Need to become a driver, fast, for Californian job

August 4, 2008 9:47 AM

29 year old UK resident without a driver's license and I've just been offered a six month job swap in California from later this year. How do I best go about procuring a license in the UK and then a car in the US?

I'm considering intensive driving lessons in the UK, although is there the opportunity for non-residents to learn in the US and qualify for a US license without being a citizen? I remember renting and shooting in the US only required photo ID.

Also is it best to choose long-term rentals in CA, or to purchase a car outright and sell it on later? Are there insurance considerations for first-time drivers who have only just got their license?

posted by Molesome to travel & transportation (14 comments total)

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/dl/dl.htm

I don't believe they give you a genuine California driver's license if you are a legal resident alien on a work visa (which I assume you will be), since driver's licenses are treated by most US businesses and agencies as de facto proof of citizenship and a host of rights and other legalities that go along with that. Much political heat has been generated in California and other states about making driver's licenses available to undocumented workers (read "illegal aliens" if you're a conservative), as most see that as a legal stamp of approval on their status. I believe there is a sort of parallel driver's permit that you can get, but I haven't applied for such a thing, so take this point with a grain of salt.

As for insurance, I think your age is more likely to be of help to you than your status as a new driver. In fact, not having had insurance in the past will probably count against you with most providers. As for buying/leasing/etc., I would see if you can find a long-term rental or a 6-month lease. Buying and selling a car quickly may look good on paper, but the challenges of selling it after you likely will have left the country and the hidden charges of changing ownership may make it a greater hassle than the cost is worth to you. As someone who is currently trying to disentangle from them, I will warn you that the California Department of Motor Vehicles is a monstrous bureaucracy that puts the Soviet system to shame and should be avoided like an open container filled with ebola virus.
posted by el_lupino at 10:18 AM on August 4, 2008

Yes, as a legal visitor, you can get your first license in California. The Department of Motor Vehicles gives you a written test and starts you off with a learner's permit. You can then take lessons, either from a professional driving instructor or anyone 18+ with a valid CA license. Then you go back to the DMV for a driving test.

If you opt to get a license in the UK first, you can take the driving test straightaway. But in either case, California requires people who work here to get a California license.

Yes, new drivers pay more for insurance than experienced drivers. But shop around, it's not really that bad.

As for whether to rent or buy, it depends on how much you will be driving. If you are living somewhere like San Francisco and would only drive once a week or so, then rent. If you'll need a car every day, it'll probably make sense to buy a used car. Craigslist and Yahoo Auto have decent car listings, but conduct due diligence before buying: check the car out with Consumer Reports (also has lots of general car-buying advice), look at the car yourself, and potentially hire a mechanic to check out the vehicle.

Best of luck with your big move -- and welcome to California!
posted by CruiseSavvy at 10:20 AM on August 4, 2008

Assuming you will have a valid visa, you can absolutely get a california driver's license. As a non-citizen, resident alien, CA licensed driver myself, I can promise you that's true :) What kind of work visa will you have? I can't remember what kind of ID I needed to show in order to apply for the license here (it was 9 years ago, I forget!), but probably passport and legal status like your visa paperwork. You might need a social security number, don't need to be a citizen to get one, just need to be a legal resident, although not sure if any types of visa's exclude this.

Paperwork aside, I would say that the driving test in California is laughably easy in comparison to the UK one. Passing your test in the UK first will equip you with much better road skills than the CA one. Take that one first if you want to be diligent. Strictly speaking, you will still need to take the CA test if you are here to live (even temporarily). However, as a tourist you are entitled to drive on your UK license. Assuming no-one ever checks up on it, you could do that if you wanted.

If you fail/don't take the UK license, or want to be legal and above board, then you need to take your CA driving test within 10 days of arrival. Its comically easy. Hire a rental car, have proof of insurance (from the rental company, but no-one will ask for it in my experience). Take the test in an automatic and you are licensed to drive a manual. My CA test consisted of driving around the block, making all right turns, no maneuvers whatsoever, and identifying a few features on the car dashboard (of course YMMV). So the easy option is to just fly over and take the test here. No idea about the economics of renting vs buying, but your insurance will definitely be high because you have no driving history (history abroad usually doesn't count anyway), but at least you are over 25.
posted by Joh at 10:32 AM on August 4, 2008

I don't know quite how things are with the current UK driving test as it's quite a long time since I took one, and my personal experience is of Illinois, but that said I have taken drivers tests in both countries...

The test is MUCH easier in the States. Straightforward tun up at the test center, wait in line for a while, take the Rules of the Road written test, then drive around a bit; none of that long wait for a test date, ostentatiously check every mirror seven times a second, reversing round corners malarkey.

There may be good reasons for your getting a UK license, but there is little doubt that if you are eligible it will be easier to get a California one.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 10:35 AM on August 4, 2008

I live in California. Our driver license says right on the back that it "does not establish eligibility for employment, voter registration, or public benefits," so, luckily for you, it's available to non-citizens (who are here legally). Here's the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) page for "persons new to California", and here's their page for how you would acquire a drivers' license. Key bits:

If you take a job here...you must get a California driver license within 10 days.

If you have a license from another country, you will be required to take a driving test.

