Advice on buying cars in New York

[MovingtoUSmum]

Hi there,
So it's a 3 week countdown until our move from the UK to New York (westchester county). DH and DC getting very excited!
Could do with a little advice re buying a car. Luckily our new house is v close to the station into GCT so we only need one car for our family.
Current plan is to hire a car for a couple of weeks and then buy. We've read in our 'moving to America' book that car sales in the US are very different to the UK in that there are not so many checks like there are in the uK in terms of the cars being serviced/ MOT etc. What's the best plan, buying privately or going to a showroom and buying a 'certified' car? Little worried about naively buying a dud!
Any ideas or previous experience welcome.
Many thanks!

I can't describe adequately how soul sapping it is dealing with the DMV... I would happily pay a large premium not to have anything ever to do with them ever again!

Thirding the DMV comments; you haven't seen the term jobsworth applied fully until you deal with them, or USPS when you're trying to send a parcel overseas!

One other comment about importing the car - check where your nearest dealer for repairs etc is (I think its a Volvo?) We have 1 dealer in a v large region here so many people take it to the next state

Also worth mentioning here that my experience with the dealerships is they won't give out courtesy cars for routine services, like in the UK which can leave you in a bind, or waiting in the showroom / garage for 3 hours if they've screwed the service appointments up, so if your garage is further away, it could be an entire day trip just for a service or standard repair. Could just be a mazda / BMW thing tho and / or limited to our local dealer policy

Honestly I looked into bringing our BMW out on a 'roll on roll off' ship and the actual charges to do so are quite reasonable but then I discovered how you have to get all these checks done to make sure they comply with US standards and so many other issues (can't remember them all now) but the fact that it is also a RHD is very problematic. Different if you're shipping it out from mainland Europe but I really don't believe it's worth the stress and I haven't even yet had to think about the dis-pleasure of dealing with DMV!

The DMV will require you pass the emissions test. Then goodness help you if you have any light on such as 'service due' and they certainly won't pass you with 'check engine' on.

Having something built for the American market is well worth it. You will also really appreciate the extra cup holders!!!!

That could all be straightforward, but what I would worry about would be insurance.

Also, I don't know if a car built for Britain would have A/C, which you will definitely need. My mum's car doesn't (in Ireland).

I don't think you would be able to insure your own car on your DH's insurance if he will be getting a company car. You should look into whether you will even be insured to drive his company car.

DH has a company car. The car is insured not the driver. The bigger issue with insurance is the coverage for a car built to be driven on the wrong side of the road.

I agree that that would be a big deal.

Thank you. I do appreciate your pointing out these issues to me.

A quick google throws up 4 Volvo dealerships on Long Island.

It has A/C. Lots of cupholders. Heated seats

Dh would make sure I'm insured for the company car. Dd would have her own car as well, so I'm definitely going to have to face the DMV people at some point.

I was thinking that if insurance is going to be an issue for me that we'd put Dh as the main policy holder for my car and I'd be a named driver on his policy, like we currently do in this country. Do they do policies like that?

The emissions, Dh is good friends with our current Volvo dealer so I'm hoping they will be able to help us to ensure that the car complies. Possibly help us with shipping as a whole as we've bought quite a few Volvos off them over the years.

My car is roughly worth £15K by shipping it I'm hoping it would save me a good bit in not having to buy out there, saying that mind I've no idea how much an equivalent Volvo XC90 out there would be.

What can I get for £15k?

On that minivan that Want2 linked (thank you btw) I'd be looking at adding to that quite a bit.

I was thinking that if insurance is going to be an issue for me that we'd put Dh as the main policy holder for my car and I'd be a named driver on his policy, like we currently do in this country. Do they do policies like that?

This is my experience of insuring cars in the US - might not be typical.

You insure all the cars in your house for all the drivers in your house. So we have three cars, they're all insured for all the drivers in my house. Because DD is 16 and a new driver I have to pay a bit more, but because she's at boarding school and also is an A-grade student that reduces the extra payments.

