More Aussies with Tag and Insrance Questions on the East Coast

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OZEBILL

Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Posts
9
Sorry, but more bloody Aussies coming over?.. ;D

Well we just brought an old Pathfinder in Atlanta, 14yo with 45k on the clock, one owner who appears to have looked after the old girl, He's holding her and keeping her running until we come over in December to pick her up and take her touring where is yet to be determined  but we'll be travelling for about 6 weeks and parking her up some where safe for our nest visit 

Questions?  ???

Tags?.I?ve been reading many of the postings and have found nothing about obtain tags on the east coast any suggestions ? contacted the Authorities in Georgia and they said  only a resident can get tags in that state?. 

Insurance? what sort is required and does anyone have any estimates on cost

Link to pics of some of my toys, including a pic of the Pathfinder

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/smithwb/DropBox#

Thanks and Happy Trails    :D ;D

Bill, Gill and Molly
Brisbane Australia
 
try my pages at  http://rving.sunpix.co.uk/ for a Brit perspective on RVing in the USA. 

Can't help specifically with the east coast but my general experience may be useful - we did the Escapees honorary Texan route to avoid residency requirements of most other states for titling, registration, insurance etc.

It's all on the pages. 

good luck

Keith
 
Vehicle titles and tags are issued by the states and rules and fees will vary, often substantially. And insurance requirements and costs will vary by the state in which it is tagged, so they are somewhat tied together.  You may find that Florida is easier to tag & title the vehicle and I suspect that fees and taxes will be less than most other southeastern US states as well. Florida, with a large seasonal transient population, is accustomed to dealing with vehicle tags for people who are there only temporarily, plus a lot of visitors buy RVs in Florida.  A Florida tag & title will likely cost under $100 but you will have to pay sales tax (about 6%) on the purchase price of the motorhome unless you already paid that in Georgia. In most states, the taxes are collected when the tags are purchased, though.

Insurance requirements vary by state but Florida does not have onerous requirements. You should carry liability insurance, though, in case you damage someone or something in an accident. As for insuring your Pathfinder against damage to it (accident/fire/theft/etc.), that is up to you and is a cost vs risk assessment.  As a visitor to the US, you may have some difficulty finding an insurer and rates are typically much higher for non-residents who do not have a US driving license, i.e. are using an international license.
 
RV Roamer said:
Vehicle titles and tags are issued by the states and rules and fees will vary, often substantially. And insurance requirements and costs will vary by the state in which it is tagged, so they are somewhat tied together.  You may find that Florida is easier to tag & title the vehicle and I suspect that fees and taxes will be less than most other southeastern US states as well. Florida, with a large seasonal transient population, is accustomed to dealing with vehicle tags for people who are there only temporarily, plus a lot of visitors buy RVs in Florida.  A Florida tag & title will likely cost under $100 but you will have to pay sales tax (about 6%) on the purchase price of the motorhome unless you already paid that in Georgia. In most states, the taxes are collected when the tags are purchased, though.

Insurance requirements vary by state but Florida does not have onerous requirements. You should carry liability insurance, though, in case you damage someone or something in an accident. As for insuring your Pathfinder against damage to it (accident/fire/theft/etc.), that is up to you and is a cost vs risk assessment.  As a visitor to the US, you may have some difficulty finding an insurer and rates are typically much higher for non-residents who do not have a US driving license, i.e. are using an international license.
Click to expand...

I'm not promoting the Escapees way, and it's not on the east coast anyway, but the mechanism is well established and made our legal formalities straightforward.

I was told that a Florida driving license is issued only for the duration of the I-94 entry permit which means that a visit to the DMV, for another license period, would be needed every time of entry to the USA.  I believe it's a similar situation with SD, another fulltimer-friendly State like Texas, Polk County.
 
I have only ever used my UK licence (never stayed more than 6 months) and always use Progressive insurance using Lazydays services,straight forward no hastle .
Every vehicle or trailer i have bought has always been registered through my Montana LLC
 
I have only ever used my UK licence (never stayed more than 6 months)
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FWIW you would have been legal in California. Here's the current driving license rules for non-residents. I wonder what the equivalent rules in other states say.
 
Establishing a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Montana is another possible approach for OZEBILL. His vehicles would then be registered and insured in Montana  rather than an east coast state. I think he could do that without actually going to Montana, but will defer to someone more knowledgeable on that score.

