elkia

Can anyone recommend a good site that i can go to for auto sales in Barbados ? i went to caribzoomzoom.com and i'm realizing that cars are extremely expensive on the island. do they recognize depreciation here !!! i see a 10 year old car selling for over $10K USD.. that is crazy to me.. but if i'm going to be living there i have to get use to it... Any thoughts recommendations ?? just looking for something that i can get around in and don't have to worry about it breaking down on me every few weeks..

Oh.. what is the typical interest rate on auto loans ? do they do any kind of credit check ? how will that work if i'm just coming to the island ??

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated

Sunniebgi

sorry can't help with the loan information, but the problem with cars is what they original cost.. which is why the older ones are still so expensive.

Duties, taxes etc.. govt places lots of money on top of money for cars.. so that 10 year old car costing 20,000.00bbd likely cost someone upwards of 80,000.00 plus new..

also depends on the type of car..

A new manual toyota Hilux truck will set you back about 75,000.00bbd while an automatic will cost you about 120,000.00.

Take the price of a new car in the US and times it by 4.. that is about what you will pay (or higher). I do that for many things in Barbados, not just cars.

Check the classifieds in the nation news paper online and also the barbados advocate online. you might find something there as well.

Foxy_fromCanada

Sorry to say, but $10K US for a 10-yr-old car is pretty much the going rate here. We had the same surprise when we bought our car. And it's certainly no luxury automobile!

Check the Nation classifieds online too, for used cars for sale.

As a foreigner, you will not be able to get a car loan here through the bank or financing through the dealership (we asked). The best you could do is get the loan from your bank at home. Alternately, you could lease a car.

If the car was sold privately, perhaps the seller would be willing to make some sort of arrangement with you.

Good luck,
Foxy

elkia

How are the leasing rates there ? I guess it would be better to just pay cash up front with a private seller.. But my worries on that is someone selling me a lemon.. Do they do the same 30 day return policy as they do in the US? So I could get a diagnostics test to make sure I won't be stuck with a piece of junk

Foxy_fromCanada

Not sure about the leasing and the 30-day return. I can't imagine a private seller would do that, but maybe a dealership?

You could have a mechanic look at it before you buy it - as part of the deal. I have a great mechanic I could recommend to you once you're at that step. He's super-busy and needs to be booked well in advance.

welsh chris

Elkia,

I have recently bought a new car through Simpson motors (Suzuki dealership) on a 6 year lease, even though my work contract is only for 3 years. Not too sure what type of car you are looking for but they were extremely helpful and the customer service was second to none plus I get a 3 year manufactures warranty. Also if after three years I decide to move back to the UK, I can return the car and I will not be penalised as the amount I owe will be less than the car is worth so they will just take it off me no questions asked and sell it on. I looked at long term lease through a rental company and it was very expensive approx USD1,900 per month for a Suzuki Grand Vitara. All I had to do was put down a 15% deposit and I had the car 2 days later, the only documentation i needed was my work contract, payslip and bank statement.

Hope this helps,

Chris

elkia

Thanks Chris for the information. i was actually looking at some cars that simpson has on caribzoomzoom.com.. and they had some pretty reasonable cars.. I just can't get over the sticker shock of how expensive they are compared to what i'm use to. I will definitly check them out when i get there..

Serendipidy

Wait until you try buying a toaster, or a Phone or laptop etc the shock never wears off even after 4 years its a bitter taste (oh and dont even get me on the subject of Quality Street lol)

elkia

LOL.. i'm beginning to have it already..my job is relocation me door to door.. so i'm trying to pack everything in my current place so i don't have to buy too much.. i was trying to sneak my car in.. but i think they might notice that