European buying & driving a car in the US Options

[Jeroen]

Question for a friend of mine... (yes, really)

He's planning to buy a 914 in the US, drive it there for 2 weeks and then ship it home to Europe
Can he, as a foreigner, just register the car and insure it for the duration of his stay?
Or is that gonna be a red tape nightmare?

[Mike Bellis]

Question for a friend of mine... (yes, really)

He's planning to buy a 914 in the US, drive it there for 2 weeks and then ship it home to Europe
Can he, as a foreigner, just register the car and insure it for the duration of his stay?
Or is that gonna be a red tape nightmare?

Without having an address, it is difficult to register. Some states can issues a title on the spot. In California (Land of 914's), the title arrives in 10-14 days to your mailing address. You might be able to use a hotel address and room number, but I'm not sure. If you have a friend here and can use his/her address it is much easier.

[bandjoey]

And the tax issue. You'll pay 6-9% sales tax. Check with Your version of ADAC ( AAA here ). They might help.

[monkeyboy]

I would never condone bending the rules, but for a two week stay I would just drive the car without doing anything.


Just don't get pulled over and you will likely never be noticed.

[McMark]

If you/they get pulled over, just be {mostly} honest. "Office I just bought this car and am test driving it before I ship it back to Europe." Otherwise there shouldn't be an issue. Make sure all the lights work. Don't give them a reason to pull you/him/her over.

[Spoke]

Registration and insurance are two different entities.

Without a registration you may get in trouble with the state and fined.

Without insurance, you can get in huge financial and perhaps legal trouble if something bad happens.

For sure get some insurance coverage.

I bought my 911 in Colorado. I had insurance through Haggerty and just drove the car for 2 days with my buddy's license plate. Got the Colorado title registered in PA when the car got home.

[toolguy]

best deal is to 'borrow' the car from the current owner for the 2 weeks, be on his insurance and ownership, and have the sale date at the end of the visit. .

[rick 918-S]

With regard to insurance. In Minnesota when you purchase a car and have another policy on another vehicle, lets say you live in the state, drive a Bimmer and purchase a 914. Your policy will cover you up to 30 days on the new purchase. So, if I purchased a vehicle in California and took two weeks to drive home I would have insurance because I insured the Bimmer.

I wouldn't transfer the car until I got home from California. I wouldn't transfer it in Cali and then transfer it again in MN.

So your friend would likely not transfer the vehicle until he got it back home to the Netherlands. There would be no taxes paid on the way out of the country.

His only issue would be getting insurance here in the US until he gets it home.

I checked with Hagerty. They could get me a policy on my 914 in another country if I decided ship it out of the country.

[914_teener]

best deal is to 'borrow' the car from the current owner for the 2 weeks, be on his insurance and ownership, and have the sale date at the end of the visit. .

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

[hot_shoe914]

Buy Betsy and you can run on my tags and insurance until you ship her home!

[draganc]

your questions is too general (where is he going to buy the car and where will he drive) to get a 100% correct answer, which you shouldn't take from a internet forum anyway.

here is what i did about 18 yrs ago, without any legal advice nor liability:
bought the car in CA, which had about a year registration left and got my private insurance issued by http://www.tourinsure.de
you should check their webpage and talk to the dutch AAA, they might be able to give you some more information.

google "bill of sale" for the state where he intends to buy the car.

once your friend found the car, i would send him to a UPS/FedEx store WITH the seller and have the "bill of sale" notarized.
he should not pay any money w/o the title in hand and have all VIN double checked. i don't think you will be able to export the car w/o a title. i think only possible if you have a notarized bill-of-sale from a dealer.

after this is done, pay the seller the money.

if the car has some registration left and your friend has a US valid insurance he "should" be OK.

i don't think that any sane seller would let a complete stranger drive under his/her policy. why would you risk for your insurance the increase if someone else crashes your old car. also, the seller could cancel his insurance the next day and your friend would be screed.

d

[Luke M]

If you/they get pulled over, just be {mostly} honest. "Office I just bought this car and am test driving it before I ship it back to Europe." Otherwise there shouldn't be an issue. Make sure all the lights work. Don't give them a reason to pull you/him/her over.

I'm not saying this is a good idea but I can tell you that it wont work unless you get a cop that owns a 914. In which case he pulled you over to check out the car anyway..(some cops will cut you a break but most wont) If you get stopped it gets all time stamped/recorded. If you're let go with a warning and you drive away that cop is now liable (civil/violating dept policy) if you where to get into a accident.

The worst outcome would be:

No reg, no insc. = several tickets and the car will be towed/held until you get the insc/reg taken care of or have it towed out of the impound lot. All said could cost you around $600-800 . With that said be safe then sorry and see if the p/o will keep the car reg/insc while you are here. You may have to work something out with the p/o prior to taking the car. That would be in case something happens to the car while it's in your possession (mva or what not). I know that you can get a temp reg for the car if you where transporting it from state to state but you would still need insurance coverage to get that.

[draganc]

I don't think foreigners w/o a US license can register a car in the US - at least not in NJ. It was possible back in the days, in CA.

[PanelBilly]

Buy Betsy and you can run on my tags and insurance until you ship her home!

That sounds like the right deal to me

[Maltese Falcon]

Jeroen, never put another plate on another car.
This constitutes GTA grand theft auto, and the license plate is the first thing (of several) that law enforcement will check upon pulling you over for a burned out tail light, or 3 mph over the speed limit.You may never see the car again, and you will need an attorney ....just not worth it.
If you are friends with a dealer, he may let you cruise around with his DEALER plate, which you will need to return to him. Check with your Europe based insurer, ask them what your overseas options are.
Marty

[57lincolnman]

If your buyer is shipping the car back to the Netherlands, let him work with his forwarding agent to sort out the issues. He may have to post a bond. They can help him sort that out. Once you sign over the title to complete the sale, you will no longer have any obligations. A domestic classic car insurer will require proof of a US address and a valid US driver's license. I shipped my 914 to Belgium last year for a one month tour and club rally. ($2k one way). My situation was different because my car was considered in transit since I was bringing back to the US. I traveled all over Europe on a Georgia plate. Hagerty provided the insurance which was very expensive. I had to prove that I was attending a registered event. Can't get insurance to just "tour".

[r3dplanet]

Is it possible just to get a temporary trip permit? In Oregon one can get one at any DMV. It's designed to allow you to legally drive the car whilst one takes care of other paperwork. Of course, your state may vary.

[rhodyguy]

unsure about other states but in washington the no insurance will net you a ticket to the tune of about $500, perhaps more. not to mention the other hassles. your friend just needs to do his homework. if we know where he intends to cruise during his stay the locals can prob give specifics.

k

[Jeroen]

Thanks for all the input!
Got some good info, links and pointers

He's planning to drive the car (on an organised event) from New York City to Miami.

[draganc]

The NY mva can/will issue temp tags. I don't know if also for foreigners but perhaps the sell can get the tags for the buyer.

http://dmv.ny.gov/register.htm#temporary