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Leaving Car in Florida
Topic Started: Oct 26 2010, 05:50 AM (2,410 Views)
dogleg
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I plan to leave my car in Florida and in future just fly back and forth. What procedures, rules etc. should I be aware of concerning registration, insurance and the like ?
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campy
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Handyman Extraordinaire
dogleg
Oct 26 2010, 05:50 AM
I plan to leave my car in Florida and in future just fly back and forth. What procedures, rules etc. should I be aware of concerning registration, insurance and the like ?
It can be done.

But remember to make arrangements to have your mail forwarded to you because if your insurance expires, the state troopers will pull you over.

Also you need to know anything about renewing.

I can't think of anything different
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wildie
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dogleg
Oct 26 2010, 05:50 AM
I plan to leave my car in Florida and in future just fly back and forth. What procedures, rules etc. should I be aware of concerning registration, insurance and the like ?
All my friends have bought cars there and leave them there. Cars are cheaper there and the strong Canadian Loonie helps as well!
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dogleg
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Thanks Wildie and others: If I buy a car in Fla. will I have issues with insurance ?
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wildie
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dogleg
Oct 27 2010, 01:54 AM
Thanks Wildie and others: If I buy a car in Fla. will I have issues with insurance ?
You will be staying in the land where suing your neighbor was invented, so I would suggest that buying insurance would be a good idea.

Here its compulsory to carry insurance. Whether its compulsory in FL. I have no idea.
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dogleg
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Thanks: Well ,I would never drive anywhere without insurance. The point I was wondering about: can you buy ins. if you are just a visitor in the state for a few months a year. Or maybe my Can. ins. would carry over. I will need to call my ins. co. I guess. Anyone with direct experience ? Thanks.
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reactivate
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For a few months per year, I think I would seriously consider renting a car. You eliminate all the problems associated with insurance (your Canadian insurance usually covers rentals) or storage as well as maintenance or repair. The savings in capital costs alone would probably pay for the rentals.
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LuvSouth
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Insurance in Florida is much cheaper than Toronto. It costs me around Cad$1900/year with a clean driving record (the insurance company looks at 10 years record) in Canada whereas it costs only US$45-70/MONTH with Geiko in Florida.

I think one needs to have a local address to get local insurance. In addition to that, I don't think your insurance in Canada will cover another car (own), but it may cover rental car depending on your insurance, gold card normally covers rental cars.

My understanding is cars in Florida is cheaper than Toronto.

I thought about having a car in Florida, then fly down there instead of driving. Here's my thinking:
- If I don't drive down to Florida, I might as well rent a car if my stay is short, say less than 3 months.
- If I stay in Florida for 5-6 months every year, yes I will buy a car in Florida and get local car insurance, and fly down there !

My 2 cents !

LS
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LuvSouth
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Sorry I would like to write something not related to this thread.

To Wildie (if I remember correctly): The issue we discussed about Bell internet in the old 50Plus forum (my Bell internet was reset everyday at 12pm or 1pm), it was caused by the security system which initiated a call at 12pm or 1pm after I disconnected my Bell telephone. After I isolated the security system from the old Bell phone line, the problem disappeared.

LS
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A $20,000 car has a capital depreciation of about $5000 per year. I'm pretty sure you can rent a car for a few months for less than that, or at least not much more. You eliminate all the 'ownership' problems and costs such as storage and maintenance. I would think you can get a good deal on a long term rental in Florida during the off season.

Of course, you can buy a cheaper car but then the maintenance and reliability problems become greater.

My standard auto policy from State Farm is under $1000 per year in Kingston but it wasn't significantly different in Ottawa. It covers rental cars (but there may be some limit on the number of days or something like that). Mind, I drive a KIA, not a Cadillac.
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friendshipgal
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Guess everyone wants their own Trudashians
dogleg
Oct 26 2010, 05:50 AM
I plan to leave my car in Florida and in future just fly back and forth. What procedures, rules etc. should I be aware of concerning registration, insurance and the like ?
If you are leaving your Canadian registered car in Florida you have to take it back for the breathalizer if you want to renew your plates.

You can register it in Florida but will have to buy Florida insurance, but if you only take seasonal insurance (cancel it for the summer) then you have to take the plates off and turn them in, picking them up when you go back and renew your insurance. This results in you having get a ride or taking a taxi.

http://www.instantcarinsurance.com/florida-car-insurance.asp

I'm not 100% positive but I believe that if you do plan to leave the car in Florida for more than a year, then you have to formally have the car 'imported' registering it in Florida.
Edited by friendshipgal, Oct 29 2010, 02:34 AM.
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LuvSouth
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Based on what I read so far, it's quite a bit of work and it might cost more to own a car registered in Florida.

Well, I might as well drive to Florida instead. I drive to Florida from Toronto last Xmas and I was the only driver. It was tiring though when I was on the road for about 10 hours, I occasionally took a half an hour break when I felt tired.

Does anyone have some idea how much it costs to rent a small car for 3 months (Jan/Feb/Mar) ?

Thanks

LS
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LuvSouth
Oct 29 2010, 04:51 AM
Based on what I read so far, it's quite a bit of work and it might cost more to own a car registered in Florida.

Well, I might as well drive to Florida instead. I drive to Florida from Toronto last Xmas and I was the only driver. It was tiring though when I was on the road for about 10 hours, I occasionally took a half an hour break when I felt tired.

Does anyone have some idea how much it costs to rent a small car for 3 months (Jan/Feb/Mar) ?

Thanks

LS
I just checked with Hotwire but they don't supply figures for longer than 60 days but ....

In Pensacola, FL with unlimited mileage:

A small car (Ford Focus or similar) is $23.41 per day or $1557 for two months 8 Jan to 8 Mar.

A mid size car (Mazda 6 or similar) is $1699

A standard car (Chevy Monte Carlo, Ford Fusion or similar) is $1779

So, you are probably looking at about $2500 for a full three months but you might do better or get an upgrade in car model if you call around and do some negotiating. I would look to rent in a tourist destination where the period you are talking about is their "low season" like, Jacksonville or Pensacola, even if you have to drive the remaining distance to your final destination.
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LuvSouth
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Thanks for checking the rates !

I noticed when I was in Florida Xmas 09 there was a vehicle with a cover on it, looks like someone leaving the vehicle there to be used in the winter.

We are going to Orlando this Xmas, and I am planning to drive again as I already tested water last Xmas. I felt tired after/around 10 hours drive. So breaking up the route into 2 sections, perhaps 11 & 10 hours each shouldn't be a problem.

Flying is also very appealing especially for those who live in Windsor Ontario as they can drive or have a ride to Detroit airport, take Spirit Airline for US$100 (taxes & fees included) to AND from Detroit/Orlando or Detroit/Fort Myers.

LS
Edited by LuvSouth, Oct 29 2010, 09:02 AM.
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dogleg
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I really appreciate all this info. I think the best thing for me to do is fly down and hire someone to bring my car . I'll leave it there as long as I can be covered by insurance from the Can. end. If I ever do bring it back I may have some questions to answer at the border. Anyone experience this ? Thanks.
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