Life in Florida with a Ford Puma

Driving around in South Florida is an interesting experience in itself given that many of the drivers learned in different states and have a different interpretation of some of the rules... That aside, driving here is otherwse pretty straight-forward; you don't often need GPS and the conditions are nearly always very good.

Here are some pictures so far :)

Outside the residence at which I am staying

At Walmart, I found a listing for the KA!

Only a Brit would get this.. I had to...

Behind a Floridian car in an British car...

Video

Behind an British car in a Floridian car!

My buddy Noah after his first drive in a RHD

Video

Switching headlights from left to right so-as not to dazzle oncoming traffic. Car looks a bit like a mk4 Fiesta here...

Headlight switch

I got pulled over! 

As soon as I saw the officer switch lanes, I knew he was gonna pull me; so I indicated to pull off the main road. In Florida, the police leave all the flashing lights on even if they are checking something menial - so a lot of attention was drawn.

Copper comes to the correct side of the car and says "well, this is the first time I have had to deal with anything like this before!" He continues; "Can you explain the British plates?"

I advised him that I was here on the same premise as a Canadian or other international and that I have to have my British plates. I offered him my insurance, both driving licenses and my UK registration, which he gladly took. I then advised that the car was authorized by US Customs & Border Protection (who I know the police look up to as I am told they are like, the next level) - he asked if I had these documents and I gave them to him.

After 15 mins in his car (with a backup car having arrived and a big Hispanic officer keeping an eye on me!), he came back with my documents and told me I was good to go. I knew it would be ok, buy you hear stories of cars getting impounded because of incompetent police officers and stuff.

Anyway, it was all good!

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned and subscribe for more images and updates over time.

USA Puma

Ladies and gentlemen. Please find pictures of (possibly) the first Ford Puma in Georgia and in Florida!

The process was very smooth because of all the preparation made at the outset. I did not need an EPA approval, which was just as well because it hadn't come yet. The customs officer that dealt with me was very friendly, yet professional and simply stamped my paperwork because I had everything else in order and probably because I had adhered to her advice religiously over the last eight weeks or so. The paperwork was stamped with the date that I went to go and see her, which in turn gives me a year rather than stamping the paperwork with an exit date. Because I showed her pictures of my rigourously cleaning the car underneath etc., it seems as though I did not need an inspection either.

I was advised that I do not need to notify customs when the vehicle has to go or be exported. She told me that customs really won't care any more and just to enjoy my holiday. :)

I was so pleased to see my little car and drive it on to the American roads. I was so excited in fact that I thought it best to pull over and have something to eat to calm myself down!

Once I had eaten, I gave my insurance company a call and after about an hour of faffing around (whilst changing my number plates to the new "GB logo" ones), I was insured and ready to go. I'm led to believe that you don't actually legally require insurance as a temp import but - I'm not a moron. More on insurance in the step by step.

As a side note, I did notice when I removed the front numberplate that the way the grill is designed against the numberplate mounting points, it looks as though they may have intended for this car to come to countries with a small numberplate as the mounting looked correct for US or even Japanese plate! An interesting notion… Shame I didn't take a picture… Because in this case I was indeed a moron...

I hit the open road and drove from Georgia back down to Florida on a 410 mile drive which cost me two tanks of fuel at about $15.00 each. This of course was the most expensive stuff as 87 and 89 (US) octane I'm not quite equivalent to 95 RON. Quite often you will find 91 and/or 93, which are (roughly) 95 and 98 RON respectively.

$2.42 was expensive… I got $2.02 later on!

Remember, one US gallon is 3.68 L…

The car did not miss a beat on the way back down but one thing that interested me was the type pressures had gone up around 10 psi since leaving Southampton… No idea why other than the positions in relation to the hemisphere perhaps. Both ports of course are at sea level. I simply reduced the air pressure and the car settled back down rather than bouncing around like a lunatic.

Whilst getting the air sorted at a gas station, a lady came up to me to ask me about the car. She said her daughter was amazed that the steering wheel was on the other side and so I offered for them to check it out inside. Very excited, they each took a seat in the front of my car, took pictures and thanked me before continuing on their journey. I got back onto I-95 and the rest is a bit of a blur.

