Travels in America?

[Dougster]

Hi there!

I haven't paid a visit to this board in a good while, so I thought I'd come back and see what has changed, as well as to ask some advice. My advice is based on the fact that the majority of members are Americans, as opposed to anything IT related.

First some background information. My name is James and I am from the UK. I am currently on a "gap year", and in September I start at Imperial College London reading Computer Science. I am 19 years of age.

I am planning on doing some travelling later this year, a large chunk of which I intend to do in the USA (for aprox a month)

My plans are very much in the preliminary stage. I've had an idea, which I would like to do, but I'd thought I'd ask your advice to see if anyone could point out any obvious pitfalls, or offer any information about things I know little about.

My current plan:

Flight to NY .... travel to SFO by car (visiting places of interest in between).... fly back to London.

Now there are three of us travelling, and believe it or not we can afford to rent a car for the duration (we've all been working hard and saving). "Dollar" in New York will rent to 18-21 year olds, however they charge a very high surcharge. It would probably cost us upwards of $4000 to rent the car, affordable, but this is unacceptable as it's obviously not value for money.

Plan b) buy a car in NewY, sell it in San Francisco. This is where my knowledge is limited. 1. We have full UK driving licences, and this was good enough for dollar, but does it allow us to drive in the US in "non-rental" cars? 2. Would be it possible for us to get insurance? If so would it be ridiculously expensive? 3. How easy is it to buy a used car in America? Money's not really too much of an object... but is there a lot of red tape to go though. Long registration processes etc?

If anyone here has any specific or general advice I'd be most grateful. Is it too ambitious a journey? Should I stick to package holidays?! Would I find "immediate" cheap accommodation hard to find this April?

Many thanks and regards,

James

 

[AlienCraft]

Hello, James.
If your UK license was good enough for Dollar, it'll be good enough for the Local Highway Patrol.
I would think that your insurance company may be able to sell you insurance that would be acceptable here. Otherwise, your plan to buy a car and then unload it before leaving is very cool. You will be able to sell it easily to any used car lot, although you know you may not be getting the best deal at that point. Your big challenge will be to find a decent car in a minimum amount of time.
Sounds like fun! Drive safely!

 

[911paramedic]

If you do get pulled over for a traffic violation, you will have to pay the fine before leaving that county/state. You will also need insurance because it is illegal to drive without it in most, if not all, the states. You can be arrested in some states if you do not carry insurance.

On to the good stuff. I was raised in California, and I imagine you will enter CA on Highway 10, which is down in the Los Angeles area. On your way up to SF (I used to be a medic there) stop in Monterey for sure. It is a great place and lots of fun. If you get a chance, drive right past SF and head on up to Sonoma county, about 2hrs north of SF, and go on the winery tours. I live in Las Vegas now, so of course you should stop by here, its an american icon.

 

[Dougster]

Thanks for the tips.

Even if it wasn't illegal to drive without insurance, I wouldn't consider it. The problem is, that my insurance policy for my car here only covers me for the EU. Would it be possible to be insured with an American firm, or would I have to have a US residential address etc?

And as for buying a car, is it possible to pay cash and "drive away" the same day, ie no hanging around for registration documents to be processed etc? Also, I happen to know someone in NY, I was thinking of sending him the money and getting him to buy a car and have it ready for when I get there. Would this present any problems, again with registration of ownership. In the UK there is a national database of car ownership that has to be adhered to.

 

[Dougster]

Sorry, I realise you guys aren't insurance experts, but I don't know who to ask! Who'd give me advice about such things? My insurance company were no use, all they could tell me is they didn't offer it!

 

[lowtech1]

Originally posted by: Dougster
Hi there!

I haven't paid a visit to this board in a good while, so I thought I'd come back and see what has changed, as well as to ask some advice. My advice is based on the fact that the majority of members are Americans, as opposed to anything IT related.

First some background information. My name is James and I am from the UK. I am currently on a "gap year", and in September I start at Imperial College London reading Computer Science. I am 19 years of age.

I am planning on doing some travelling later this year, a large chunk of which I intend to do in the USA (for aprox a month)

My plans are very much in the preliminary stage. I've had an idea, which I would like to do, but I'd thought I'd ask your advice to see if anyone could point out any obvious pitfalls, or offer any information about things I know little about.

My current plan:

Flight to NY .... travel to SFO by car (visiting places of interest in between).... fly back to London.

Now there are three of us travelling, and believe it or not we can afford to rent a car for the duration (we've all been working hard and saving). "Dollar" in New York will rent to 18-21 year olds, however they charge a very high surcharge. It would probably cost us upwards of $4000 to rent the car, affordable, but this is unacceptable as it's obviously not value for money.

Plan b) buy a car in NewY, sell it in San Francisco. This is where my knowledge is limited. 1. We have full UK driving licences, and this was good enough for dollar, but does it allow us to drive in the US in "non-rental" cars? 2. Would be it possible for us to get insurance? If so would it be ridiculously expensive? 3. How easy is it to buy a used car in America? Money's not really too much of an object... but is there a lot of red tape to go though. Long registration processes etc?

If anyone here has any specific or general advice I'd be most grateful. Is it too ambitious a journey? Should I stick to package holidays?! Would I find "immediate" cheap accommodation hard to find this April?

