Howefamily

I know, we had an A3 in the UK, I loved it!

el_richo

Part Ex your Pontiac for one

cheeky_monkey

The Q5 is a better deal all round..cheaper and a better ride

Howefamily

cant do anything yet, Pontiac is on finance attached to it, so cant sell it until released from the loan, so need more money to release it, cant get that yet as just started new job... have to wait

cheeky_monkey

If you trade it in the dealer will pay off the loan for you and refinance the new car

Howefamily

thats what I was hoping but according to Scotia bank, we have to pay it first, I am going to look into this

Atlantic Xpat

Eh? A dealer will pay you what it's worth in trade in, which may or may not be more than you owe. If it is, and the dealer allows you to carry that debt forward and add it to the purchase cost of your new car, then you are not avoiding costs, merely adding interest to the debt. And in the context of trying to reduce your monthly outgoings i.e. fuel costs, that's a bit silly. If you have a thirsty car, you need to suck up the fuel costs until such a time as it's paid off and/or depreciated enough to make it worthwhile changing.

cheeky_monkey

Not necessarily

laidback4

When we first arrived in Canada we bought a Dodge Caliber as we needed a car and had one as a rental previously. It became apparent that we should have researched first as the thing drank gas and was very unreliable. I ended up trading it in for a VW Jetta TDI and it's perfect for my 110 mile a day round trip commute. I've managed to get over 1000 km's out of a single 67 dollar fillup. I used to get barely half that with the Caliber.

PeterF

I've just changed from a 1997 Plymouth Grand Voyager to a 2009 Ford Edge AWD.

Can hardly feel the difference.

jericho

They simply add any negative equity to the new loan.

debbie2801

Thanks so much Spaceace, we've had so much advise to get 4WD, don't get 4WD....but know that snow tyres a must. Thank you for the heads up re dealership and insurance. So gratefully received!

cheeky_monkey

Exactly im getting shot of my 2010 Edge its been a shower of shit

cheeky_monkey

not always..its called negotiating a deal

Steve_

I don't think snow tires are a must, we had this thread before. If you live somewhere where the snow clearance is good I'm not sure they are that important, I've never had them and never had a problem really. NS gets a lot more snow though. Nice to have but "must" is going a bit far I think, depends on the amount of driving you do and where.

Several points that seem to apply generally to cars in Canada:

Costs more to get them fixed generally, so the more exotic the make the more expensive to get scratches and dings fixed, which you will be likely to get living in Canada. Tip #1 - if you live near the US border, see what the support is like for the car you are thinking of buying on the other side, as you can usually get it fixed for less there.

If you live in a province with private car insurance, shop around, and make sure you have five years or so of provable history of your foreign insurance as this will help. Also a copy of your foreign licence, as you may have to surrender it when you get a Canadian one. Usually I think going for a higher deductible is the key to getting a decent rate, as insurers expect there to be more minor damage to cars here.

Get windshield insurance. Windshields usually don't last too long.

The final tip is to think about buying a car in the US as it can be cheaper. More information on how to do this at www.riv.ca The trick to this is that usually you have to be a cash buyer as you can't lease it or make payments, as you are not resident in the US (but you might be able to get a bank loan in Canada if you haven't got the cash). Also - the warranty may not be honoured in Canada. This may or may not be a problem because obviously you can drive to the US if you have to, if the car is drivable (so don't buy something crap). Or you might be buying a used car, so not as big of a problem.

US dealers near the border are usually familiar with the paperwork to export to Canada, such as getting the approval letter. The car has to comply with Canadian safety requirements, which in most cases means taking it to Canadian Tire and getting the DRLs turned on.

Also something I've had a lot from dealers (unsurprisingly) - horror stories about how x part is not to "Canadian spec" or US servicing is inferior, etc. My experience is entirely the reverse.

In fact, as one simple example - www.tirerack.com Almost always lower prices on tires than Canadian prices and most importantly they are GST/HST registered so you simply order from them and they are delivered to your doorstep, no hidden fees.