🚀 go-pugleaf

Kyuuketsuhime Miyu (miyu@tyrell.net) wrote:

Note:  My replies reflect that I live and operate a car in the Suburbs.
Chicago is a little more expensive.

>How much do cars cost up there?

Depends on the make and model of the car...  I bought my 93 Saturn brand
new (in 93) for a bit over $11K, complete with anti-lock breaks and a 5
year 100,000 mile warrantee.  (That was about $1500 right there.)

In Chicago, if you buy a car of bring a car into the city that is less
than 2 years old (or is it 3, I forget) you must pay the City of Chicago
a 7.5% tax on the price of the car.  (It may have changed since I bought
my car in '93, but the figure is accurate, I looked it up on my State
Tax forms.)

>Gas?

In the burbs I pay $1.15 to $1.20 per gallon.  City prices are higher,
but I don't know how much off-hand.

>Insurance?

Are you looking for a reliable insurance company (IE: State Farm) or a
fly-by-night company (IE: Smilie Insurance)?  What kind of risk are you,
etcetcetc...  I know mine runs about $800 per month, but I'm not in the
low-risk groups, and I've got full coverage, *BUT* I'm using Smilie
Insurance.  Yes, that is actually the name of the comany, origionally
owned by George Smilie.  (The Ins that they sell is Allied American)

>And I find it 
>interesting that Chicago still uses meters.  I am going to hate having to 
>run around with a pocketful of change now.

Depends on where you go, and if you're willing to pay more for a parking
garage.

>What about drivers license or car registrations?

DL fees are minimal, I think a $5 charge by the state.

Car registration, I'm not going to guess at in Chicgao.  State
registration is about $45 I think.

>How can I get IL plates?

Stop by the Illinois Dept. of Transportation and ask for 'em, they'll
giv you full info on it there.

>What do I need to do about my current personalized plates?

Depends on the state you live in.  I'm willing to guess that you'll be
required to mail 'em back to the state to be destroyed and possibly
re-issued.  In practice (from what I've seen at any rate) almost no one
bothers to do this, and no one really cares.

>Do I need to retake a driving test to get a IL license?

Depends on where you're from, if you have a valid licence, etc.  My
*GUESS* is that you'll have to take the written but not the road test.

(The road test is incredibly easy, most people get 99-100% on it, if
they have any experience driving anywhere in the US.  The state will
even provide you with a Rules of the Road booklet to study if you want.
There is one question on the test though that many people get wrong.  In
Illinois it is *LEGAL* to pass a stopped schoolbus that is loading or
unloading children *IF* you are on a two lane highway.  The catch is
that the bus driver can only let out kids that are going to places on
that side of the road.

Unless they've changed the law back since I took the test.)

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