Can I get a car and not have insurance?

I want to get a 2001 Honda prelude from my cousin dealership and do payments on it, it only cost $5,000 and I will get paid $800 a month from my job so can I not pay for insurance yet while I'm doing payments on the car? Because I can't afford both at same time and I won't drive the car until it's paid off I live in California btw

If you can't afford the insurance you can't afford the car, period. Secondly, you can't finance ("do payments") on an automobile unless you have full insurance coverage on the automobile. There's no Prelude in your future unless you can come up with the cash to both make monthly payments and afford the full insurance coverage.

First and foremost, you can't finance a vehicle, as you're only 16 years old. You can't sign a legally binding contract until your 18 years old. No contract, no tags, no insurance. Second, if you're financing a vehicle, you are required to carry full coverage insurance until such time as the vehicle is paid off, regardless of whether it's being driven or not. Last but not least, even buy here pay here lots have minimum income requirements, and, making $800 per month, you would never be able to meet them.

Sorry, but it's just not possible…

You can't register the car until it is insured. You must register the car within 30 days of purchase. You must get it to PASS SMOG before registration. At 16, almost 17, you can't borrow money from a bank, therefore, must be paying the money directly to your cousin, and is probably the reason you might be able to get around this - because your cousin isn't going to process the title and registration paperwork until you have finished paying for it. A few months ago, you said you had $5,000 to but a car - what happened to the money?

You're not telling all there's to tell about the purchase.

You can't afford a car. $800 is nowhere near enough per month to own and maintain a car. What do tags cost? How about local taxes? You going to stop paying your insurance every time another expense comes up? Don't put yourself in dire financial straits for so very little gain.

You can't afford it. Not even close.

You need full coverage insurance to be able to finance a vehicle. Even if you pay cash, you will need liability coverage to be legal.