Buying car, then moving interstate

Thank you all for your input.

The matter seems more complicated than envisioned however current rates for a Penske van seem to be $1,800 plus fees and taxes. If we could instead put that money into the car it would not be a waste! Though it seems that it’s not worth navigating around the corporate and legal bureaucracy.

Yes, Indiana is lovely and cars exist, but we’re going to be in a small city of 50,000 with access only to overpriced deliveries or the handful of cars on our doorstep.

To save me a couple of K, let me rephrase. How CAN I buy a car in CT then drive to IN?

Contact a dealer where you will be and see if they can answer your question . Or look at the CT DMV web site . I don’t think we have a regular member here who lives in CT .

That is the way it is almost anywhere in the world now.

Buy a used vehicle and drive over 800 miles with out trouble - that has a 50/50 chance. This site gets posts from people who have bought used vehicles that had problems in less mileage than that.

You said rental van , how much stuff are you going to haul ? Sounds like more than you can put in a car .

Of the 626 communities in Indiana, there are 20 cities of 49,000 or more. Since you are going to an Indiana community of 50,000, I think you will find services equivalent to most eastern cities. While Indiana dies not have a city of 1,000,000 or more people (Indianapolis is the most populated city with 879,000 residents), you will be able to find car dealers and other essential services.
You mentioned renting a Penske van. How much stuff are you moving and will it fit in s car?
For $1800, you might be able to ship.the items by freight and buy plane tickets and still have money left over.
We aren’t too far behind the times in this state. I do my computer work on my Babbage Analytic Engine and I watch television on my Dumont console black and white TV set. I even had carpet installed in our bathroom and Mrs. Triedaq liked it so much we ran it on into the house.
Seriously though, Welcome to Indiana!

If you have an Indiana address, the dealer won’t apply for registration in CT, either the dealer or the motor vehicle department can issue a drive away permit to reach your destination.

2 Likes

Of course you “CAN” buy in CT& drive to IN but “SHOULD” you?

Given your limited amount of available time and assuming your limited familiarity with the entire purchase process I’m guessing that you shouldn’t.

As far as the projected $1,800 savings, that can quickly dwindle down to nothing with any error.

  1. Any Undisclosed Problem can quickly eat up a big chunk of the savings.
  2. A error in Titleing/Registration could eat up the rest.
  3. Not to mention that an out of state customer coming into a used car dealership saying, “I need a car today” is every used car salesman’s dream come true!

If you have a trusted friend or relative who has the time and is willing to do the basic groundwork for you in advance or you use a Buying Service, then you’ve got a chance.

This is going beyond your question but have you considered shipping your belongings via a Freight Consolidator/Forwarder or even something like PODS? .

2 Likes

One thing you got going for you, you already know how American’s talk! … lol …

No experience w/buying in CT and moving to IN. But if you buy a car in another state and then move to California, you will have to pay sales taxes in the other state when you buy the car, then pay them again to register the car in Calif. Calif politicos do that – presumably at the behest of Calif car dealers – to discourage residents from crossing the border into another state to buy a new car. Folks might otherwise do that for a variety of reasons, including reduced price b/c of lower state sales tax, or the other state requiring fewer emissions components. I suggest you wait to purchase your car in IN. I doubt among common seen cars on the road there’s a single make/model you can buy in CN that you can’t just as readily buy in IN.

As you probably already know, each state in the USA has its own vehicle rules. To know for sure you’ll have to research the rules in each state, or hire a lawyer for advice. In general the USA is more like 50 individual countries each with their own rules and laws, than one country with uniform rules and laws throughout. .Just a heads up, so you don’t fall into that trap.

Buying a used car in the USA. Easiest method imo is to buy from a rental company sales lot. Hertz, Avis, etc all sell their rental cars when they get 3 to 4 years old. Competitive pricing, cars have been well maintained. The only downside, you’ll have to settle for an automatic transmission. If an auto trans Subaru in the 2017+ vintage is ok by you, I think that’s your best bet. Other methods are from a dealership, or used cars advertised in newspapers or on the internet (EBAY, Craigslist, etc.). If you choose one of these two methods, good idea to ask someone local who has done it before advise you. Good idea to visit the state DMV office before starting this process to find out what you need to watch out for, forms you need. Some states require the car pass an emissions test for example, before they’ll allow it to be registered. I expect you already know that you want to make sure the seller has a right to sell the car, so you are the only one that owns it after the sale of course. The DMV will show you how to make sure.

No idea bout financing cars, I’ve always purchased cars w/cashier check from major bank in full amount. Suggest you do that if at all possible, makes the process much more simple.

American’s often used a book called “Consumer Reports Guide to Used Cars” to decide what make/model/year to look for that best meets their needs. When buying a used car, good idea to hire your own inde mechanic to first do a pre-purchase inspection. $100 or so, money well spent.

Suggest to fly from CN to IN rather than rent a car and drive. First of all, you may be driving on what you think is the wrong side of the road. Not 100% safe until you get used to it. Compare driving vs flying prices at least.

If you have access to back issues of the UK magazine Practical Classics, try to find the article where Sam Glover (one of their writers) flies from the UK to Southeast USA, buys a Corvair, and drives it across the USA to Los Angeles. Pretty good explanation of the issues you may run up against.

Give it up George .

Just a slight comment. Bear not bare. Entirely different meanings.

Indiana is well settled territory. You will find as good a selection there as anywhere. Follow state residency requirements for car and drivers licenses. Stubbiest are made there incidentally. Also watch your speed. Those Indiana patrol are humorless.

Credit may be a problem if not established already but banks and credit unions are best
Dealers can also offer competitive interest rates on new cars, but do not finance 3rd party through them.

@Triedaq is our Indiana and math expert and band and clean living too. Renting a car one way will be a little expensive but you said you already have a financed stubbier. Where is that? So leave all your stuff in ct, fly to in, drive the subject back to ct to pick everything up and see the country before winter. In gets cold too.

This dang iPad changes all my words. Subbie not subject etc.

lol … I thought you were talking about some type of cigarette product, wondering why OP would need that info :slight_smile:

1 Like