Any of us can drive any of our cars. Other people can drive our cars with our permission. We can drive rental cars and be insured against collision damage, third party damage, etc.

I pay the same for each car, whether it's the brand new CR-V or the 11 year old truck. They are $450-ish per year each.

You do have to declare recent accidents, but it doesn't seem to affect premiums that much.

I don't know if that's how it works for everyone else, or in other states, or even with other insurers, but that's how it is with our current policy.

I've had a lot of fun (yes!) people-watching at DMV offices.

Maybe it's the area I live in, but there are usually several people having loud arguments with the DMV officials about how unfair it is that they can't get their license back since 5 out of 15 of their DUIs recently expired and surely you can have a driving license if you've only got 10 DUIs?! I am not joking...

They then generally strop off, get into their truck and drive off.

I also watched a British guy try to renew his license. The DMV officer pointed out that the Green Card had expired, and you can't renew your driving license with an expired Green Card.

The British guy then started implying loudly that the only reason the official wouldn't renew his license was because he was corrupt and looking for a backhander, and he was going to have his lawyer pay him a visit.

The DMV guy didn't bat an eyelid. It was hilarious.

haha, be sounds a bit similar to my experience at the DMV in Brooklyn, which was basically survival of the fittest.

I found it hilarious that they did the written test in multiple different languages, including the sign posts. I couldn't help wondering what the efficacy of learning the signs in a different language meant when you actually got on the road.

Also a massive big up to the over zealous security guards who were barking at people about possible cheating and talking, whilst having an across the room shouting conversation whilst people were taking their test.

You wouldn't get anything new for 15k. It would also provide a big down payment on a nice vehicle, if you were able to get financing. If you don't have an Amex card you should get one and start using it to establish some credit.

You could get a used car in CarMax that would probably be fine until you have got settled.

A parent of an old school friend of DD1 works at a DMV close to me. Going there has always been a pleasant experience. The only glitch I ever an into was when DS got spot checked when he went to get his first driving license. He had to do a road test but all was well. Once when I was there, an officer had to break it to an old lady that she had failed the eye exam part of the renewal process, and yes, she could redo it if she wanted, but the result was the same the second time. The officer made sure she had someone with her who could drive her home. I wondered if it was a setup. It was all done very tactfully and with a good deal of kindness. The old lady was most upset of course..

jelly we spent about the equivalent of GBP 15k on a pre owned and certified BMW X1 from the BMW dealer.

It was a prior lease car is about 4 years old, and has v low mileage as the previous people used it as a run around. DH negotiated the shit out of the price as I think it was 3-4k higher originally.

£15k will get you an XC90 that is 5-6 years old. It would be their basic model and an old model so depreciation would be much higher down the road.

Personally for a budget of $20k I would lease and that way you aren't paying a heavy price if you find the XC90 doesn't suit your needs. Also I thought your DC were young. You threw me a bit over the third car for your DD.

You are trying to make a decision based on having not driven in the area where you will be living on a regular basis. The error rate of your decision is going to be high. Certain things I think you think are easy aren't. The road around here are terrible. I mean really bad. The DMV is nasty. I mean they will talk about you in Spanish if you are lucky. That means they noticed you. The person you are speaking to sounds like he doesn't know shit about the regulations for emissions in the US. Also no one here cares about the car you drive. It's not the status symbol that it is in the UK. No joke, I know a couple of board member who have private planes (yes plural) and he drives a Ford Focus that is 7 years old. His other car is a Tahoe which is about 20 years old.

I would focus on leveraging your relationship with the dealership to get them to buy back the car at as high a price as possible.

Excellent advice there Want2bSupermum get your dealer to buy back your current car.

