid from a couple of weeks to up to two months, depending upon the state and how long it usually takes for that state to process the plates. Again, something you should check with Washington State, but I wouldn't anticipate it being a problem.

One area where you could have an issue is with the title - which will prove your ownership, and will be needed when you go to sell the vehicle later. That usually takes a few days to a couple weeks to process and will be mailed to you. However, if you are returning to Seattle, or if you get a PMB that will forward your mail to another location, you shouldn't have too much of a problem here either.

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My main concern at the moment is how to take out an insurance policy without a residential address. Mark (Editor) previously pointed out the following for a personal mail box (PMB):

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You will have to talk to an insurance agent about this. If you explain your situation, you might even be able to use the agent's office as your address for this purpose. But again, you will need to speak with an agent for expert advice on this one.

As far as the PMB, I wonder if providing your home address in the UK would be acceptable as a fixed residence? Pure speculation on my part, but I don't know why that wouldn't work.

I'm pretty sure that maximum for the paper license is 45 days. However, if you're buying a used car, this won't matter. It will already be licensed and, if you're lucky, you'll get one where the annual license doesn't expire during your time here. You'll then pay a pro-rated amount.

Anyway, I'm sorry for any international visitors who want to purchase a car. With so many different laws from state-to-state....oy veh!

To find out more about Washington state laws, you might read through the information here and contact them via email with any questions you have. But I really think you're going to be stuck with the address issue for insurance. Check out this page on auto insurance at the Washington Insurance Commissioner's website.

Another place that might be helpful is AAA (Automobile Association of America). I encourage anyone doing significant travel to have a membership in this organization anyway because of their benefits like towing if you break down, hotel/restaurant/attraction discounts, free maps and guidebooks, etc. I don't know if they'll answer your questions without having a membership or not. If not, you might go ahead and get a membership. A basic membership for one driver is only $65/year but I would recommend spending the $90 for the Plus membership that comes with 100 miles free towing instead of 5 miles.

The Washington state AAA website is here. Go to the "contact us" page (link found in upper-right portion of webpage) and give one of the offices a call. That might be the easiest way. The West Seattle office is the closest to Sea-Tac Airport so you might want to develop a relationship with them. They are a wealth of information and I think this might be your easiest bet for weeding through all the bureaucracy and rules to resolve your problem. If you have to join first before they'll help you much, I think it's a small price to pay.

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Originally Posted by wdouglas

With regards to proving to customs that we don't intend to sell the car in Canada,

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Don't know - my suggestion is the local Canandian Embassy - they could put you in touch with customs in British Columbia, perhaps. I like Judy's suggestion about working with AAA. In some states, AAA can also help you with licensing, *maybe* even provide the perm. plate. Worth asking.

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Originally Posted by wdouglas

2. What do you mean by max?

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I see Judy answered the question even as I was composing :-).

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Originally Posted by wdouglas

Would you have any idea how long the wait is for permanent plates?

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My guess is the plates will come 1-2 weeks before the paper-plate expiration date.

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Originally Posted by wdouglas

Any thoughts on long-term lease (3+ months) or buy-back as an alternative?

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The larger rental agencies will give you a better break for a month, maybe better for 90+ days.

One thought for the other option ... we have a few nationwide "used car" sales firms, and they might be able to give you a rough idea of what to expect. ... Two weeks ago I heard a firm's ad ... to give you a written estimate for a car you offered to sell them. Obviously they can't give you a firm price 3 months in the future, but they may be able to give you ideas on their fees, etc. A place you could start is CARMAX. Others may know of similar firms, maybe some with roots primarily on the West Coast.

A varient idea: if you buy from a firm and sell back to them, ... CON: you're dealing with more unkowns with a used car, (and even though there'd be a short limited waranty, the support they could give you in Canada is open to question). PRO: per Judy the plate ought to already be on it. If so the temporary plate issue goes away. The only exception I can think of is if the previous owner had a personalized plate.

Good Luck

im a new zealand citazen and travel america every year.i always buy a car couse i stay for 3 months.insurance has never been hard to find ;just expensive and time consuming.depending on the state sometimes the tags(plates) stay on the car sometimes not.if not allow a whole day....find a dmv andwait in a long line....they will charge you state tax on your bill of sale...usually about3 to8 percent of what you paid for the car.they will want to see your passport.and other proof of id.your overseaslicence wont count.you may bee able to get a transit sticker instead but they are only good for 5 to 30 days depending on what state your in.itsalot easyer if the citizen youbuy the car off can get a transit permit for you.the police here arnt that interested in booking people for expired stickers.last year icouldnt bee botherd with the dmv.in vegas so we drove for 2 weeks on an expired transit sticker,i was pulled over twiceand explained my way out of it.ithink being a tourist helped.but maybe i was lucy....