There are tons of reasons you could get your driving license suspended; you might have been driving past the speed limit or driving under the influence of a substance. Whatever the reason, getting our license suspended can be a challenging experience.
License suspension can also result from parking tickets or unpaid child support. The bottom line after a license suspension is that you’re given a short statement that you now have to temporarily restructure the way you live, get to work, or move around town.
Depending on your license suspension conditions, you might need to purchase a new car. For example, if it was an accident scenario and the car was damaged beyond repair, you’d likely need a new vehicle. But is that possible with a suspended license?
This article will discuss some of the most common questions about buying a car with a suspended license.
Can I Purchase a Vehicle with a Suspended License?
There are so many reasons you’d want to get a new car even during your suspension. It’s not necessarily that your car must be damaged before purchasing a new one. You might stumble into your dream car at an affordable price; most certainly, you won’t be happy missing an offer like that.
So that begs the question: “can you buy a car with a suspended license“ If you want a short answer, yes! You can purchase a new car even with a suspended license. This is because cars are like most commercial goods like phones, or computers, which you don’t necessarily need any legal backing to own, but it gets a little bit complicated when purchasing a vehicle.
Technicalities Involved
Of course, no one would sue you for purchasing any item as it’s legal; however, buying a car while your driver’s license is suspended has some limitations. Any car dealer or manufacturer will willingly sell you any vehicle you wish as long as you have the cash to pay; you’ll immediately own the car after payment.
However, purchasing a car is just a fraction of the things needed before you can start driving freely on the road. Firstly, you will need a good insurance policy to cover the vehicle; you need to complete vehicle licensing, registration, etc. Without a valid license, you won’t be able to register the car or get insurance coverage.
While you purchase the vehicle, taking it out of the dealer’s shop would be a big hassle. If you cannot complete the necessary documents to buy the car, it might stay in the dealer’s lot until you get your license reinstated.
Specific jobs offer employees some special licenses during such cases where they are given a temporary permit to drive to and from work during their suspension. In this scenario, you can use this work license to obtain insurance and complete your vehicle registration even while your license is under suspension.
Is there an Alternative to Purchasing a Car with a Suspended License?
Yes. There is always a way out in this scenario. If you’re not comfortable waiting out your suspension, especially if it’s a very long one, there are several ways you can legally and comfortably purchase your dream vehicle barring the influence of your suspended license.
The simple trick around this license blockade is purchasing the vehicle in the name of your spouse or a loved one. This workaround allows you to buy the car quickly and take care of both insurance and vehicle registration without waiting out your suspension.
You should note that, since you purchased the vehicle in the name of your spouse or whomever you choose, legally, that vehicle belongs to the person. But you can easily regain full ownership of the car after your suspension.
After your suspension elapses, you can change all the names and document details of the vehicle to yours. Of course, you can’t just wake up after your suspension and be like, “it’s my car now” you still have a little to do.
There are two main ways to do this; Firstly, you can purchase the vehicle from your spouse for just any fee, it can be $1, $2, etc., but there has to be a stipulated price so that it’d be on record that you legally purchased the vehicle. After this “purchase,” you can go to your insurance agency to change all the documents in your name.
Secondly, you can keep your spouse or whoever you choose to purchase the car through as the original owner and instead purchase a non-ownership policy to allow you legally drive the vehicle. After this purchase, you’d need to consult your insurance agency to know all the guidelines involved with driving the vehicle.
No matter how beautiful or sleek your car is, ensure you avoid driving while your license is suspended. If the circumstance surrounding your license suspension were pretty serious, like an accident, you’d have to be extra careful when you hit the road again.
You might be imprisoned because subsequent accidents or occurrences might not end up very lightly with the authorities.
Conclusion
Buying a car is an exciting experience, especially if it’s a car you’ve wanted to drive for so long. However, you can buy a car if you have a suspended license, but it might be best to withhold that excitement until your license is reinstated.