Purchasing a vehicle - non-US resident

I'm planning a 4 month trip during summer/fall next year after doing a few weeks in Peru.
My wife and I will fly from Peru to Seattle, then on to Vancouver where we will meet up with relatives and travel around British Colombia and then a roadtrip from BC along the West Coast to Los Angeles.
We would like to purchase a car in Seattle, drive it to and around Canada and then use it for the roadtrip.
We are both South African citizens living in London, but I will probably be travelling on a British passport (as I would have qualified for nationalisation by then). I have a UK driving licence which I've held for 5 years and I held a South African driving licence for 5 years prior to that.
Does someone know if it's possible to buy a car in the States without being a resident, and if so what insurance, tax etc I'll need to purchase and what documentation I'll need?

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

It is possible to purchase a car without being a US resident, although you will need to establish some sort of address where the car will be registered and insured.

We recently talked about this just a couple weeks ago in This Thread. I'd start by reading that, which should get you started. If you still have questions after that, we'll be glad to help.

Thanks for your response Michael. The thread which you sent through was very informative.
I emailed the Washington State DOL (as we're hoping to buy in Seattle and sell in LA). Their response was just as quick but even more impressive since they're a State organisation. We're just not used to that type of prompt response from governmental organisations here in the UK (or in SA for that matter).
The response I received (from dol.wa.gov) was:
"You will need picture ID and an unexpired drivers license to purchase the vehicle. I can't quote any fees until we know the price of the vehicle and where you will be registering it. As far as insurance, you would need to contact an insurance company for that.."
I guess it may be tricky to get insurance in Seattle without a fixed address. We do have friends in living in Boston who I will ask to enquire of their insurance company as to whether they can insure the vehicle but with my wife and I as the insured drivers (one of the suggestions in the thread to which you referred).

BTW, the information on your website is really valuable.

Glad to hear that the Washington State DOL replied in such short time!

As far as insurance, like the DOL said, an agent based in Washington State (preferably the King County area), would be able to give you the best advice. There may be some sort of special provision that we average joes don't know about.

Your friends in Boston might not be able to add you to their insurance, but I'm not sure about that either. Insurance is really a tricky business, best left to the professionals.

-Brad

One way you could establish an address would be to simply rent a mailbox from either the post office or from one of the many private companies that offer that service. Even after purchasing the car, it typically takes a little bit of time for some things, like the car's title, to be processed, and those things are typically mailed out.

As far as insurance goes, I think you'll find that its easier to shop for insurance in the Seattle area. There are some state to state differences in insurance rules that might make it difficult to insure a car in Mass, while licensing it in Washington. There are two places you could start for this: either start by looking at some of the major online insurance companies. Esurance and Progressive are two which will allow you to both quote and purchase your insurance on the internet. However, If you want more personal contact - particualrly to explain what sort of coverage you will want - you could simply search for Seattle insurance agents in any online directory.

Thanks Brad & Michael for the advice.
Renting a mailbox sounds a good idea. Will an insurance company accept a mailbox as a valid address?
I found a link for insurance companies on the web (www.automallusa.net) and I'll check out Esurance and Progressive, but I do want the personal contact so will search for companies in Seattle with email addresses and query them.
In the other thread you spoke about tighter emission controls in CA, and as I'm looking to sell the car in Los Angeles, are there any other considerations I should take into account?
Thanks.

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Originally Posted by wdouglas

Renting a mailbox sounds a good idea. Will an insurance company accept a mailbox as a valid address?

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Unfortunately, in these days of post-911, most companies are reluctant to accept anything that looks like a post office box as a legal address. For those of us, who have lived on the road with no fixed address this has proved to be an interesting issue. If you rent a PMB (personal mail box -- hosted by a private firm) and don't use the letters "PMB" in your address, you should be fine. The problem is that all PMB providers are legally required by the USPS to obtain a real fixed address. There are ways around this...

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In the other thread you spoke about tighter emission controls in CA, and as I'm looking to sell the car in Los Angeles, are there any other considerations I should take into account?

