From: ksla@mtek.chalmers.se (Krister Lagerstrom)
Newsgroups: alt.california
Subject: Re: buying a car in CA
Date: 12 Jan 93 10:23:06 GMT
Organization: Chalmers University of Technology

In article <93011.130448JA6769A@auvm.american.edu>, JA6769A@auvm.american.edu (Juan T. Avecilla) writes:
|> Rent a car!!! Getting a car in California is a good idea if you'll be there for
|> some time, certainly for more than a month or so. There are countless things to
|> consider that are plain hassles in buying a used car. Hassles such as getting a
|> smog test for the title and registration; going to DMV; getting insurance (this
|> is tricky as I know of no insurance company that temporarily insures for a
|> month or so); most of all, you need a California address for all the paperwork
|> for DMV. I say forget buying the car--there are numerous car rental specials in
|> the US (look around in the local papers, call a travel agent, ask around). And
|> don't forget you still have to sell the car at the end. DMV itself is the main
|> hassle (any other Californian will probably tell you the same). Best of luck in
|> your decision.
|> 
|> Jay A.
|> Another displaced Southern Californian.
|> Jay A.


Well, here are my two cents worth...
I went to San Diego last summer and bought an old dodge sportsman van.
Getting insurance for it was one of the trickier things, becuase there's
a large price difference between different companies. Anyway, I got a half-year
policy from Farmer's Insurance in Escondido, which is north of SD. I'm not
sure what I paid for it but it was something like $120 a month, to be paid
in monthly installments. According to the agent, the company didn't cancel
your policy immediately if you didn't pay next months installment on time, so
basically we were able to get a two-months policy for the price of one. I
don't know if this applies to Farmer's only, but it's worth checking out. 

You can save some money on your insurance if you can prove that you're a good
driver, have good grades in school (over B in average), non-smoker, etc,
so that's also worth checking out, perhaps even before you go.
 
I don't think getting the smog certificate and getting the car registred at
DMV was that hard either. Most good mechanics are authorized to do the
smog test, and most cars pass (at least our 20 yr old V8 dodge did :-),
and the people at DMV weren't that unfriendly either. Try to find a DMV in
a small town, and you probably will get more help, and you don't have to
wait for so long. Getting the registration took about an hour for me.
 
If you're going to stay for a month, and you think you're good at judging
how good a used auto is, I think you could save a lot of money, but you
could also end up paying more than you would if you rented one if it
breaks down a lot. It's hard for me to advise you how to do, it depends
how much you value the security in renting a car.
 
One funny note is that I'm a Swedish citizen, and I stated that when I got
my driver's licence in SD. That didn't stop the selective service from
sending me a letter where they wanted me to send in a registration for
the draft... :-)

	Cheers!  /  Krister

-- 
Krister Lagerstrom   (Undergrad. CEng student)   Email: ksla@mtek.chalmers.se
Volrat Thamsgatan 8/8511                                d2ksla@dtek.chalmers.se
412 60 Gothenburg
SWEDEN                                           Phone: +46 31 778 43 61