Buying a car and driving in North Carolina
Why should I drive?
If you’re staying in North Carolina (or most other US states) for more than a couple months, trust me, you will need to get a car. The roads, businesses and infrastructure have been built during the automobile boom. Try to get somewhere by foot to see for yourself. That being said, if you live anywhere off-campus or even at the very edge of what is considered on-campus, you can forget breakfast time before heading to school if you’re planning to take the bus.
You have 2 main options to get a car, the first one is to lease one with specialized companies such as Flexcar, Enterprise or Hertz and pay your usage on a monthly basis. Although this option is only possible if you are over 21 years old, which wasn’t my case. Most car rental companies in North Carolina do not rent to the underaged.
Therefore, the second and last option was to purchase a car, which is what I did.
What do I need to purchase a car?
Having done almost all dealerships in Raleigh, I can tell you that the requirements vary depending on where you go. As a friend of mine Mathilde told me, CarMax requires the full-blown NC driver’s license (or learner’s permit) to register the car, whereas I found a dealership that only required a local ID, which is much easier to obtain.
You may think, “why can’t I just buy a car, and drive it with my valid French driver’s license for a year?”
The reason this does not work is because the state of North Carolina requires a proof of local residence and identification to register your car under your name, and you won’t be allowed to drive a car on the road without a registration and a license plate. Learner’s permit : If the DMV is at capacity, you may still pass the theory test on a computer and obtain a learner’s permit, which still counts as a valid ID for a car registration. In other words, you can buy a car with just the theory test. Please read the red below*
If you don’t have an appointment, you have to go to your local DMV office and scan the QR Code they have in front of the door. At the time of this writing, the walk-in periods start at noon Monday through Friday.
Documents you need for the DMV
- Passport / Visa
- I-20 (original version)
- I-94 (only after you enter the US)
- Housing Apartment Contract (proof of residency)
DO NOT GO TO THE DMV BEFORE YOUR PROGRAM START DATE AND DO NOT TRY TO PASS THE PRACTICAL ROAD TEST*
*The DMV will not be able to issue you any sort of permit or ID before the start date of your program.
Be also aware that insurance companies in North Carolina charge more if you have the full driver’s license (meaning the written and practical road tests passed), because they consider you as an inexperienced driver in the US territory, whatever your European driving history.
This is extremely important as they may charge up to 4 times as much compared to insuring you on a simple learner’s permit (just the written test). In other words, just ask for a learner’s permit, and only pass the road test if you plan to stay in the US for more than 2 years, which is the amount of time you can drive as a learner.