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If you purchase a car in the east and sell in the west, the salt-damage to the chassis will bring a lower re-sale value in the west.

Mark

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Originally Posted by wdouglas

Peru to Seattle, ..to Vancouver ...from BC along the West Coast to Los Angeles.
We would like to purchase a car in Seattle, drive it to and around Canada and then use it for the roadtrip.
We are both South African citizens living in London, but I will probably be travelling on a British passport ....have a UK driving licence... ...and what documentation

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Contacting Washington State was a very good start. Suggest you let your plans be known to Canadian and U.S. Customs, to know how to document your intent to return the car to the U.S. Part of this is the 9/11 antiterrorist screening, part of this is intercepting cars headed into Canada for a quick sale. As long as they are sure of your intent, there should be no problem. But I say this because ...

(A) When the car is first purchased you might get a temporary paper license. Washington or some forum member can clear this up. If it's a brand new car I'd expect you'll get a paper license plate good for up to whatevert max the State of Washington has set. You'll just stand out more with it. (When asking about this facet, also ask about the best way of getting the permenant plate into your hands before you sell the car.)

(B) Then you'll be driving across the border as a non-US citizen.

(C) With <what> assurances they'll see you again?

1) In summary, if you don't fit what they are expecting, you'll want the right documentation if you're scrutinized.

2) Another reason for bringing solid evidence of your intent to return the car to the U.S., is Canada will otherwise want to collect taxes and levies that'd apply if the car were to stay there.

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Originally Posted by wdouglas

...insurance, tax I'll need?

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Each state, and Canada have their own minimum coverage amounts. Consider higher amounts if you are not comfortable with with coverage for the worst case. Also ask a Washington State insurance agent about a proof of insurance card for Canada -- It is a Canadian form, filled out by an insurance company in the U.S. as to the amounts they will cover, asserting they have acceptable representatives in Canada. I last drove in Canada in the early '90s -- possibly the card's not needed now, but I'd ask.

You might consider an "umbrella" insurance policy before leaving home. i.e., one that covers limits higher than standard policies you already have with the same company.

The insurance policies in the U.S. categorize coverages differently than in GB ... Bare Bones policies are expressed in three figures, such as 50/100/25. The first number states up to $50,000 will be paid for medical coverage per person, the second up to twice that amount of medical coverage for all persons for the same accident. The last figure indicates the max amount of "property damage" (i.e., the car(s)) for any one accident.

This five year old web-page says the Canadian miniumum is $200,000 (CAD).

Additional insurances options: car rental coverage in case of accident, towing for the same reason, "Comprehensive" -- things not covered by vehicle accidents -- eg - a rock strikes your windshield/windscreen and cracks it. Some states offer or require a "no-fault" coverage -- a modest amount that is paid before fault is determined, - ask about what it would cover - depends upon the state of issue.

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Originally Posted by wdouglas

...In the other thread you spoke about tighter emission controls in CA

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Upon initial registration, nonresident and specially constructed vehicles 1976 and newer require smog certification.

Italics mine.

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Originally Posted by The Taco Monster

Each state, and Canada have their own minimum coverage [amounts.

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I had forgotten to consider that myself. For a general explanation of the types of insurance, read this entire thread....

Mark

TM, thanks for all that info and advice.

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.
What would you suggest as further proof? Would I need to go to the lengths of a sworn affidavit?

2.

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you'll get a paper license plate good for up to whatevert max the State of Washington has set

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What do you mean by max? Is this the maximum amount of time that a person is allowed to drive with paper plates? If so, any idea of how long this is, or should I contact Washington State?

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

4. Thanks for all the info on the insurance policies. We're certainly going to take out a new insurance policy as our current policy has single trip limits of 60 days. 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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The problem is that all PMB providers are legally required by the USPS to obtain a real fixed address.

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5. Any thoughts on long-term lease (3+ months) or buy-back as an alternative? Can't seem to find any buy-back companies operating out of Seattle on the web.

Thanks.

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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....