Hi,
I am from Australia and am travelling to the USA in June this year i was wondering how hard is it to buy a used car and what needs to be done in the US in terms of organizing licensing and insurance? And also what needs to be done when selling it.
Oh and are there any good websites to look at which have private cars for sale on them?
Any help will be appreicated,
Cheers Owen
Owen,
I help members that come to Vegas to buy a vehicle. 9 TP members so far. I have photos of Carl & Jen on page 4. Liza & Peter on page 5. Both bought vans, traveled the US for 3 months and returned to Vegas to sell. We usually find, buy, insure and license a car/van in 1-2 days. Off they go on their US adventure. Nevada DMV usually takes 3-4 weeks to mail the new title. I mail it to them so they can sell the vehicle after they are finished with their trip. Allow 2-7 days to sell your vehicle. 'craigslist' for the city you intend to buy is a good place to start looking for vehicles.
Good luck with your planning.
Ah, glad I found this! My plan was to buy a van in LA (just because its the cheapest place to fly to from Brisbane) and go roadtripping from there.
Is receiving the title essential? Would I be stuck in LA while I wait around for it to arrive, or could I just disregard it and drive into the sunset? 
Jindy,
NV takes 3-4 weeks to issue a new title. I would guess Calif takes
about the same amount of time. You can leave on your US adventure as soon as you register the vehicle. You will provide both your insurance company and DMV with a local address. That person will hold the new title in your name if you are returning to Calif to sell the vehicle. Have them mail the new title to you if want to sell in another state. Good luck with your planning.
Hello all together!
Although this thread is quite old, we, both German travellers and non residents in the US, have the same situation: we'd like to buy (and sell after 3 months) a car. As las Vegas is the easiest destination for us, we'd like to buy it there.
Do you know if there have been any significant changes in law since the last reply? Will I be able to register the car with a P.O. box address or will I need a permanent address (e.g. of a local)?
At the moment, I'm s little bit confused as it says on the mdv-homepages that only residents may register a car on Nevada...http://www.dmvnv.com/nvreg.htm
Any help is appreciated, greetings from Monterrey, Mexico, Korbinian
Hi,
I am going to Los Angeles by the end of april to work there for 5 months.
All visa arrangments have been made but I would like to buy a car there.
I have an address there so I guess that won't be a problem.
Any suggestions/help on how to get a good car and DL, insurance.
Thanks,
Cheers,
Stijn