Vehicle registration renewal in California?

Temporary vehicle registration and insurance in California for uk citizen?

• Hi, Myself and a friend will be travelling to California next month to purchase a 1960s vw campervan. We will be driving it to the shipping port to export it back to the uk. I've been told we can get a temporary registration which lasts 28 days and will allow us to drive the van. I've been on the californian DMV website but cannot find any more information or the forms. no email address either! So far I just know we will need to have an insurance certificate to get the temporary registration. Couple of questions really, Do I need to purchase a van before I can get the temporary registration? Ideally I would like to go buy a van and drive it away there and then from the seller but Im thinking I'll have to put a deposit down or similar and get the info and go to the DMV before I can take it away? Second question is insurance, I guess the best idea would be to go with an American company. Will they insure a uk citizen who's just over for a few weeks with just a uk driving license? Any suggestions of companies who may do so? In the uk we have a company called swift who only deal online. This would be ideal because then I wouldn't need an address forms/certificates to be sent. Any ideas? Reason were not getin it transported is because we want to do a bit of travelling on route to a east coast port.

• Answer:

  You will have to have the papers on the vehicle before you can get the temp sticker. There is no other way to do it in advance unless you pay for the vehicle and transfer the title before you get to the states. You don't want to do that because the temp sticker starts its 28 days when it is purchased, not when you get the vehicle. As to insurance, I suspect you would do well to see if your currant coverage doesn't cover a new vehicle from time of purchase. Most companies in the US do that for all their policy holders, giving you a few weeks to catch up with the paperwork. You may not have to worry with insurance if it is already covered by your carrier. If it comes down to the wire, and you have to buy insurance in the States, try one of the mainstream companies, like State Farm, Allstate, or 21st Century. Enjoy!