buy a car with US license?

Hi,

My wife and I have been in the UK for about 6 months, hiring cars when necessary.  We are preparing to extend our visas for an additional two years and now would like to buy a car.  My question is if this is possible to do without yet having taken the UK driving tests*.  That is, can we buy a car using during our 12 months of US license validity, or do you need a UK license for car registration, insurance etc?

Thanks


*We're aware of the time and costs associated with this, just trying to figure out our options juggling travel and sending our passports off to various bureaucracies for weeks at a time.

I bought a car no problem with a US license.  What they wanted to know was if I could pay for it or not, not what I had for a license.

Same here- got the car within a month of arriving.  Paying for it was another story as we didn't have any credit for a loan.  Also took a little research to get some insurance on a US license but wasn't really a problem.

Forgot to add we are the process of selling it now-- hope its just as easy:)

CoNick,
You may have missed a thread on here about Zip car. It is about car sharing and it could save you money depending how often you use a car.

Forgot to add we are the process of selling it now-- hope its just as easy:)

Maybe you should be talking to CoNick.
Is it red?

Agreed, no problems.
I bought a car from a private party within a week of arriving in the UK. The license was a non-issue.

That said, it's worth starting the process now for getting your UK license. The whole process takes months to complete.  

I wanted to make sure that, on the off-chance I didn't pass the first time, there would be plenty of time to re-take the test. I was fortunate and did pass the first time, but lots of people don't for one reason or another. One friend hit the curb when backing around a corner...an automatic fail!

Thanks for the replies everyone.  So much administrative stuff to deal with... sounds like I have at least a little bit of wiggle room with this.

CoNick,
You may have missed a thread on here about Zip car. It is about car sharing and it could save you money depending how often you use a car.

The main reason for buying a car instead continuing to hire is we have a baby arriving, and we don't want to deal with a different car-seat setup all the time- but I'll certainly check this out, thanks.

Hi CoNick,

Probably no need to point it out, but ensure you take a look at the various Car magazines in WHSmith. What Car regularly tests out allsorts of different cars for differing purposes and a first/small/medium car for family duties is a very common sector indeed.

You should find something within budget that suits your requirements.

As an aside or a factor for your own personal requirements, you may wish to include 'larger' cars, possibly previously owned. The economy is nosediving, and many many people are trying to sell off large sized/engined cars and discovering their values have plummeted. If you are in the financial position to buy and run a larger car, you may find the price differential in purchase price may offset running costs for quite possibly a year or 2 or even more! and it's only predicted to drop even further over the year! puts you as a 'buyer' in a very strong position coupled with your practical requirements!

A distant member of our family just purchased a Mercedes ML 320 Diesel, the large SUV type, it's a V plate car, and he picked it up for a measly £2750!! unbeleivable! not long ago these things were commanding upwards of £6K!

the Car market new/used is very stagnant and any pricing is going downwards - I'm resisting very strongly in going out to buy the car i want! to the extent I'm purposely NOT looking at the Autotrader.co.uk website at ALL!

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Legally, you don't have to have any license to buy a car and register it, British or otherwise. 

Maybe you should be talking to CoNick.
Is it red?

It's blue if anyone is interested

But can you get insurance with a US license?

But can you get insurance with a US license?

Yes.

We bought a car via Ebay a few months after arriving.  We paid cash and filled out the appropriate registration forms.  We initially signed up for insurance online with Marks and Spencers.  Then we got taken for a rip-off before learning we could get insurance through GEICO at a very affordable rate.There is no problems with a U.S. license.  However as was already mentioned, you should get your UK license within 12 months.  I was a little late, but have now passed both the theory and practical.