Questions for Florida residents?

[NYEXPAT]

1. If I move to Florida with a Foreign drivers licence can I swap it for a Florida one?Or do I need to start from scratch?

2, Can I purchase several new car's in Florida without a drivers licence or Insurance. Can I buy,register the car and then pick it up when I have insurance?

3. Pre 9/11 I was able to walk into a dealership with a briefcase of cash to buy a car, is this still doable? a wire transfer or will I need some kind of check from Charles Schwab as I will have no US bank account?

4. Can I have a Florida resident buy it, register it,store it, etc and then pick it up when I get there or will I have to pay sales tax and registration fees twice?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Souschef]

1. If I move to Florida with a Foreign drivers licence can I swap it for a Florida one?Or do I need to start from scratch?

2, Can I purchase several new car's in Florida without a drivers licence or Insurance. Can I buy,register the car and then pick it up when I have insurance?

3. Pre 9/11 I was able to walk into a dealership with a briefcase of cash to buy a car, is this still doable? a wire transfer or will I need some kind of check from Charles Schwab as I will have no US bank account?

4. Can I have a Florida resident buy it, register it,store it, etc and then pick it up when I get there or will I have to pay sales tax and registration fees twice?

Thanks in advance!

You can still do it. DW walked into a Mazda dealer with a sack of cash and drove out with a car. The only downside is since it was over 10K, they filed a report called a Form 8300 with the IRS.

 

[FlaGator]

1. If I move to Florida with a Foreign drivers licence can I swap it for a Florida one?Or do I need to start from scratch?

2, Can I purchase several new car's in Florida without a drivers licence or Insurance. Can I buy,register the car and then pick it up when I have insurance?

3. Pre 9/11 I was able to walk into a dealership with a briefcase of cash to buy a car, is this still doable? a wire transfer or will I need some kind of check from Charles Schwab as I will have no US bank account?

4. Can I have a Florida resident buy it, register it,store it, etc and then pick it up when I get there or will I have to pay sales tax and registration fees twice?

Thanks in advance!

Best place to look for the specific requirements is myflorida.com. It's a robust site, but can be frustrating to navigate. Very good search function, though.

1. You will need to show evidence of residency - voter registration, copy of the lease/deed, etc. See the website.
2. Can't register a car without insurance, so get that concurrent with the purchase transaction
3. Wire transfer works
4. You could. Need to transfer the title, but I don't believe there is sales tax on private transactions. See the website for details on transfer process and fees.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I don't think #3 is a problem, but #4 might be, as I think you'll need to be present to title the vehicle. Otherwise you'd need to pay twice and trust the person enough to basically gift them the car and then gift it back to you when you are back in FL.

 

[Bamaman]

1. To get a Florida driver's license, you would need a Florida address. If you have a valid address, you could get a Florida driver's license.

2, You can purchase 100 new cars in Florida. You just cannot drive them without first obtaining insurance and getting them registered. You would need to find a place to store the cars, as any dealer would not be willing to store them without insurance--to protect them from liability.

3. Just do a wire transfer and everything will work smoothly.

4. You would never have another person do a straw purchase and later purchase the car from them. No reason to pay sales taxes twice. There's also a certain amount of liability that comes with "owning a car" that others should not be asked to assume.

 

[sengsational]

Once you settle on a specific VIN, a quick call to an insurance company will secure insurance...my last car buying experience was with a first-time car owner and the process took about 15 minutes.


You usually get a temporary tag from the dealer and have a couple of weeks to get the metal tag.



I think you can buy a car without any concerns about a driver's licence.... seems like a separate deal to me.


What would motivate someone to buy a car before it was time to actually use the car? If you buy one off the lot, you should be able to drive away in it the same day.

 

[NYEXPAT]

Once you settle on a specific VIN, a quick call to an insurance company will secure insurance...my last car buying experience was with a first-time car owner and the process took about 15 minutes.


You usually get a temporary tag from the dealer and have a couple of weeks to get the metal tag.



I think you can buy a car without any concerns about a driver's licence.... seems like a separate deal to me.


What would motivate someone to buy a car before it was time to actually use the car? If you buy one off the lot, you should be able to drive away in it the same day.

Thanks for the info. We are moving from overseas and trying to get my ducks in a row. Probably rent a car for a month and stay in a airbnb till I can get residency/licence/apartment/etc. May come beforehand and try to get the license sorted out and buy one car that I can leave at a friends until my family moves.

 

[Potstickers]

Why not rent a car for a month -- that's usually pretty cheap in Florida. That way, you're not rushed into buying something and can take care of things without going crazy.

Welcome back.

 

[Bamaman]

If you previously had a driver's license in the U.S., an insurance company might want the license number to verify your existence--and your past driving history.

You might also want to have a copy of your Peruvian auto insurance policy.

There are so many crazy things happening in this world, that insurance companies must be very, very careful on issuing new policies without a paper trail.

 

[NYEXPAT]

If you previously had a driver's license in the U.S., an insurance company might want the license number to verify your existence--and your past driving history.

You might also want to have a copy of your Peruvian auto insurance policy.

There are so many crazy things happening in this world, that insurance companies must be very, very careful on issuing new policies without a paper trail.

Have an expired NY licence from 15 years ago. No car or insurance in Peru. My main question was really about getting a FL DL without having to do a written test or driving test again. I know if my old NY DL was valid I could turn it in for a FL one. I can't find out about exchanging a Foreign DL for a FL one.

 

[Scubamax]

I would suggest you check with Florida DMV. Although I don’t live in Florida I lived overseas for 21 years and my U S license lapse. I came from a country which did not have reciprocity so had to take the tests, both written at behind the wheel.

That said I was able to get insurance with a foreign DL through Progressive until I got my Virginia license several months later. Most insurers won’t touch you with a foreign license but Progressive saved the day for me.

 

[NYEXPAT]

I would suggest you check with Florida DMV. Although I don’t live in Florida I lived overseas for 21 years and my U S license lapse. I came from a country which did not have reciprocity so had to take the tests, both written at behind the wheel.

That said I was able to get insurance with a foreign DL through Progressive until I got my Virginia license several months later. Most insurers won’t touch you with a foreign license but Progressive saved the day for me.

Thanks! I am sure most states are the same way. I will probably end up doing a LT rental with full coverage from abroad, or see if "Care by Volvo" can help me with a FDL as the insurance is included?