Newbies:
- In the San Francisco/Bay Area, you will need a car to move around as the public transport facilities are not so flexible and distances are more than you think to the nearest shopping areas from your apartment.
- You could buy new or used cars from the large number of car dealers to be found in each area. Check this section for the wholesale and retail prices of new and used cars and to find out what makes are available.
- The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is the governing authority managing vehicle registrations and driving licenses. If you are new to California, you may want to check out this page by the DMV to find out what all you need to do and what documents you will need for vehicle registration, driving license etc.
- You may want to become a member of the Automobile Association of America. For an annual fee of about $60 for the basic services, this auto club provides a multitude of services like street maps, towing , passport photograph services, travel services, etc.
- Read the guides at the Kelly Blue Book web-site and the Edmund's web-site to prime you up for an attack on the car dealerships.
- You will need to take atleast a couple of driving classes to familiarize yourself with actually driving in the US. There are a few Indian driving instructors -- you may want to check with your Indian friends at work to get contact number for these instructors. You could also look in the Yellow Pages (category: Driving Instruction) to find some driving schools. Usually the instructors will pick you up and drop you off if you are close to their school. Check with the school for this feature and for rates and hours.
- The Friday edition of the San Jose Mercury Newspaper has an extra on Cars. This extra section usually has a nice "New Car Directory" which is basically a map of all the car dealerships in the Bay Area.
- Before you can buy a car, you usually would want to have a car loan approved. There are many sources where you can get car loans -- your bank, a credit union, the car dealers themselves or financing companies owned and operated by the car manufacturers. If you are new to the US or even otherwise, your best bet is to get a loan from a credit union (for those who don't know, credit unions are like co-operative banks found in India). You will definitely get a loan at a good rate. Check with the car manufacturers financing company -- sometimes you get good deals. If you are new to the US, it is better to buy a car with a car loan rather than to pay for it yourself (even if you are flush with funds). This is because, it builds up your credit history which in general is a good thing in the US. Of course, if you are not planning on other loans or are not planning to stay for long in the US you could decide otherwise.
Guides to buying a car:
- Find a comprehensive guide to buying a used car at the Bureau of Automotive Repairs which is a California government agency.
- Before buying a used car, you may want to have it diagnosed by an auto clinic. Automobile Association of America (AAA) provides such a service. You may want to become a member of this association. Check out this guide by the AAA on buying a car.
- Check the DMV procedures on purchasing your car from a private party.
- A great resource at a great site -- Edmund's Consumer Advice & Information.
Selling your car:
- Check this guide by AAA.
- Check the DMV requirements on selling your car.
Wholesale/retail prices of new/used cars:
- The Kelly Blue Book is THE guide to new and used car prices.
- Edmund's is another great resource. Check new car prices information and used car prices information.
- Want to verify prices at one more place? Check out cars.com.
Car reviews:
- The Consumer Reports provide unbiased reviews of new and used cars. You need to subscribe (paid) to read this reviews. They have a lot of other free information. Their web-site is great for reports on a variety of other things too.
- The Kelly Blue Book's vehicle reviews are here.
- Edmund's vehicle reviews are here.
- Car reviews at cars.com.
DMV:
- If you are moving your vehicle to California, you will need to read this regarding Smog Checks.
- Check out the official web-site of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) where you would go for vehicle registration, driving licenses and the California ID.
- If you are an alien on a temporary visa, it takes about 3 months to get your permanent driving license as your presence is verified with the INS.
Insurance:
- California law requires that all drivers carry liability insurance. Check this page by the DMV regarding this minimum requirement and the amounts involved.
- Search the Yellow Pages (category: Auto Insurance) for an insurance agent near you.
- Check if your insurance agent/broker is licensed.
- Various companies provide different discounts some of which are listed below. Check this
chart by the California Department of Insurance.
- Anti-theft device discount
- Good driver discount (experience, no traffic violations)
- Passive restraint (automated seat-belts, ABS) discount
- Good student discount
- Multi-car discount (if you have more than one car and have all of them insured through the same company, this discount may apply)
- Multi-policy discount (if you take other kinds of policies like renters or house-owners policies, etc. with the same company, they may give an additional discount)
- The California Department of Insurance has an online utility to compare auto premiums here. Check it out.
- Remember that the premiums you pay varies based on a number of factors like whether you are married, your driving history (lesser premiums for more number of years of driving experience with minimum traffic violations), the area you are living in, etc. Check with more than one insurance company and with more than one agent for that company (rates vary by agent sometimes because they suggest minor variations in the coverage -- some of which may be beneficial to you). If you were driving in India, get that driving license or a photocopy of that when you come to the US. Some insurance companies apply your driving experience in India when considering your driving history (lesser premiums for more experiences).
Online Stores:
Of late, there have been a number of web stores that help you buy cars from your computer. These sites provide a number of services like online price quotes, linking you with a dealer in your area, car loan processing, purchasing insurance online, putting up your car for sale, getting parts etc. Some of these sites are listed below. All of them do not provide the same services.
- AAA
- Autobytel.com
- AutoMallUSA
- Auto Nation, Inc.
- Autoweb.com
- Cars.com
- CarOrder.com (You can directly buy a new car here)
- Cars@Cost
- CarsDirect (You can directly buy a new car here)
- CarPrices.com Get free quotes for new car prices, insurance and car loans.
- DealerNet
- GM New Vehicles Online
- iMotors (You can directly buy a used car here)