There goes the neighbourhood

It looks like after three years of dating and being married for almost another three, my wife and me will be able to live together in the same place as I finally got my US visa/work permit through . The Wife's a US citizen in case people were wondering.

You have been warned .

I apologise in advance for asking seemingly stupid questions in the future but while my wife likes cars there'll be a few issues that I'll have to research for myself - stupid things like "how do I insure a modified car" and things like that which might be obvious to pretty much everyone else on this board but not really to someone on the outside looking in.

Welcome to the US of A! Thanks for doing it the legal way. (looks around, waiting for someone to holler 'flounder'.)

Well, you can start your assimilation by taking the "u" out of "neighbourhood." (kidding!) Congrats and welcome! I've never done anything special when insuring a "modified" car. Then again, I drive old cheap crap that costs nothing to insure.

the steering wheel is not where you expect it. you're welcome

Ahh, just what we've been waiting for....a connection for importing all those cool cars we can't buy here!

Thanks .

@poopshovel - over here in the UK, most insurance companies will not insure a car that has been modified in any way. The company I use for my DD would probably not insure the car if it had an aftermarket exhaust on it. Hence, our magazines are full of adverts stating "we'll insure your modified car for an exorbitant premium". Life will be a lot easier if I don't have to go to a specialist insurer if I can't leave a car standard (can anybody?).

@minimac - actually the thought had crossed my mind. Trouble is that I don't really know what the market is like in the US for pre-1985 European oddities (think classic Lotus and TVR, but both RHD). I'll probably look into this as I'll be travelling back and forth for a while anyway so buying the odd car for export might be an interesting exercise. Guess I'll have to do a little more research about this, though.

Here the dificulty with modified cars does not come from the insurance companies, rather the dificulty comes in getting registered for plates in your state. These rules vary from state to state and some places are more "friendly" than others. California can be about the worst.

What city/state are you moving to?

I am confident in saying that this is about the last place on the internet left where you will not be rediculed for "stupid questions."

Welcome

Insurance isnt really the problem, just dont expect them to put it back to the modified state if its more expensive then the stock state. (modified stock vehicle)

If it is a collector car you can usually go with a specialty insurer and get agreed value insurance and work from there and I believe be covered for a modified vehicle.

Nieces' husband is a Limey that was just denied a visa to come visit for Christmas . Works for the BBC,has no intention (at this time) of staying here, but the immigration weinies won't let him come. I told him to drop the Brit accent and practice his Mexican.

minimac wrote: Nieces' husband is a Limey that was just denied a visa to come visit for Christmas . Works for the BBC,has no intention (at this time) of staying here, but the immigration weinies won't let him come. I told him to drop the Brit accent and practice his Mexican.

Sorry to hear that. You might want to point him at http://britishexpats.com/, the people on the forum there are generally pretty helpful as long as you are not the 20th person that day asking "how I can move to the US, I don't anybody over there and don't have any family there either". Alternatively contact me off board and I can give you some contact details for the lawyers we used. They were/are a pretty good bunch.

jrw1621 wrote: Here the dificulty with modified cars does not come from the insurance companies, rather the dificulty comes in getting registered for plates in your state. These rules vary from state to state and some places are more "friendly" than others. California can be about the worst.

Ah, that sounds more like Germany then. I'm obviously used to that kind of stuff. They're generally not that fussed about modifications over here in the UK as long as the car is safe, but the insurance companies are.

jrw1621 wrote: What city/state are you moving to?

Lost Wages, NV for the time being. My wife's already living out there and we both like the place. There isn't that much work out there for me but I'm thinking about doing the same sort of consulting/contract programming out there as I do here and if necessary, I'll travel for that.

jrw1621 wrote: I am confident in saying that this is about the last place on the internet left where you will not be rediculed for "stupid questions."

That's one reason that I like hanging out here!

Apexcarver wrote: Insurance isnt really the problem, just dont expect them to put it back to the modified state if its more expensive then the stock state. (modified stock vehicle)

That's pretty much the same deal I get here for modified cars. As long as you can get insurance I can live with the above.

Apexcarver wrote: If it is a collector car you can usually go with a specialty insurer and get agreed value insurance and work from there and I believe be covered for a modified vehicle.

Well, the 911 is insured with the UK branch of Hagerty and they suggested that their parent company should be able to cover me for one in the US. And I have a thing for getting a 3.2 Carrera or a 964 and do some subtle mods to it - remove the rear seats, stick a half cage in, some Recaro SPGs in the front and lower the whole thing slightly. Do a little suspension work, stick a subtle exhaust on. Keep the whole thing monochrome - either black or white - and use it for HPDE and street driving.

minimac wrote: Nieces' husband is a Limey that was just denied a visa to come visit for Christmas . Works for the BBC,has no intention (at this time) of staying here, but the immigration weinies won't let him come. I told him to drop the Brit accent and practice his Mexican.

