Buying first car questions?

Okay so tomorrow I am going to go look for my first car. I was wondering how much would the tags and license plate costs? Any other things I have to get right away? What else do I have to pay for other than the car? registration? I have no clue. Also when getting car insurance do you pay up front and your covered for the month or are you covered then you pay them? I am sorry I have no clue how this works.

Are you going to a dealership? If so, they include the taxes, title, registration, etc in the loan. So you pay nothing up front. The only thing you pay up front is the down payment.

As for insurance... if you're getting a car from a dealership (at least a reputable dealership like Honda, Ford, Chevy, etc).. you have to get full coverage. When we called State Farm to have my insurance set up, they wanted two months of payments up front before starting coverage. BUT, if I agreed to do direct payment (meaning they take it out of my bank account on the same day each month) I only had to make one months payment that day. And I drove my car off the lot that same day.

Quoting kthx.:" Are you going to a dealership? If so, they include the taxes, title, registration, etc in the loan. So ... [snip!] ... on the same day each month) I only had to make one months payment that day. And I drove my car off the lot that same day."

I am going to one of those dealerships where you just pay the full price for a used car, so no down payment just the full price. Would that include everything as well or would it be different?

Quoting FTM Michelle  :" I am going to one of those dealerships where you just pay the full price for a used car, so no down payment just the full price. Would that include everything as well or would it be different?"

You'll have to pay everything out of pocket then. And I'm not totally sure how much all of that is. They kind of grouped all of that into one sum on my paperwork.

You have to pay for registration, taxes, plates and insurance. I think it varies by state but last time when I bought a car for $2500 and transferred the plates, everything all together was $2900 not counting insurance. Again insurance depends on many factors. The type of car you purchase, how much your be driving it, your limitations, your age and driving history also where you live. I am currently paying $199.50/6 months from Geico.

Quoting FTM Michelle  :" Okay so tomorrow I am going to go look for my first car. I was wondering how much would the tags and ... [snip!] ... you pay up front and your covered for the month or are you covered then you pay them? I am sorry I have no clue how this works."

Paying car insurance yearly is cheaper.

When I bought a car from a private dealer, I had to register and get my tags at the DMV, and pay taxes at the county office.
Oh, and in my state, I had to have proof of insurance before I registered the vehicle. My boyfriend at the time and I were pretty hard up for cash so we went to p e of those small local insurance offices and signed with a cheap no name agency for minimum coverage. If you can afford it get liability coverage!!!!