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Mr. Kim, an international graduate student, wants to share his experience of purchasing a used car with you.
Thank you Mr. Kim!
Bob Chudy
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So, you want to buy a car, every international student’s dream, to cruise down Ventura Highway (famous highway in California) into the sunset. What a beautiful dream but there are many roadblocks or obstacles on this expressway as I found
out*.
First, you must be very careful when you purchase a car because there are many hidden facts that you do not realize until it is too late. I even heard that one international student tried to purchase a car online and lost all her
money and never saw the car or money again! It was a scam.
First: Search Craigslist.com. I quickly found that the normal price of a car was higher than the average of the KBB (Kelley Blue Book) (http://www.kbb.com/) trade-in or thru private
ownership. I strongly recommend that you buy a car with a price lower than the average listed on the KBB trade-in page.
Second: Negotiate with the seller. Never accept the original quote; this is just a starting point. Do not be intimated because you don’t speak perfect English. You negotiate and continue to negotiate. Do not show too much eagerness for
the car. After negotiating, if necessary- depends on the condition of the car, you can request a mechanic to test the car first before you purchase the car. Beware ….most sellers don’t like to negotiate with this request. In the long run, this will avoid future
problems for you. You do not want to buy a “lemon”. A lemon means a bad car that will break down on you. In my case, I knew enough about cars, basically the sound of the engine, inspected the outside of the car looking for dents, or rush spots. I did not see
any other problems with the car. You can request the history of the car at
www.carfax.com. You need the VIN (Vehicle Information Number).
Third: Car Title (not the registration certificate) and
Bill of Sales (this is a DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) form) FROM THE SELLER. If the seller does not want to give you these documents to register the car with DMV, you should not move the car but keep the car where the car is…DO NOT MOVE
THE CAR!!
Fourth: I found out was that I needed to have a
temporary license plate from DMV before I could move the car.
Fifth: I discovered that before going to the DMV, I needed to have
automobile insurance. You can check online or the Yellow Pages (http://www.yellowpages.com/) for car insurance companies. You can request to have a temporary insurance card emailed to you just before going to
the DMV to register your car.
Sixth: Two different types of ID’s are needed (for example, a passport and SSN card). In my case, I received the SSN card too late. It took the Social Security Administration about 4 weeks to process my request. I had a unique
situation, so I contacted the Governor of the State of Connecticut’s office for assistance and they contacted the DMV and I was allowed to register my car.
Seventh: Refund Sales Tax. The DMV estimated the value of the car and this was not the purchase price that I spent buying the car or in other words, this was not the purchased price. Unfortunately, no one told me about
the refund of sales tax. It's your business to find out. Therefore, you have to request a special form for the refund of the tax:
To refund the tax, you have to prepare:
1. Copy of the check you used to pay for the car.
2. Proof that a lower value of the car is justifiable (you have to take a photo of cracks, rust, dents, crack windows, or other obvious repair work). This new price will be compared to the cost estimate of the DMV suggested price)
3. Copy of the car registration to DMV
it took me 3 months to get my refund of the sales tax. This does not happen very quickly as I had to call CT DRS (Department of Revenue Services) to request the refund.
Eighth: When you purchase a car, you now own property and there is
property tax! Your car has property value and each town in Connecticut has different rates. I now had to go to the local town hall to pay my property tax.
As I prepared to return back to my country, I found out that I not only had to cancel my car registration, I had to make sure I paid my taxes on my car as this lack of payment might affect my next trip to the US!!
Now, if you are planning on selling your car, here are the steps I recommend:
Post the car on
craigslist.com (this is a free service) or you can use
cars.com (there is a $15 fee but I believe you can find coupons for this).
DO NOT reveal your phone number on these lists as you might have trouble receiving calls. I received many scams or spams. DO NOT try to open any links on an asking email.
If someone wants to buy your car, they will want to visit your place to inspect your car.
Cancellation:
To complete the cancellation of your car, you have to return your plate to DMV and take the receipt. If the registration is valid for more than 1 year, you had better ask the refund around $35. The receipt should be submitted to your town office BY
YOURSELF.
If you lost the receipt, you can ask to DMV again and pay $20.
I hope this give you a clearer picture on the many steps needed to purchase a car. Good luck and drive safely!