To take your driving test, you will need to:

* Make a driving test appointment. (Driving tests are not given without an appointment.) You may also call 1-800-777-0133 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, to make a driving test appointment.
* Provide proof of financial responsibility
* California Insurance Requirements

Car insurance in California is mandatory; your intuition about paying more because you have no US driving record may be true. Do shop around; companies charge wildly varying rates. You have to show proof of insurance before you

As far as getting a car, I can't imagine that renting would be better value than buying (unless work was paying!), though if you were living and working in San Francisco (the city itself, not the suburbs), I could see you getting away with not owning a car at all and using something like Zipcar instead for trips outside where public transit can get you. A huge selection of used cars are available at virtually every price point on Craigslist. Though there are the universal ways of protecting yourself when buying a used car (like having it checked out by a mechanic before you commit), here in the States we have something called a Vehicle Identification Number, printed on the dashboard, which can be used to track a car's history (like if it was salvaged from a junkyard). More on that here.

The DMV has further details on the legal requirements for buying and selling a car here. You could plan on selling the car when you leave if you bought intelligently at the beginning (go for - imho - small, well-known, fuel-efficient, low-mileage imports like late 90s/early 00s Toyota Corollas) and make most of your money back.
posted by mdonley at 10:36 AM on August 4, 2008

Ack! Didn't finish that sentence.

You have to show proof of insurance when you get to the DMV for the driving test. Note also that without a license or insurance, you can't drive yourself to the DMV for the test, so buy a friend lunch and have them take you.
posted by mdonley at 11:13 AM on August 4, 2008

You have to show proof of insurance when you get to the DMV for the driving test. Note also that without a license or insurance, you can't drive yourself to the DMV for the test, so buy a friend lunch and have them take you.

Of course, if you get a UK license, you can drive yourself to the DMV since you are legally allowed to drive for the first ten days of your arrival :)
posted by Joh at 11:19 AM on August 4, 2008

Errant assumption about drivers on work visas hereby rescinded, with deference to the HiveMind.

Disparaging comments about CA DMV not in any way rescinded.
posted by el_lupino at 11:46 AM on August 4, 2008

I'm British, living in CA, non resident, on a work visa. I heard anecdotally that you can swap your UK licence for a US licence within 6 months of arriving in the US, but you would want to clarify with the DMV. I didn't do that and had to take the US test - the tester asked if I'd got my licence in the UK, said 'You should find this very easy' and then we just drove around for 30 minutes. It was much easier than the British test.

I did rent a car on my UK licence to take the test in - the DMV weren't happy with it, but they let me proceed. I think my already having a licence flummoxed them...
posted by poissonrouge at 3:39 PM on August 4, 2008

Experience in Texas, not California, but I was told when I arrived that my UK driving licence was good for a year. The problem with that, though, was that I couldn't own a car or get it insured without a US driver's licence.

Comparing the tests, the TX one was absurdly easy compared to the UK one - although that was 12 years ago, so I did have a reasonable basis of experience to help me out, the UK test has gotten even harder since then.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 4:09 PM on August 4, 2008

Brit living in California here: some of the above is wrong, but most has been corrected by others. Couple of bits that haven't been corrected yet, though:

poissonrouge: I'm British, living in CA, non resident, on a work visa. I heard anecdotally that you can swap your UK licence for a US licence within 6 months of arriving in the US, but you would want to clarify with the DMV.

Sorry -- nope. You'll need to take the California test, both written and driving portions. (As noted above, the driving portion is trivial, and since you're smart enough for your company to send you thousands of miles to do your job, the written test won't be a problem either.)

Joh: Of course, if you get a UK license, you can drive yourself to the DMV since you are legally allowed to drive for the first ten days of your arrival

Sadly, although technically that's correct, in fact you won't be able to take the driven part of the test if you do so. I had a UK license, and could therefore rent a car -- which I took the driven part of the test in. However, absurdly, the DMV insisted that I had to have a licensed driver with me when I went for the driven part of the test -- their reasoning, I suppose, being that you had to get your car to the DMV center somehow, and the only way you could have done that is by driving it, which you could only legally do with a licensed driver sitting next to you, since you didn't yet have a US license. I know: absolutely absurd, but despite several questions and explanations to the DMV, that's what I had to do. Ended up driving the rental car myself, meeting a friend of a friend there (who drove his own car), going in together, him showing them his license, then him leaving while I took the test. [Minor disclaimer: this was seven years ago, and in Los Angeles. Things may have changed now, but I seriously doubt it.]

Ah, the DMV: every single one of the cliches you've heard about them is true.
posted by littleme at 4:33 PM on August 4, 2008

Also is it best to choose long-term rentals in CA, or to purchase a car outright and sell it on later? Are there insurance considerations for first-time drivers who have only just got their license?

This depends on what you are doing with the car. If you're commuting a long way, you may want the reliability of a lease. If you want it for a short commute, you may do fine purchasing and re-selling. If you're moving to San Francisco and working there, I would not bother with a car, just get a CityCarShare or ZipCar membership. Most people I know in SF don't own cars.
posted by oneirodynia at 5:34 PM on August 4, 2008

Thanks all for contributing, I've got a much better idea of what to do now.
posted by Molesome at 2:16 AM on August 5, 2008

littleme - weird! That was not my experience (Los Angeles, nine years ago), but perhaps things changed in the intervening two years. Or perhaps it is down to the whim of the DMV employees that day.

The DMV - be prepared for anything! :)
posted by Joh at 10:15 AM on August 6, 2008