Tips on Buying Cars: Buying and insuring a car as a foreigner, insuring a car, underage drivers

Question
QUESTION: Hi Ray,
    I have a couple of friends flying in from London and they are planning on
buying a car in New York and driving to L.A. and selling it. They also want to
get full coverage so if the car breaks down it is insured. Is this a possibility?
Are there difficulties buying a car as a foreigner if you pay cash? They are 22
and have a clean driving record if that matters at all.
Thanks for your time, Bruce

ANSWER: Hi Bruce

There is one Question I need answered to give you some proper answer - how long are they staying ???

 Ray
   http://www.usedcartips.org/  
You can also leave your answer in the forum in my website your choice

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Ray,
   Sorry I didn't specify. They are planning on being here between 1-2
months. Thanks for the quick reply, Bruce

Answer
It sounds like a good idea but the odds are not with you, anything you buy under $10,000 will be buyers beware , should you have mechanical  break downs  another expense added , shopping for insurance another hassle , re- sell vehicle " ouch "  Trust me your risk factor is to high for what you want to accomplish., had you been staying close to a year then it would be a diff matter.

Rental is the way to go, but here we have a problem with age factor, With few exceptions, Alamo, Avis, Hertz and National require all drivers to be 25 or older. Budget, Dollar, Enterprise and Thrifty rent to drivers over 21, but penalize underage drivers with a daily surcharge.

Rent-a-Wreck, would be my first choice, and there are many locations in and around NY, here is an interesting link to read    http://www0.epinions.com/srvc-review-2176-8AAA907-399C6FDD-prod6  

SUMMARY... The idea buy in NY and sell in CA sounds wonderfull, it can be done but with a very high risk factor with break downs and to recover some investment without loosing your shirt.
If you end up where you can't rent a car and forced to buy then as a first step read this link on my website    http://www.usedcartips.org/TESTDRI.html   it will help you with a few pointers on how not to end up with a lemon.
Also bring along a copy of your driving record from your current insurance provider, it may lower your insurance rate, now on a positive note it is possible to buy a car under $2000.and recover all or most of your money, study my site and should you have further questions post them in my forum.

Ray