Buying a car for four months in Atlanta, Georgia
Replies: 35 - Last Post: May 1, 2012 7:32 AM Last Post By: nutraxfornerves
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The state will require that you carry two levels of insurance, personal liability to pay a person you injure and property damage to pay for the car you damage.Georgia will determine what the dollar amounts for these two are.
With an old cheap car you do not want to buy insurance to rebuild your car if it gets damaged. That is commonly called collision coverage and is expensive.
Insurance is a business based on risk gambling.
They want to make money betting that you will not need to collect.
They determine the risk of insuring you based on your driving history.
You will have none, so high risk.
On you age. You are young, so high risk.
On your location, based on how many accidents they estimate they pay in your area.
Insurance companies are each obliged by law to take in and insure some high risk customers. These customers pay the highest rate for PL and PD coverage.
This is the group you will fall into. This is commonly called assigned risk.
Warren Buffet's GEICO insurance company was once a fair company to buy high risk insurance.
I do not pretend to be an expert on anything I say here about insurance outside of my personal experience as a customer.
17
Would my PL from the Netherlands be OK? I think I am insured for that in my own country, and I guess it would be valid in the US as well.So you say GEICO 'once was' a fair company? Not anymore?
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Two additional questions: what would be your estimated guess on how much I'll spend on insurance in total for four months (given the fact that I'll have to pay six months of insurance) if I buy a car around 3-4000 dollars?And also when I look at car sales online, most of them tell me the price excludes taxes, titles and Warranty Rights Act Fees. How much would I have to pay extra for a car then?
Edited by: maverick9898
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In Michigan we have a 6% sales tax that would apply to the sale that you would have to pay, I do not know if Georgia has a sales tax or how much. In Michigan title and plates run about $25 to $35. I have no idea what Warranty Rights Act Fees are.I would suggest you find an insurance agent in Gerogia, via the Internet and send them an e-mail and ask them the cost of insurance for you or even better, pick up the phone and call one. International calls are not as expensive as they once were. If you do call, prepare a list of questions before you call so you can get everyting answered before you call.
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No, your PL in the Netherlands would not apply to a car you purchased here.Geogia has a 4% sales tax and some counties have a sale tax, take a look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_taxes_in_the_United_States#Georgia
Here is some information on Warranty Rights Act Fees: http://www.bbb.org/us/Storage/16/Documents/BBBAutoLine/GA-LLsummary.pdf This seems to apply only to a new vehicle.
I mentioned above in Michigan the fees for title and plates, those prices are approximate for EACH.
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Let me send you to the web site of the Georgia Car registration agency. Georgia Department of Revenue. In most states there is a specific vehicle agency that is usually called Department of Motor Vehicles. The fact that in Georgia, the tax agency does car registration, should tell you something about Georgia.To get a car in Georgia, you do two things
1. Obtain a title. This is the proof that you really do own the car.
2. Get the car registered.
The title costs are
$18.00 title fee.
$20.00 tag fee.
Sales tax. There is a 4% state sales tax and a local county tax. Most counties have a 3% tax. A few have a lower tax. I'm not going ot bother to research whether you pay the pay for the county where you buy the car or the one where you live. Athens is in Clarke County.There is
Ad valorem tax. This is an annual tax based on the value of the vehicle.
Vehicle ad valorem tax may be due depending upon when you, the applicant, became a Georgia resident and the birthday of the vehicle's primary owner, i.e. name shown first on your title and/or registration. Ad valorem tax is based on the vehicle's value and the financial needs of the various levying authorities in the county where you reside.
It's rather complicated. There is an online search engine ot calculate it, but you must have an individual car in mind--that is, you have to know the VIN number (a sort of car serial number). I plugged in some random numbers for a year 2000 Ford Taurus and got a tax of about $35.
For a 2007 Jag XJ8 it was over $300.
Would my PL from the Netherlands be OK?
Remember, Georgia requires that the insurance company be licensed to do business in Georgia. But it might be worthwhile ot contact your own insurance agent to see if he/she has connections that could help you get a policy valid in Georgia.
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Crud, I goofed. I mentally put you in Athens, Georgia, home of the University of Georgia, not in Atlanta.Atlanta has an additional 1% sales tax and I'll bet that ad valorem tax will be higher as well.
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@nutraxfornerves:thanks for the info, man! That looks not too bad, considering what I thought it was in my head. So I wouldn't have to worry about taxes so much, as about the insurance money and, of course, the amount paying for the car itself, I guess.
Thanks!
Haha, no it wasn't Athens. You mentioned it earlier and I thought you were just giving an example. But yeah, it's Atlanta;)!
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Consider just sharing with another student that already has a car. If you paid a reasonable rate for the time and mileage of a car they already own and insure, it would be much easier. Usually their insurance would cover guests that drive their car. Many students will have cars and may be happy to get some extra cash for lending their car to someone with a good driving record and good communication and social skills like you seem to have. This idea will have critics but it will work, it is up to you to advertise and find these students.25
My stepson for instance was going to Berkeley and lived within walking distance to the campus. He walked or took his bike everywhere and left his 2002 Toyota pickup parked for weeks at a time and he was always tight for funds.26
@johnsang: thanks for the suggestion! It is good, though I am not sure I will do it. I am not someone who trust people on a general principle, certainly not people my own age, which I do not know. If some idiot beats up my car, I'll have a big problem and money isn't that big of a problem for me. Driving to campus wouldn't be my main reason for buying, mainly for shopping and getting around the state on the weekend. But it is a good suggestion, I will think about it, thanks!28
Oh sorry, I misunderstood. I thought you meant that I would rent my car out to other people, as to cover my expenses for buying it.That idea is also good, but I really like my independence;). Maybe I'm a lot less socially skilled than you think, haha! No, I'm kidding. But it is really a reason, that I like my independence. And like I said, I have the money to do it and I think it will be worth it.
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