And yyy to the idea that status symbols are altogether different in the US. In order to impress, you need multiple stickers on the back of whatever car you drive indicating the sports your children do. (Ice) hockey ranks high. Lacosse and soccer ditto. Swimming too, and rowing. There isn't much rugby around here but I know in VA it's a marker of wealth and being driven. Stickers from the really good universities your children attend are impressive too, but in a different way.

We live in Westchester, moved a year ago with three kids although a bit younger than yours. We have a Honda Pilot and have been really pleased with it. We also had a Volvo XC90 in the UK and I would say it's similar size but having that 8th seat in the back has been very useful for us. In your situation I would absolutely get at least a 7 seater for car pooling purposes, car pooling is very big here and with three kids it can definitely make life easier!

The Honda Pilot is great. DH just leased one for an employee. It was zero down and $380 a month for 15k miles a year. The employee wants to buy the car at the end of the lease which is a great idea for them. It's this employees 2nd pilot. His wife is driving a Ford Explorer that is 25 years old. It will be 28 years old when they trade it in.

Funny - we've actually been looking at both Honda Pilots and Ford Explorers as they seem to fit the bill.
Sea freight went yesterday, we fly in 2 weeks!
Got to admit I'm a bit excited now!

If you’re looking at the Pilot and the Explorer, look at the Toyota Highlander as well. The one with captain seats as middle row. You get a pretty good spec for your buck and Toyota’s have a great rep for reliability. With the 6th and 7th bench seat down, you also get a decent sized boot for road trips....which OBVIOUSLY you have to take a gazillion of. You’re in America now, dahling!

Thanks for the info about insurance. That is good to know.

Really not bothered by status symbols, here I need a load lugger and after having had a few Volvo estates wanted something bigger to make loading less stressful cos I know it'll all fit, if anything I prefer Volvos cos they are good cars but not flashy with it.

As for stickers on cars to brag, good grief whatever next?

The stories of the DMV are horrendous and while the thought of dealing with them is daunting I'm not going to be put off cos they have bad attitude. I won't be working so will be less time pressured than if I had a job to get to, what else am I going to do all day? I have to have a car and if I have to deal with shithead twonks to get it sorted then that's what I'll do.

Want2 I agree I don't know the area where we'll be based (that isn't certain yet either). I'm trying to be a bit savvy with our funds as I'll need to get a car for dd who is 18, if she decides she does want to come with us and giving ours away here seems to be a waste to me. See, the only possible problem I thought I'd have is going through drive-ins Shipping the car isn't set in stone, work will pay for recce trips for us so once there we can make a decision on what to do about cars.

I love my own Honda Pilot - great snow driving SUV, very comfortable, seats 8, roof rack, nice handling and decent speed.

As for stickers on cars to brag, good grief whatever next?
Wait and you'll see...

A great many places in the US enforce a parking in the direction you are driving rule. It is generally easier to parallel park when your steering wheel is on the left side of the car. More to the point, it is far easier to pull out again when you are seated on the left of the vehicle. In fact, I think it would be downright dangerous to pull out seated on the right. You are relying almost completely on your left side mirror.

You will also find it hard to get into and out of indoor car parks as the ticket machines are on the left.

If you are concerned about driving in snow, yes AWD or 4WD will be helpful, but the real thing that makes the difference is snow tires. We lived in Alberta for a couple of years, and even with a huge 4WD GMC if we had early snow and no snow tires on yet, it was a struggle. Snow tires make driving a dream. Also, we specifically chose a vehicle with heated seats and steering wheel, and that had an engine block heater. I know temps in AB are a fair bit lower than NY but still some things to consider.

In the NYC area I found the all weather tires are best. I'm lazy though and could never be bothered with changing tires.

There's a fair bit of snow here in winter but I have always just used all-weather tyres too. It is very flat here, though.

All weather tyres here too. I think in the last two winters we've had about 3-4 days when the main and secondary roads had snow on them.

We have a bigger issue round here with black ice and the state of the pavements as the city aren't particularly diligent