Hey, Is it a good idea to buy a car when you get out there? If so, how much is it likely to cost, taking into account the car, tax and insurance. Jay!
If you're comparing it to shipping your car over there then it's definately worth buying a 2nd hand car out there, but save the money over here first x I'm not sure but i think you'll need to surrender your license and register in Florida, there are a load of procedures attached to it, your best off finding out from a US auto website or something. Or ask someone who's done it ;D
It can be very expensive to run a car out in Florida when you're there but people do buy them. Depending on what you can afford you will either get a fairly decent car or a pile of junk that will end up costing more to fix and service than it did to buy. You have to get a Florida state driver's licence. A british licence is not sufficient and you have to do a test etc at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) out on OBT. You then have to pay for the tags for the car which is a bit like road tax. Then insurance on top of that which is incredibly expensive cause you will have no history of safe driving etc. Also think about how much you will actually use a car. There are buses to and from work, shops etc and you end up becoming like a taxi service once people know you have a car. If you need to hire a car, there are plenty of places that offer special discounts for Cast Members Hope this helps Rich
well, i was really thankful for the friends that did have cars! even though you have busses going everywhere and you can rent cheap cars, it still makes live a little easier! there's a lot of cars being passed down at the commons, some of them in a pretty good condition...don't know how much exactly it costs, but if you work in foods it shouldn't be too difficult to pay for a car! later! flavour xoxo
how difficult is the test? just curious. was thinking about it too but not sure i could afford it(im in merch) plus i haven't learned to drive here yet. was planning a crash course(no pun intended) in april time!that should give me time for a few attempts at the test! xxx
Hey all! The test is a joke!!! You have to take the theory which is different from the uk theory so read up on that- but the test itself was five mins and you dont even leave the car park! Also bear in mind you are driving an automatic car so it's like driving a go-kart!!! I was in merch (uk) and running the car was fine- petrol is way cheaper than in England. However, it did break down quite a lot which was pretty pricy, and like Rich Gandy said insurance was a killer. I tried loads of places, and the cheapest I got was about £3500 for the year. Still in my opinion a car was my best purchase and could not live without it! Shopping, days out- even avoiding the bus jams at the end of a tiring shift. Ask anyone form the 02-03 bunch- me and my car were in-sererable!!! If anyone wants any more info please feel free to PM me or just post. take care all Simon UK Merchandise July 2002-September 2003
WOW! - maybe my conversion is wrong - but would that mean you were paying about $6500 USD per year for insurance. I am only paying a third of that on a brand new car in Canada and I thought our rates are bad... I guess for any of us who would want to bring a car (for example from Canada) we should do so. I had considered selling my car and getting one in Florida to save the hassle of switching everything over but maybe I will just keep my car registered in Canada and keep my insurance from here - has anyone else done this - is it legal?
yeah that seems like a lot, epecially if you have to buy a car too. ahich i know is cheeper than the UK but im sure will still be expensive!looks like il be getting the bus!lol xxx
Hey guys, sorry my mistake it was about $3500 USD not pounds! Still pretty expensive but not as bad as it first looked! Also Canadian check out what options you have because I know you do not have to take a US test and I dont think you have to register your car to a Fl plate either. Also I know those who drove down got a really good milage price from Disney in their final pay check- which is was less than it actually costs to drive down, so sometimes this can be a very good option! Hope this helps... Simon
Thanks for all the great info guys. Id love to get a car out there but would prob only be ablew to afford an old banger which would prob cost loads to fix every time it broke down!! How easy is it to hire a car out there and what sort of costs/limitations are there? Am I right to think you can hire a car on the basis of a UK driving licence?
Hey, I had a car there last year. The Drivers Licencs cost 20$ for the theory test, ist a computer test and you can try it twice a day until you did it right and then pay 20 bucks... 2 tests, 15 questions about traffic signs, really easy and 15 questons about the regular stuff like what to do when a school bus stops in front of you and which insurance do you need... I paid 800$ for a nice, but old and sensitiv car, so I paid round about 1500$ for repairs, and somebody fixed the little stuff for me for a good price... I was 25 at this time and I paid just 500$ for 6months insurance, think the name was car register or something like that, but you just need to ask others with cars...(prices vary by age and I think car and somethink else) You can pay that monthly as well The registration and Licence Plate was round about 200$, for 20$ more you can also get a nice Plate wit your Name or in a different style... An own car is just great and I'm thankful that I had it, also when I had a lot of trouble with it, but it's priceless to decide to drive to Walmart at 2 o'clock in the night to buy a fishtank and a goldfish ;D or to drive to Goodings at 5 o'clock to get some sushi, because you're hungry and some partypeople just ate everything in the fridge... and you dun have to hurry in the morning to get the bus, hope that it won't break down on the way (they did quite a lot last year) and you don't have to wait for hours on the way back But its your decision, just think of it as an expensive luxus. You could go to mexico on vacation for that money as well, or to NY in december or you are in a tipped position and you dun have to worry at all... Hope I could help... Anna
