Purchasing a Van

Whenever looking for a van we had been advised previously from an Australian that it is much easier to acquire one from a car yard or dealer because they can organise 45 day temporary registration plates. So there our search began, mostly looking online and occasionally ringing up to inquire about vehicles of interest. When we eventually found one that seemed to fit our requirements, we had to pay a US$500 deposit. Which secured a 7 day hold on the vehicle until we were able to have a look in-person. Now, placing a deposit always carries a certain amount of risk, if the vehicle turned out to be inadequate, this money was not refundable in our case. Therefore it is important to do your due diligence regarding the reputation of the dealer; google searches and online ratings is a good place to start.

The van we had found was located in Akron, Ohio. We searched for flights and a charter to the town from Cleveland.
On first observations there appeared to be quite a low socioeconomic population, however the real estate along side a train track has never attracted the most desirable residents (so the first opinion didn't last long).

We approached the dealer first thing the following day.

When first looking at any vehicle it is important to check for leaks, visible damage and service history. These may provide slight bargaining leverage, if it wasn't as advertised. In our case, the van had several cosmetic issues including some surface rust, however these weren't major issues and were acknowledged in the listing. Surface rust is common on cars in the northern parts of the USA due to the salt laid on the road to prevent ice build up.

For our requirements we were mainly looking for a van that had the capability to install bunk beds and still have an area for general purpose.

When speaking to the dealer he initially said that we needed a social security number to purchase the van or an identification number that could be applied for at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
To acquire a social security number as a  traveller you must apply for a VISA. To travel under a VISA you must attend interviews in your country of residence and provide reasoning . As we were already in the US, this was no longer a probable option.

We went to the IRS branch in Akron, to find what specific number we needed for the acquisition of the van. We were informed we needed file for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), which would take 6 to 8 weeks to be processed. At this stage we thought purchasing a van as foreign unprepared travellers, was not possible.

The next morning we rang the dealer to inform him that we would have to forfeit the deposit as we could not get an ITIN in an appropriate time period. In true used car salesman fashion, he said on the date of the transfer we can own the car without having the number present and when the details are processed he can add it into the sale paperwork. We are still unsure of the legalities of transaction, however the Siberian salesman was certain that we still legally owned the vehicle.

The next complication was insurance. In America you must have insurance for any vehicle. We choose to go with GEICO (a large service provider), from advice received previously. When applying you will be asked to provide a previous driving history from your country/state of residence. In our case, as residents of Queensland, Australia, this can only be obtained by physically going into the Department of Transport or by post. Which is again greatly difficult without being in Australia currently. So unfortunately, we had to opt for a more expensive policy that indicated we had no previous driving experience.

In recap, if we were to ever do this again, we would obtain a proper travelling VISA instead of an ESTA, as well as getting driving history before leaving. This may seem unnecessary seeing as we are only travelling for three months but it will save a lot of heartache if there was an accident or we had a salesman that wasn't happy to sell the van without the documentation.
Luckily for us, it had worked out this time.