Buying a car as a European

Discussion in 'Shopping Discussion and Buy/Sell/Trade' started by Mofree, Nov 18, 2008.

  1. Mofree

    Mofree New Member

    hi there,

    i will join the disney college program for 6 months, starting in January 09.

    I'm 24 and I have a german driving licence, of course.
    So, my questions are:
    - how hard is it to get the florida driving licence?
    - What do I need to buy a car?
    - Which insurance is the cheapest?


    I'm really looking forward to your answers.

    Mofree
     
  2. Disneyjess

    Disneyjess New Member

    I'm not sure if it's worth it to actually buy a car, because at the end of the six months your probably going to have to sell it again!

    I asked about getting an american driving license at my interview, according to Roger, the man who interviewed us it's really very easy.

    I don't think hiring a car will be too expensive once your out there and your probably gonna only need a car every once in a little while, you'll be busy working and theres frequent transport!

    Sorry to put a big pessimistic view on things..
     
  3. DisneyGibbs

    DisneyGibbs Active Member

    Yeah getting a FL driving license really isn't that hard (I know friends who have had them). You have to take a test but apparently it's really easy. I'm getting one when I go.

    Also, for 6 months, renting a car is easier...it'll be cheaper than having to pay all the insurance you'll need when buying a car. I'm going for a year and I won't be buying...I'm too poor! But renting a car for Universal and stuff is an awesome idea. You can rent most cars for a week for about $120.
     
  4. j0hnyoung

    j0hnyoung Guest

    I bought a car when I was out there..I was on the year program, but didn't buy it until I had 6 months of the program left..

    Loads of people when I was there bought cars, most of them with 6 months or a bit more to go for some reason..

    My car cost me $1000..I sold it 6 months later for $700, mainly because it needed a tyre replacing..

    I actually advertised it for $1200 and had alot of interest..Unfortuntely for me though, whilst I was trying to sell it, the tyre went one day on my way to work..Would of only cost me $100 to fix, but I didn't have that kind of money, so I just accepted the $700 for it..

    I think whether its worthwhile getting a car all depends on where you are working..Although, its obviously alot easier to get around..My insurance used to cost me $90 a month, and I also had to pay a lump sum of $200 when I took the policy out..

    Buying a car can be a pricey operation..But all in all I would say that in the 6 months I had it, it probably altogether cost me about $1800, including insurance, petrol , reg plates and the car itself..

    The test is really easy apparently, although I didn't do it..I just drove on my UK license..Only problem with doing that was that they wouldn't let me park in vista..Dont think it really matters if you live in the commons, chatham or patterson tho, coz you can just park on the road nearby as far as I know..Just to mention with the test tho, it can be easy, but ive heard people that have failed it, there's always a chance you can fail and apparently they have a theory test which is supposedly quite hard..

    Just as a reference, I got my car for Autoland Car Dealers on the Orange Blosson Trial..There's loads of car dealers there, all lined up next to the other, so as you can expect, you can haggle them down with a bit of persuasion..
     
  5. MattSource5

    MattSource5 New Member

    JohnBoy, just out of interest, what car did you get?
    i'm still toying with the idea, i mean renting sounds pretty cheap, but the fact that you managed to buy a car and drive it for $1800 is not too shabby!
     
  6. j0hnyoung

    j0hnyoung Guest

    I had a chevrolet cavillier, there quite a popular car in america, there's quite alot of them around..I had a 2.2litre, which, was suprisingly quite economic! Might have just been the stupidly cheap fuel prices..Well, compared to the UK anyway!

    Ill warn you in advance, but sorry if I bore you with loads of mathematics here! haha..Just thought I'd do an honest breakdown for you to get a better idea!

    To do a breakdown of how much it cost I'd say..

    Car + Reg Plates= $1000
    Insurance = 6*90 + $200 = $740

    All in all then, too be honest, I'd say more accurately, I'd probably say it cost me about $2000, but not far off what I originally thought..And thats just an allowing estimate, I might of spent a bit less..

    Petrol is so cheap in america..I think its $2.99 a gallon? Correct me if im wrong there..And there's 4.5 gallons to the litre..Therefore its about 40p a litre, compared to the 96p a litre we pay in the UK now..

    Anyway, to conclude my essay! I would definitly advise getting a car, I was a bit worried before I got mine, but after having mine and selling it, im really happy that I got it, paid for itself back easily!
     
  7. MattSource5

    MattSource5 New Member

    thanks for the info! i'll try and assess my options when i arrive (i.e. if i have any money behind me haha)
    hopefully when i get into a tipped position...
     
  8. Discostu81

    Discostu81 New Member

    Yeah, thanks for that dude, very helpful to have some figures to play with.
     
  9. Disneyjess

    Disneyjess New Member

    Buying a car would be cool, it's just the hassle of trying to sell it again and such.
     
  10. j0hnyoung

    j0hnyoung Guest

    I advertised my car 4 weeks before I left, and that was enough time to sell it in I thought..I advertised it on the classifieds on the disney portal..Although I always think its best to advertise around vista and chatham etc as well..As I think its alot easier to sell it to a CP..
     
  11. Discostu81

    Discostu81 New Member

    I bet there's some motors that have had nothing but CP's driving them for years!
     
  12. MattSource5

    MattSource5 New Member

    what insurance company did you go with? and was it like fully comp for that price?
    sorry about all the questions bud :)
     

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