Many thanks and regards,

James

You can?t see North America like the way that you travel in Europe. You will prety much experience most of what GB has to offer if you spend a month traveling there, but a month in the US is about what you want to spend on a State. It will take you about a week just driving between NY & SF (about 3000 miles), which leave you only 3 weeks to explore.

The best thing that you can do is purchase book/s such as The Lonely Planet to see what America has to offer, and your insurance will not be cover in America.

Buying Cars in the USA

Car Rental Tips

Driving Tips

Lodging Tips

USA Budget Travel

PS. GB surface area is about the same size as Vancouver Island on the left corner by Seattle City in the linked (map) for comparison.

Good Luck!

 

[Dougster]

I'm well aware that a month is not enough time to see everything of interest in North America. I am also aware that, having lived my life on a tiny island with a population density almost 10 times that of the US, I have no appreciation of the "vastness" of your country.

However, as much as anything, I was hoping to enjoy the journey. Spending time with some of my best buddies, driving on roads that don't always crawl along at 11mph due to overcrowding, experiencing incredible scenery and most of all being able to drive more than 200 miles in a straight line without hitting water! On top of this, our route would of course include some of the more "famous" attractions of America. To me this is a much more exciting prospect than say, visiting New York for a fortnight, going up the Empire State Building, visiting the Statue of Liberty, looking round the UN buildings etc. etc. etc. Not my cup of tea really (to use an English phrase ).

Could you guys suggest some reputable insurance companies? I'll give them a ring and see if there's any chance of getting insurance, despite us not having US residential addresses etc.

 

[Woodie]

Can't you find a "bud", and use his address for mailing stuff, insurance, registration, etc?

For insurance, I would try: Amica, Allstate and Travelers. Use the address from above for a US address, since you will check there for mail, once you return there. If you can straighten out the insurance thing, you should be able to get the car registration stuff done within a few hours.

Typically, DMV (Dept Motor Vehicles) will require: bill of sale (to prove you own it, and how much taxes to pay them), proof of identification (passport, drivers license, etc..), address (for taxes again), proof of insurance, and $$.

Get the insurance ahead of time, providing the VIN# of the vehicle to the agent, and then picking up the insurance card the day you need it.

g/l. I've driven across (LA to SF to NYC), and it's a LONG drive. Unfortunately, we couldn't stop to sight-see much. Wyoming, Utah, Nevada are good for showing the vastness and loneliness of the country.

 

[Dougster]

It's interesting you picked up on my use of the work "buddies". Normally I would use the word "mates", but some English speaking countries interpret that literally so I avoided it.

Cheers Woodie, that's some great advice.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: 911paramedic
If you get a chance, drive right past SF and head on up to Sonoma county, about 2hrs north of SF, and go on the winery tours.

SAY WHAT?!?!?! :Q PASS by San Francisco??? Why bother coming to the States then?
If anything, you'll enter California on Interstate Highway 5, meaning you're coming in from Oregon and Washington. There is far more to see on the Northern route across the US.Then you'll have plenty to compare to when you end up in the Cultural Wasteland known as Los Angeles. Las Vegas is simply Disneyland for Adults. Don't go there first or you won't have any gas money left.
911paramedics right about the traffic violations. You'll need to pay right away. Drive carefully. We kill more people here in our cars than we do with all of the guns.

 

[lowtech1]

I haven't done the drive from NYC to SF, but the experience that I have on the I90 between Seattle & Boston was much nicer than the Trans Canada Highway from Vancouver to Montreal (you can only see so much flat land, at almost 2 days was a bit too much for me).

The I5 from Seattle to LA is nice, but nothing compare to the beautiful Washington/Oregon/North California coastal drive.

The loneliest drive I have ever done was the drive from White Horse (North West Territory) to Anchorage (Alaska) alone, and the majority of it I didn?t see another car on the road.

 

[Dougster]

I think I'll print out this thread as reference when I come to route plan.

Of course if the whole car thing doesn't work out, I guess Greyhound's the only viable way of getting around the country. Don't think I could stand to go all the was from NY to SF by coach though! I guess we'll stick to the eastern seaboard area if we don't get the car.

 

[lowtech1]

Originally posted by: Dougster
I think I'll print out this thread as reference when I come to route plan.

Of course if the whole car thing doesn't work out, I guess Greyhound's the only viable way of getting around the country. Don't think I could stand to go all the was from NY to SF by coach though! I guess we'll stick to the eastern seaboard area if we don't get the car.

Another option that you can look into is by train. I have done the train thing along the coast from Seattle to San Diego then to Texas which was a really nice 3 day ride.

If you can come up with a good reason, you might be able to convince enough AT members to ferry you between cities as geeks meets exchange marathon.

 

[Woodie]

Maybe he could attend a series of ATOT meets? I'm in for Boston or NYC.

 

[gump47371]

OK, I have some experience in this. We had some former foreign exchange students come and visit us. They wanted to go out west, and my dad owns a small car lot. He talked to his insurance agent, and he said that my dad could "sell" them a car, put a temporary tag on it, which is good for 30-31 days, and then they could buy insurance from the local insurance agency, and just make the first monthly payment. Then, when they got back, they just called and cancelled it.

Worked good for them, except they had a little fender bender while they were away, and had to have it fixed.

Good luck on your trip over here, and hope you run into more nice people than jerks.

 

[Dougster]

Thanks gump47371, that sounds really encouraging.

Were they only able to get their insurance because of the temporary car deal with you dad? Or would they still have been able to get it had they purchased it outright?