I just wanted to thank everybody that has supported and kept up with this blog and to anybody that has taken the time to read it as I know how daunting this process can be yet how interesting it is.

I will put up a step-by-step in due course with all the paperwork needed and so on, but in the meantime I can tell you that it really was a lot simpler and cheaper then I for one had expected.

… Provided you get the right customs officer…

Until my next post, thank you for reading. It has been quite a journey with some worries and woes. But like anything in life one is passionate about, I guess nothing can beat knowledge and preparation. If you want something enough - what's stopping you!

Chris and the Little Black Cat

It's done!

I have had the best experience with customs and border protection in Savannah. Officer Gavin was friendly and stamped all my paperwork with no issues because of the great advice she gave me at the outset to prepare to the best of my abilities before I even came.

She said I didn't even need to come back for inspection of the vehicle (Probably after I showed her the pictures of my intense cleaning exercises!).

I'm now waiting for an Uber to take me back to Savannah to enjoy my afternoon and I'll go down to Brunswick on a greyhound pick my car up drive back to Florida. 

Once I am safely back, I will post a simple step-by-step with all the paperwork and everything else if you are reading this as somebody hoping to do the same thing.

Regards;

Very happy tourist :-)

'Ere we go, 'ere we go, 'ere we go!

So currently, I am waiting for an Buber to take me to the customs and border protection office in Savannah Georgia. I spoke to office at Gavin this morning and she knows I'm coming with all my paperwork, so hopefully everything runs smoothly… I will let you all know when I am out with stamped paperwork (hopefully…)… 

Wish me luck!

From Miami to Pompano Beach - via Savannah GA

Taking the train tomorrow morning for a near enough 11 hour journey to Savannah. Bags are packed, documentation and monies in tow. 

I have created a folder with everything Customs will need, which includes;

CBP-7501

EPA-3250-1 (without authorisation)

DoT HS7

Passport

I have created another folder for the port, which includes;

Notice of Arrival

Bill of Lading

Shipping note

50USD for AVP port escort

I called yesterday to ask if the car had been released and it then dawned on me that it won't be until I have filed my 7501 with customs! Duh!

Will update you on Monday one I have been to Customs... In an Uber... Because I didn't get a rental...

I also learned that the USA For Escort community are well aware of the existence of the Puma and it appears as though many parts are quite similar. On one forum, a quick search revealed that my little car is quite well received when discussed, which is encouraging :) once I have it, perhaps I'll say hello in their forums!

Goodnight all... Long train ride tomorrow... Bloody hell. All this for a £60 car. 

Judgement day... Or not actually...

I was supposed to have gone up to GA last night and been doing paperwork today, but the boat was delayed by a day and so it doesn't actually come into port until tomorrow... And apparently they are not unloading my car first - do they not know who I am?! Which means, it won't be able to be collected until Wednesday at the earliest, which doesn't work for my other travel plans - so I have decided to stay in Florida (oh well!) and pick it up next week.

So on Sunday, February 14th, I will be heading up to Savannah by train (10h50m ouch!) and stopping at an AirBNB with a cool-dude of a host called Ron and checking out Savannah in the evening and on the Monday. While I'm there, I will go to see the nice customs lady, Officer Gavin (who has given me friendly advice) before checking out the lights of Savannah. 

Train fare; 80.00USD

AirBNB; 91.00GBP

Paperwork; CBP 7501 Entry form, EPA 3250-1, DoT HS7 & Passport.

After my second night at Ron's AirBNB place, I will pick up a rental car and make the 75 mile drive down to Brunswick, drop the car, Uber to the port and pick up the Puma.

Car Rental; 91.00USD

Collect Shipping charges; 1170.00USD

Port Escort fee; 50.00USD

Paperwork; Bill of Lading, Notice of Arrival, Shipping Note, money orders for the shipping balance.

Once I'm behind the wheel, call Progressive and start insurance, get on the road and head straight to either CBP in Brunswick or Savannah (a bit out of the way at this point) for them to check the car for agricultural matter and stamp the paperwork.

Drive back to Florida!

