Scotiabank gave me 10000 - job done!

Yes they were the best for us, too! Congrats on the future car

Shame they're pretty rubbish about everything else though! Their opening hours suck and they must be the only bank to not offer visa debit. I'm going to stick with td for my checking account unless they fix those two issues

we're with RBC for the main account and only have the line of credit with Scotiabank.

But the OP has Canadian citizenship so this isn't the issue.

As others have said, ask around at other banks and switch to one that will help you out better than TD have done.

Also, have you considered leasing for a while? That would get you a better car at a lower monthly cost while you build up your credit history. There are pros/cons to leasing versus buying but it might be worth considering.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...article565403/

I got picked up today from my work and taken to Derrick Dodge in Edmonton,I was going to try put down $1000 on a $4000 dodge caravan,instead I ended up putting down $1500 and getting finance on $10,000 Chevy Equinox.
It took them an entire 2mns to say yes,and I've only been here 4 weeks now lol.

I am guessing that the reference letter my employer gave me stood out to them.

So you're on a TWP? That's quite an achievement based on our experience!

Yup TWP,aiming for residency which I will apply for in another 5 months.
I was really surprised myself when the guy said yes,especially doing a 3 year plan on a 2 year TWP.

Why do so many people arrive without having enough money put aside for a vehicle. For many places, especially if you want to live out of a city a car is a complete necessity. I know when we arrived we had enough put aside for a car, not as much as we thought as we only got one car to begin with and not the two we thought we'd have straight off, but that only took a couple of pay cheques.

Surley the last thing anyone wants when starting off life in a new country is a ton of debt???

Not everyone arrives with a stash of spare cash. Financing a car is hardly uncommon, and need not be 'a ton of debt'. If the payments are affordable, it's not a worry, is it?

This is something I realise of course. But if you know your going somewhere and you will need a car, especially if your used to having a car, would you seriously not make sure you have 'some' funds to go towards a car. People are quoting repayments of $400 per month, which I find pretty scary on top of all the expenses moving to a new country involves. I get car financing once your established and upgrading to a preferred vehicle. And you can get a decent older car here for less than $2k, if you look hard enough, this time of year is great for second hand cars (in Alberta anyway) as the winter is done and people want their new car for the summer.

I guess lots of people see the whole car thing different to me. I would prefer an older car with much smaller repayments or to be able to buy outright and before anyone says, it's easy for you to say that, your husbands a mechanic, that's how I felt when I was on my own too, I could have got financing for x but didn't like the repayments so bought outright instead.

Motorbikes however - different kettle of fish, nothing quite like picking up your own brand new bike from the dealer, mind you when I had my (older) Ducati, that was a pretty good feeling too.

i wont have a ton of cash when i arrive but enough to spend some of it for a deposit on a car. id buy one outright but need to build up my credit score. i dont think most people want the debt its just one of the easiest ways to build financial history

Which I also understand. But would you go for a $400 per month deal? I know some people are comfotable whith a much higher debt threshold to, probably why I'll never be a millionaire

I'm only saying because I see so many young people getting car debt, phone debt, credi card debt, engagement ring debt, tv on finance, quad or boat or bike finance, appliances, the list goes on, I just think its scary thats all.

I didn't plan on staying here and getting a vehicle but even if I did, I have about 3x the disposable income here than the UK and will still have way more money after paying the modest debt I will have for car, so waiting years until I'd saved enough money in the UK would have been a very poor financial decision. Buying a newer, more expensive car won't necessarily cost much more anyway because of all the repairs on an older car, and you get a nicer car and less stress. I'm probably only going to spend 4k on mine, but I accept (and have the budget for) that I could spend thousands on it in the next few years.