Hi.. I'm traveling again to the USA. this time determined.. much like bike riders and other campers have.. to BRING my own 2010 vehicle with me.. a Australian Holden Ute.... a limited edition (of 200) G8 Pontiac /Holden ute.
Whats the question mainly is.. will our licensing . our Australian registration.. be enough to allow us to drive on US roads.. once insured..in the USA..
I have no problems with US Customs.. that is all sorted.. but trying to find people who can 100% confirm.. either our vehicles AUSTRALIAN licensing is permitted as registration or I can obtain a US registration is difficult. The US does allow people to tour with a vehicle.. subject to fees and bonds being met.. but just the permit to drive it on the street unlimited..
Does anybody know or have experience in this.. ie people who have taken campers over etc.. .. The vehicle will land in CA first late in June.
thank you.
Dave
is our Australian registration.. be enough to allow us to drive on US roads
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Interesting question. Car registration in the US is issued by individual states, which complicates matters.
The general rule of thumb is:
....In order to legally drive a car in the USA, you must have license plates from some state affixed to the car. Those license plates are issued by the state bureau of motor vehicles, and prove that the car is registered in the state. In order to register the car in any state, you must have a permanent address in that state. If you are living and working in the USA, you will probably have a house or apartment where you live. That can serve as your permanent address in whichever state it is located. If you are a tourist traveling around the USA, you are not likely to have a permanent address in any state. Without a permanent address, you cannot register a car in any state. Therefore, you cannot obtain license plates to drive a car...
Will you be spending most of your time in specific state? If so, you could ask that state's Motor Vehicle Division about your specific situation.
These sites may or may not help:
http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/
http://www.foreignborn.com/visas_imm/entering_us/7importingyourcar.htm
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/basic_trade/importing_car.xml
Good luck!
Just something else that I have thought of Ozpont is - is it actually register-able in the US? That is, what is the law on the right hand drive vehicle. It used to be here that you only had about 3 months to switch a left hand drive over to a right hand drive.
Because so many dodgey changeovers were being done that law no longer applies and I believe it is now legal to own and drive a left hand drive vehicle.
G'day Ozpont,
Depending on how long you will be in country will be crucial to any permit/permission you might be able to get.
I know of one couple who have taken their trusty (Left hand drive also) Land Cruiser through 173 different countries in the last 27.5 years, and the only real problem they have had, was when they tried to enter Papua New Guinea with it. They're in the Guiness World Records book as the Longest Car trip ever taken...with a few other records collected along the way
The authorities up in PNG all demanded their "cut" of any fees that they deemed payable, and until the Tourism Minister (Sir Peter Barter) stepped in, this couple were convinced that they would never get to drive through PNG. I provided some small help in allowing them to get into PNG with their car, and I even managed to have a few beers with them in Mt.Hagen and they confirmed that they had never experienced problems getting into even the most radical countries with their car, and given permission to drive on their roads. I think you may have to provide substantiation to the authorities in the USA that you are a capable/competent driver, and I don't believe they would have a problem with that.
If you wanted to contact Emil & Liliana Schmid, as per below website, I'm sure they could give you all the advice on this subject that you could ever want...and then some. A fascinating couple, and a great site.
http://www.weltrekordreise.ch/a_starte.html
Good luck with your quest,
Cheers mate,
Rick, Cairns Qld