So at this stage, I will be collecting the car on the 16th Feb, a week later than expected - but it is what it is. Unfortunately, because I don't have a major credit card either, I cannot book a $30 one-way rental from Enterprise. The next cheapest is $90 and there is no public transport link to Brunswick; not even a train or bus (amazingly). Really, I need another driver but with none available - I have to grin and bear it.

Stay tuned!

So I have some good news and some bad news...

I passed my driving test! They had to give me a paper license though and I must wait for the physical permit to come in the post. Something to do with verification as it's a temporary license. Some lad/las at the FBI probably just wants to make sure I'm not trying to live here and conduct illegal activities... Sorry Uncle Sam, I am rather boring actually!

I spoke to an amazing representative

at Progressive tonight, called Sabrina; who is able to insure me for around 400USD for 6 months, which is way more sensible than some of the quotes I've been getting! She was so helpful and was really keen to get me on the road with no hassle; she explained everything and gave me the best advice, let alone the best price - so insurance is now in place.

I have been reminded by CBP in Savannah on more than one occasion that EPA Approval is not needed for a temporary import, but I read too many horror stories tonight and have now requested approval by email to the EPA in case the car cannot be released from the port for whatever reason. Given the time it will take for the approval to come through, it would mean a repeat trip but I get 10 free working days on the port to leave the car (after which there are storage charges) - so if all else fails, I should get EPA approval before I need to start paying port charges. At best, I will be stamped and advised not to worry about it as per my original received advice.

The other thing is going to be getting my paperwork stamped for longer than my current visit. Although I only leave for a short time to come back on a J1 visa, my ESTA does mean I need to leave the country in this instance by April 20th, though I have read that other people have left and come back without a problem.. Just need the right stamp :-/

At worst, I can't get the car out and I lose a couple of thousand dollars - I have my health.

Driving test time…

Okay, so the car is very nearly here and it will soon be time to collect it from the port. Let's assume that everything goes smoothly and I leave customs and border protection with a one year pass for the vehicle because I could convince them that I needed it for a year and this is of course assuming that it doesn't get crushed because I forgot something else…

I want to drive with car insurance, naturally because accidents happen. Technically, because I don't have to comply with any department of transport rules from what I understand, I don't actually need to carry insurance.

I want to carry insurance for the pure fact that if I have an accident and someone gets hurt, they are taken care of… Normal stuff right? So here is my conundrum…

The state of Florida requires that insurance is carried with a minimum of what they call "liability". This, is a little bit like our third party insurance in the UK. The difference is that the lowest form of liability insurance (minimum stay requirement) covers only $10,000 of personal injury protection and property damage liability, I think. Naturally, given that this is the US of A, one can buy pretty much anything including a higher level of coverage, albeit still constricted "liability" coverage as required by Florida state law. My problem is that if I don't already carry insurance, Florida state law requires that I purchase full coverage insurance, which is astronomically expensive! Full coverage is a little bit like our comprehensive cover but if I cannot prove that I have been insured over the last six months, they effectively treat me like a new driver. To add insult to injury, my international driving license also pushes the premium up resulting in a non-viable insurance premium.

Fortunately, I still have UK insurance documentation taking me up to April, which can be used as proof that I am currently insured saving me from having to buy full coverage (we are talking thousands by the way), and of course not being a cheapskate, I want to buy the higher level of liability coverage in case I cause more than $10,000 worth of damage. (And by the way, it took quite a lot of convincing to Jonathan, the man from direct something or other that I was able to use my UK insurance! Progressive wanted American insurance only) Now the little issue of the driving license…

I have to have all of this in place really before I take the car away from the Port in Georgia because I will undoubtedly get pulled over by the police and in the state of Florida, you must carry proof of insurance. Now I know that given the status of the vehicle, I don't need to carry insurance but it's likely that I will get pulled over because the police officer doesn't know anything about the car or the type of license plates let alone other such rules. Plus, not having insurance will just make me look like a moron and therefore the police officer will undoubtedly take an instant dislike to me and I'm not even sure my superpower British accent is going to help!

So all the time I have been quiet on this blog, I have in fact been very busy working out how to legally obtain car insurance and jumping through hoops to get a driving license… My test is tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Note to self, don't leave it so late next time...