Car Insurance/Registration

Submitted by eecology t3_zjdag0 in Washington

Hello! I will be moving to Washington from Michigan in about a month, and I’m really confused about whether I should change my insurance first then register my car, or register my car in Washington first then change my insurance. I would think the former, but when I go to quote changing my insurance it asks which state it’s registered in and where it will be parked every night (in this case registered in Michigan but parked at my new Vancouver address). I also need proof of residency to get it registered and I would use my apartment info and insurance (unless there’s other ways). I may be over thinking; there is a lot of stress involved with this move because we’re also buying a new car- but if anybody has done the move to Washington and could give me an idea of how they did this process it would help so much!

Cheers

Edit: I suppose getting a Washington License could be thrown in this mix too- again, just not sure which order to do all these things! Please downvote all you want, don’t care, just confused 😃

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1dad1kid t1_izujnxt wrote

Register first. Your current insurance will cover you.

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eecology OP t1_izulot0 wrote

🤙🏼 appreciate ya!! Yeah, that makes sense. Like I said it asks where it’s registered to when I quote my insurance- and the difference in rates between Michigan and Washington are tremendous, so I definitely would want it registered in Washington. I’d just change my address on my insurance first, then register the car, then change insurance… correct?

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ConstantOk6214 t1_izuljrq wrote

I did drivers license first (which you need for the title and registration) and changed my insurance before getting my title/registration. (Also did that last step pretty late, probably not recommended 😅).

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eecology OP t1_izumaon wrote

Haha word! Thats good to know… in that case I suppose if I go get my license first then I can just ask them how to proceed with the rest :) thank you!!

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JasperStrat t1_izw2u9h wrote

I'm not sure what can be done online and what has to be done in person, but you can probably get your car registered as well as your voters registration done at your county auditor's office. Unless you are going to King or Thurston county it should be easy, I've never waited more than a few minutes in Clark county.

You will really like how voting is done in Washington compared to most of the rest of the country. All voting is done by mail-in ballot, if you lose your ballot you can go to the county auditor's office and get a new one. The ballot comes with a return envelope that doesn't require a stamp, just drop it in the mail by election day and you're covered however there are ballot drop boxes located around your county. Also around the same time the primary ballots are mailed every address with a registered voter will receive a voters guide, this has every candidate and every ballot measure for the whole county, even ones you won't be able to vote in. Also there is no party registration in Washington, all primaries are open and the top 2 vote getters move onto the general election.

Back to your actual questions. You will probably have to go into the DMV to get a new license, I believe most of them offer appointments so schedule in advance and save time.

If you only want to call your insurance company once you can probably wait until after you get your car registered, however if the price difference is that significant you may want to call before you move and tell them the date you will be in Washington and they can make it effective in advance for you.

I don't believe that the order on any of those 3 items are critical to the state, but the costs involved with insurance may make that one more critical to you. The license and registration are both supposed to be handled in either 15 or 30 days after moving.

Edit: reading some of the other replies it appears you are probably supposed to get your license before registration, but I find it hard to believe that it is required as I know it's possible to get a Washington registration while living in another state but that may be just for a commercial vehicle.

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eecology OP t1_izui533 wrote

I found I will need my bill of sale because it will be a newly purchased vehicle within 90 days, and I know I’ll have to do this within 30 days of moving- I’m just confused on the order of how I should do everything 😃

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lurker-1969 t1_izvbjk8 wrote

You will pay a ton to register a new car in Wa. Just saying

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eecology OP t1_izvbyb6 wrote

It is what it is 🤷‍♂️

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JasperStrat t1_izw1lam wrote

I'm assuming he means the use tax, i.e. sales tax paid after the fact by a purchaser. A car registered in Washington less than 90 days after purchase will require a use tax to be paid when the car is registered, however any sales tax paid at the time of purchase or initial registration in another state may be credited against that tax I believe. So make sure you have the receipt from the Michigan DMV that shows how much sales tax was originally paid and you may not end up owing as much. I'm not 100% certain about this but that is how I understand the process works.

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Piddy3825 t1_izxu3uc wrote

you got like six months of grace period before Washington requires you to register you car with the state. If it were me, I'd get moved here first and then after I got myself situated I'd go get all the licensing and insurance items taken care of, especially if you end up buying a new vehicle after you've moved here. let the dealer take the trade and deal with all the licensing, so much easier for you that way in my opinion.

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doggos_are_magical t1_j064b7w wrote

Not related to your questions but make sure to update your bank or credit union and let them know your moving so you don’t get an alert for fraud.

Also look into the app called Jerry when your searching for new rates on insurance

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