To Rent or Buy a car to see the USA?

If you are planning on a longer journey and perhaps driving state to state in the US, then you have probably considered purchasing a car in the USA and either selling it after your journey or driving it into the ground.

The fact of the matter is that it is very difficult to purchase a car in the US if you do not have a permanent residence there. If you have some friends in the States who would be willing to let you use their address, or come across a garage that can sell you a car and use their address for the purchase then you're in luck.

The second problem you will face is the cost of insurance. If you are coming from abroad you will find that you will be paying a very high rate of insurance for a car purchased in the US. Another option is to purchase a new car and have it shipped to your home country when your holiday is finished. Shipping the car home can cost around $1000 and many people choose this option, however be fully aware of any additional taxation and the legal status of bringing a car from the USA back into your home country before embarking on this plan.

The easiest method of seeing the US by car is to fly between cities/states and hire a car in each different area. This is often wise as it will save you a lot of time driving through the remote and often dangerous/uninteresting areas of the country as well as maximize your sightseeing and amount of time spent in more interesting, populated areas of the US.

If you are planning on driving in the US, then read on! Hiring a car is a relatively simple process and can be done online with you holiday booking - try a familiar brand like Hertz and make sure you are insured beforehand. Check out Insurance Information area for more details.

If you are coming from the UK or the continent, you may not be used to driving an automatic car, and have the temptation to shift gear ever half a minute of so. Don't worry you will soon get used to this method of driving, it is obviously designed to be easier to use than a "stick" Simply change the parking stick and shift the auto into "Drive" (yes it is that simple!) and off you go. The lack of a clutch is a bit alarming at first but don't worry you will get used to this too over time.

Driving on the wrong side of the road is also hard to master initially, especially when going through junctions rather than round roundabouts, and driving into a lane you subconscious think is dangerous! Try initially driving at quiet periods early in the morning to get used entering junctions on the right and into the right lanes, get used to the junctions early as they can be the most dangerous part of driving in the US.

Driving on freeways is not really avoidable, if you can avoid this you should have just taken a taxi! A couple of things to be aware of on freeways - firstly there are no real rules about over or undertaking, the fast lane is supposedly the lane farthest to the left and there are often a couple of exits when pulling out which lead onto junctions. It is advisable not to pick up your hire car straight from the airport, but rather go back for it a day or so later when you are sufficiently relaxed after your long haul flight and had a change to survey the surrounding roads and get a local map.

ESTA Travel Registration for United States of America