Fomerly of Leicester

We're moving to BC for two years with my work this summer. As it's only intended to be a two year stint (although it may turn permanent) I'm thinking leasing a car is the simplest option.

At the end of the two years I hand it back, and if we do end up staying I assume I can buy it then and I have a car I can keep for 10 years knowing its full history. During that time I only have to worry about lease repayments and insurance (yes, I know this will be expensive, I intend to get all my no claims paperwork).

Would only having a UK credit history be an issue for getting a lease agreement? It looks like I can transfer my HSBC credit history across, but I assume this wouldn't help with a lease agreement with (e.g.) Ford?

For the record, in the UK my car philosophy is "buy something three years old so someone else eats the depreciation and then keep it till its ten years old" - I've never leased before. But it seems a sensible option.

Danny B

I am no expert, but a friend of mine moved to Canada with good UK credit history but no CDN history and found it tough to even get a mobile phone contract.

It took him 12 months of paying bills to finally get some credit.

Have you seen this website? LeaseBusters.com - Car Lease Transfer Experts you can take over someone elses lease who wants out early and can sometimes get a good deal.

Personally, I would buy a cheap used car (5k will get you something reliable) and sell it after 2 years.

beckiwoo

You can get something called 'car proof' here and it gives you the full history of any vehicle that you buy second hand including claims, accidents, involvement with police or any out of province issues.

UK credit history wont help that much but I don't know with transferring credit history with HSBC. I just know I had issues trying to get an unsecured credit card but once I had that for 6 months I was ok and could get another card/up my credit limit and be accepted for loans and stuff (although i don't have any).

Insurance is going to be a killer. Even with my 40% discount (8 years no claims) my insurance on my 2012 Hyundai Accent is $200 a month although I have roadside plus and fully comp with extended liability. Insurance doesnt seem to go down either as ICBC are putting it up by 4.9% this year so even though its meant to go down 5% each year if you don't claim, you dont save any money.

Atlantic Xpat

We lease two vehicles (alhough not in BC, but the principles are the same) and have done so for many years. For us its a way to get to drive newer vehicles under warranty before they rust to nothing in the Atlantic climate! Plus I find nearly new vehicles more expensive than they should be here but that may be different in BC - bigger market, more choice.

Some thoughts on your situation:

Presumably you are on a Temp Work Permit & can prove this + employment & proof of income. Thats likely to be more value than a clean credit record from the UK - these things are not generally transportable from UK to Canada.

Leasing here is mainly through the car manufacturers (& their finance arms) and dealers rather than leasing co's as in the UK. Most but not all manufacturers lease vehicles and will have reasonably good lease payment calculators on their websites which you can play around with to get and idea of cost.

Leasing costs can be quite expensive relatively over a 2 year period compared to 3 or 4. However it depends on the deal and brand. As an example I leased a 2017 Santa Fe XL SUV this summer over 3 years. The 2 year payment was almost the same. Other vehicles I've looked at have had a much larger variance. (As I'm sure you know lease cost is a factor of price, residual and finance rate).

You will pay sales taxes on the monthly lease cost. (You pay them on the purchase cost if you buy outright or finance. And since this is Canada, this goes for used vehicles as well!). All the manufacturers finance calculators will factor in taxes for BC if you check the appropriate boxes.

HTH
AX

Fomerly of Leicester

Yep, I must admit that's a competing instinct with the leasing one. Know it will save me a lot of money.

Fomerly of Leicester

Ouch. I will budget accordingly.

dbd33

It's utterly untrustworthy though as it depends on the repairer choosing to record the repairs. For example, my VW had $26,000 worth of repairs after a collision (yes, I was surprised they fixed it) so, an amount of damage that might be of interest to a subsequent purchaser, but not mentioned on the car proof report. My current car was the subject of a $19,000 claim that appears on the report as a $500 scratch.

If I didn't drive so much I'd go back to leasing but, above the usual 20,000/miles a year, it's not really viable.

Fomerly of Leicester

We don't expect to drive much - living in Vancouver and with me working from home, it'll mainly be my wife driving the kids around and family trips at weekends. So leasing definitely seems to make sense if we're not just going to get a cheap $5K car.

dbd33

FWIW, I successively leased several minivans, Ford and Dodge, a Suzuki Vitara, a Ford Exploder, a Mustang, four or five Escapes, probably some others. All of the Fords were returned with no trouble at all, each involved forgiving some minor infraction. The Dodge vans were on three year leases and were a bit more trouble as, on a three year old Chrysler, many parts have worn out or broken down so there was always argy bargy over "reasonable wear and tear". The Suzuki dealer was a nightmare to deal with, Suzuki seemed to expect the vehicle to be in better shape at the end of the lease than the beginning.

In your circumstances I think the choice will depend not on the vehicle but on the manufacturer's receptivity to applications from new immigrants.

Fomerly of Leicester

I've always driven Fords in the UK with a similar "low hassle" experience. Love the idea of an Escape (hired one (well, a Kuga) here recently), but if there is a chance of keeping it long term need an ocassional 7 seater. Looking at a Santa Fe XL having hired one this summer.

Might be worth sounding manufacturers out before we get there from what you've said.

Atlantic Xpat

I've had similar experiences. The Escape I returned in summer had a scratch/dent that I'd the Ford dealer quote to repair. They quoted $1300 but suggested as it was a lease I wait and see what the lease end inspection produced. I duly had it inspected and was presented with a bill for $100. I'd probably have been able to get them to waive that had I been buying another Ford but I wasn't.

I went with a Santa Fe XL for the added towing capacity above the Escape but the 7 seats have proved more useful than I thought for carrying kids and friends of kids around. It's a well equipped vehicle at a decent price & with good lease deals to be had.

As I say, on a TWP or with some other proof or residency entitlement & employment and incomeI'dve thought leasing over the period of the TWP doable. Leasing for longer than you are allowed to stay in the country would be more problematical!

Oh and someone suggested leasebusters upthread. That still gives you the problem of getting approved by a finance co. Probably easier through a dealer on a new vehicle.

Novocastrian

You can't transfer your UK credit history with HSBC, what you can do is use your UK HSBC history to open a Canadian HSBC account and acquire a non-secured local credit card with appropriate credit limit prior to arrival, which is handy but not the same thing.

Leasing a new car won't be a problem if you use dealer financing and can show proof of sufficient salary in Canada (your letter of job offer showing salary will suffice, if it does).

Fomerly of Leicester

Exactly, I've had my eye on something with extra seats for a while now. Would probably go 7 seat if we stay in the UK as well, as current car is on last legs.

An excellent point :-)

Fomerly of Leicester

Thanks for this - really helpful. I'll be transferring straight across from UK payroll to Canadian payroll, so showing income shouldn't be an issue.

beckiwoo

Yes but to see if the vehicle has been involved in any accidents and/or police incidents - it shows up.


it is still better then having no information on the vehicle whatsoever