andrewsco

Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out the best thing to do when I move out to Calgary with regards to getting a car. I suppose I have 3 options:

1. I rent a car long term. This will likely be more expensive than buying a car in the long term but gives us a little more flexibility. There also isn't the hassle of having to sell it when we leave. Does anyone know of any good companies / websites that they could recommend?

2. I buy a car outright. We'll have enough money to do this - the downside is that it is in the UK so we would have to pay to transfer the money over.

3. Buy the car on finance. My parents do this in the UK and although they pay slightly more in the long term for the car they never have that large initial outlay which suits them. Is this a possibility in Canada?

What do most expats do? It is likely I will be there for between 2 and 5 years and would be looking to get a small ish 4x4 type vehicle - something that will handle any icy roads and also have good boot space for the dog.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

scribe123

If you have no credit history in Canada you may find #3 difficult.

For #1 and #2 I can't advise, but you should be able to work out the cost and see which is more palatable. I imagine as long as you don't have to have something brand new and shiny, it will be cheaper in the long run if you buy a used car. You say it will be a hassle to sell it on when you leave, but as long as it isn't falling apart you can probably sell it quickly as long as you price to sell and claw some money back.

Tony_Tiger

Hi Andrew, welcome to the forum.
I faced a similar situation a few years back in Calgary myself.

Option three may be difficult but not impossible. It will help build your credit history if you can do it.
I did option 2. I bought my car outright.

Though I would recommend researching the car market. Look on Kijji, Craigs list and Auto trader. It is very different to that of the UK. Build quality on some cars is very different to that of the UK (Ford being the prime example, its great here but a joke over there).

You could buy a cheap beater as they call it for a few months till you get yourself sorted. A few immigrant friends I had made there did that. Once they were a bit more settled they bought cars that were newer.

But for a small 4x4 vehicle, Honda CRV and Toyota Rav4 seem to be top choices there in terms of size and reliability.

Jingsamichty

If you're planning on being in Calgary for 2-5 years, then the cost of wiring your UK money over to buy the car outright is a complete irrelevance. Are you really suggesting that you'd think about spending thousands on finance over a number of years just to save the 50 bucks or so it costs to wire cash over?

If you have cash, buy the car outright.

jericho

A long term rental is unlikely to be affordable. If you mean a lease, then you usually still need to have a credit rating.
Most people usually buy outright, or get a car on finance/lease.

Geordie Lass

We rented a pathfinder when we got here but it cost us a fortune each day. We needed something so big for picking the dog up as her crate she travelled in was huge.

We got a new one on finance but as we had no credit history we put almost half the cost down as a deposit. You can get much better rates on finance over here than the UK. The garage has also said they will buy it back off us if we leave the country... We didn't want to buy a banger as we wanted the security if a new car with the winters over here.

We couldn't lease with no history.

Hope that helps.

iaink

Buy a crap old beater and insure it for liability only.

Its not the car payment that kills you, its the insurance costs.


Once youve been here a while and are established and settled, then you can decide whether to spend more in the long term.

I leased with a large security deposit when I first arrived, but with 20:20 hindsite I should have taken my own advice until I had more clue what vehicle I needed here and more cdn driving record to help with insurance costs, even with some credit given for my UK no claims history.

Shop around for Fx rates, the transfer itself should not cost all that much, $30 or so.

jericho

Each to their own, but when the winters can get to -30 and more, I would personally want confidence that a) the car is gonna start, and b) be safe to drive.

cheeky_monkey

you can buy my 2010 Ford Edge if you want i am getting shot of it anytime between now and chrimbo

iaink

It seems to me that dueling on the highway with all the big pickup trucks and SUVs also seems to push people in a certain direction too.

If you want it to start and be safe then get a block heater, replace the battery, get decent tires on it, and have a mechanic give it a thorough inspection.

You dont need to spend $40+k at first, or even $10k, thats the point. For less than $5k you can find something maybe 8-10 years old with a few years left in it.

Tony_Tiger

I actually concur.
A few Canadians I knew parked their nice cars over the winter and brought out their ugly beaters. They said the same thing, block heater, battery and get the car checked out. So long as you have good winter tyres (tires! as they spell over there)..

beautiful050278

Hi,

we have just moved to Calgary (8 weeks ago) and found the car buying the biggest headache of all. Rented one for 6 weeks (arm and a leg job)!
You wont get the finance unless you can put down 40% of the car value down first and then the payments were still really high.
Ended up buying a 12 year old Honda CRV on Kijjijji for $3700 and we love it. It completaly stops me from getting IBS on daily basis when you see how the others drive (especially when it comes ot merging on Deer Foot). But be prepared to have a few chips and cracks in your "windshield" - seems to be norm here with most cars.
Anyway good luck

cheeky_monkey

In my experience this is nonsense..if you have the right paperwork and you have PR you dont have to put 40% down and pay big monthly payments you can get as good a deal as pretty much anyone else.

Geordie Lass

Ah but some of us don't have PR... maybe that's the difference - if you have PR maybe it's much easier?

cheeky_monkey

True if you are on TWP then getting car finance isn't easy.