That's weird, Brits don't need a Visa to visit the US, as long as they aren't staying more than 90 days, aren't a convicted criminal and don't have a communicable disease. He should be able to just jump on a plane, fill out a form on the plane and show up in the US as long as he has a valid, machine readable passport.

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/niv/vwp3.html

Bob

I forgot - Congratulations Tim!

Congrats Tim!

Tim! Thanks for coming! You seem like a decent guy, and this country needs all the decent guys it can get!

Joey

Schmidlap wrote:

minimac wrote: Nieces' husband is a Limey that was just denied a visa to come visit for Christmas . Works for the BBC,has no intention (at this time) of staying here, but the immigration weinies won't let him come. I told him to drop the Brit accent and practice his Mexican.

That's weird, Brits don't need a Visa to visit the US, as long as they aren't staying more than 90 days, aren't a convicted criminal and don't have a communicable disease. He should be able to just jump on a plane, fill out a form on the plane and show up in the US as long as he has a valid, machine readable passport. http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/niv/vwp3.html Bob I forgot - Congratulations Tim!

What he said. My family is English and they pop over to see me all the time, at least once a year, with a normal passport. My wife worked (until laid off, stupid economy) for a UK company and her bosses came over quarterly.

Congratulations Tim!

Congrats!

Now, if you would be so kind...please pack a couple of Mini's in your container...maybe a Cooper and a pick-up....

Hagerty and Grundy do high hp/collector car insurance...with agreed value coverage.

*Edit...you've already mentioned Hagerty...try Grundy for a comparison.

Just remember, don't start yelling "this ain't football!!!!!" in a bar on Sunday when a NFL game is on.... it could cause problems.

Congrats!

Welcome!

Any chance you can bring me an Elan Coupe?

I'm sorry for your loss. No more Top Gear on Sunday nights at 9 for you anymore.

Congrats!

mind bringing me a Caterham R500, or perhaps a Focus ST220?

JDM & EDM fanbois love RHD, probably will fetch a premium on race night, IF you can get them registered.

Sierra Cossie RS500 turbo ...please

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFKOR1TfjIA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_SuAyBTwdo&feature=related

Congrats from one import to another

There's no problem registering a RHD car in the US - I have a Mini that grew up in the UK. As long as they're 25 years old, life is gravy. Nobody cares where the steering wheel is.

If you want to bring something in, grab some V8-powered Defenders and a Mini or two. Even better, a Defender with a 200 Tdi. Caterhams sell for $20k pretty consistently.

Hmm. V8-powered Defenders are probably not that expensive as people don't like V8s out here. Something to do with fuel prices and all that...

Funnily enough I was looking at Caterhams last night, unfortunately there aren't many pre-85s for sale. There's one close to me that's been advertised for yonks but that's already $16k at the current exchange rate...

So, would you think something like this would sell in the US:
http://search.ebay.co.uk/110458939926
http://search.ebay.co.uk/180431468818
http://search.ebay.co.uk/290371969558

I've deliberately picked out 'odd' Minis, there are a bunch of standard 85s and older on ebay but I figured I'll go pick stuff I like. Also, my neighbor[1] is massively into Minis. Hmm. I can see a plan forming.

[1] Hat tip to poopshovel

Congrats Tim. Are you bringing over any of your current cars?

As far as the Minis go, I would say that trucks are really desirable. Saloons are obtainable fairly easily, but trucks are fairly rare. Other than that I wouldn't bother with any if the VTEC swaps. Most of the ones over here seem to get put up for sale frequently. I think a lot of people like the idea of one more than than they like it in reality.

How about Mk1 Escorts?

Tip 1 - youll need to use the other set of tick marks on the speedo
Tip 2 - turning left at an intersection will be different
Tip 3 - if you refer to the paint on your car as a "colour", youre likely to get a punch in the arm
Tip 4 - never listen to dorks from cincinnati - they are asshats!

Welcome aboard (your new country) and try to treat your insurance co with a dont ask dont tell policy...if you dont tell them theres not a 2.0 liter 4 banger and that theres actually a tubo I6 under the hood, the idiot insurance agent wont ask cuz he's too busy laughing that we all pay him moneez every month to essentially do nothing

woah sorry there, that started to get rantish...

seriously, glad the visa worked out and welcome to the USA