Likewise for establishing Texas residency and then licensing there.
 
RV Roamer said:
Establishing a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Montana is another possible approach for OZEBILL. His vehicles would then be registered and insured in Montana  rather than an east coast state. I think he could do that without actually going to Montana, but will defer to someone more knowledgeable on that score.

Likewise for establishing Texas residency and then licensing there.
Click to expand...

I understood the SD, LLC laws were in the process of being tightened  - any news, anybody?
 
why why why is it made so difficult, wouldn't it just make scence to have a system set up that that we could follow and get it right...... ::) after all, its the United States.... seems like every one has  there own system 

ok ok  enough complaining... :(.... what are the issues if i have it in the name of a US citizen... including insurance    does anyone know what the plus and minus are  ....

any comments please as I dont want to get it into my friends name and cause him a truck load of problems.... he's in Texas.

Regards  Bill
 
OZEBILL said:
why why why is it made so difficult, wouldn't it just make scence to have a system set up that that we could follow and get it right...... ::) after all, its the United States.... seems like every one has  there own system   

ok ok  enough complaining... :(.... what are the issues if i have it in the name of a US citizen... including insurance    does anyone know what the plus and minus are  ....

any comments please as I dont want to get it into my friends name and cause him a truck load of problems.... he's in Texas.

Regards  Bill
Click to expand...

I'm a Brit so I don't know but I'd guess that at least one issue would be that if you had to make an insurance claim, your friend would then have that incident on his insurance record, possibly compromising his future premiums. 

Have you considered the Texas route for yourself?
 
Nothing in law is ever simple, Ozebill. The US states are very jealous about their individual rights vs the federal government and differing laws for vehicles and driver licenses is one of the prices we pay for that. Besides, I know the Australian states each have their own motor vehicle departments and interpretations of laws and rules, so you must experience some of the same thing.

I don't think this is a big issue - people come here from the UK every year and do what you want to do. I just don't have a roadmap to give you to follow. Maybe someone here who has already trod this path can advise?  If you were buying at a major RV dealership like Lazydays in Florida, they could probably steer you through the maze because they sell to visitors all the time.
 
I understood the SD, LLC laws were in the process of being tightened  - any news, anybody?
Click to expand...

I haven't heard that, at least as far as SD or MT is concerned. What has happened is that several other states have become aggressive in pursuing those who are avoiding taxes/fees by placing their RV in an SD or MT LLC. Colorado and California are two such.
 
Click the Library button above and go to the Visitors to the USA area to find some articles that might help.
 
RV Roamer said:
I haven't heard that, at least as far as SD or MT is concerned. What has happened is that several other states have become aggressive in pursuing those who are avoiding taxes/fees by placing their RV in an SD or MT LLC. Colorado and California are two such.
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Ahhh, that may be what I was thinking of - thanks. 

I understand OR and CA were doing something similar a while back re the sales tax and registration tags issue.
 
Colorado is the state that has been actively pursuing tax evaders.
 
Tom said:
Colorado is the state that has been actively pursuing tax evaders.
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Tom

You used the proper terminology, evaders, not avoiders. In most cases, owners of LLCs are legally avoiding taxes. In Colorado, the evaders that got all the publicity bought their RVs in Colorado and signed documentation that the RVs would be used and garaged out of state, thus structuring a legal tax avoidance program. In fact the RVs were kept and used in Colorado. The Colorado legal enforcement was for filing false documents that supported the LLCs, not because the LLCs owned the RVs.
 
I guess your right Tom,

I dont know what problems a tourist might have trying to do the same here in Australia.  Trouble is much of the difficulty created trying  catch up with folk who are trying to avoid tax's. Thats not what i am trying to do...  I guess where just court up in the same net, but thanks for your comments, really appreciate them all 
Regards 
Bill 
 
OZEBILL said:
why why why is it made so difficult, wouldn't it just make scence to have a system set up that that we could follow and get it right...... ::) after all, its the United States.... seems like every one has  there own system   
Click to expand...

Try Switzerland, same as USA but a fraction of the size, same with foreigners coming in with various driving licences each canton ("state") have their "take" on federal law, same with work permits, taxation, fire insurance. For those visiting Switzerland US driving licences are not recognised as valid in most cantons as one of my colleagues found out, that is if you intend staying for a while...
 
I must say that I have same problems in Europe. There are legal complications to register and purchase vehicle by foreigners in most of the countries around the globe.
 
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