foobar_666uk

I am soon to be relocating from Hampshie, England to Monmouth County, New Jersey. I have a family of four who are coming with me, my wife and two children (8 & 10). My employer are sponsoring me on an L1A visa and my wife on an L2.

My questions are around a car for my family to use;

1. How do we get a U.S. driving license?
2. What are good cars for family of 4? SUV's?
3. Which are best value for money? American brands?
4. Should we look at new, nearly new or used? What are the markets like, how do they compare to UK?
5. Should we lease? Are there any recommendations, advice or experiences that could be shared?

I will have about $10k to put towards a family vehicle, my concern is having no credit history and getting the best deals as a result.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks
David

Pulaski

1. In NJ I believe you can still swap a British licence for a local license.

2. Vehicle is a personal choice. Saloon cars of a good size are relatively cheap, and may be adequate for a family of four. SUVs are much improved in recent years and most are now based on a car platform, so much lighter than the older truck-based SUVs. For example Ford makes an SUV/CUV equivalent of the Focus (Escape), the Fusion/ Mondeo (Edge), and Taurus (Explorer). Minivans are a rapidly disappearing vehicle style, and are likely "too much vehicle" for a family of four, and plug-ugly to boot!

3. The car market is very competitive and all manufacturers have greatly improved quality and reliability these days, and there is no reason to not buy domestic brands. That said Chrysler Dodge has a relatively poor reputation, Chevrolet has a reputation for plasticy interiors and GM has recalled huge numbers of vehicles, not just Chevys (in recent year they have recalled more vehicles since they have made since 2008 i.e they have recalled many vehicles more than once!) Generally Ford has a good reputation, certainly the best of the domestic brands, and with very few recalls. I have two, with 120,000 miles total on them, and have been very satisfied with them and we are looking at buying either a new Fusion (Mondeo) or an Explorer later this year.

4. Buy new. "Nearly new" costs very nearly as much as new. Cars do not depreciate any where near as fast as in the UK, unless you're looking at premium brands, such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Jaguar when you can get good prices for 2-3 year old cars. In New Jersey the winters are bad enough that salt can significantly shorten the life of a vehicle, especially if you don't wash the salt off it regularly, but aside from that you may be shocked to discover how long some cars last: we have a 12 year old Honda Accord with 285,000 miles on it! It has had very few repairs and is still on its original clutch, exhaust (excl cat), starter motor, shocks, brake discs, and water pump. We have got an average of 80,000 miles off each set of Michellins (100,000 off the last set!)

5. Personally I wouldn't lease. At the end of the lease you can end up paying penalties for things such as worn or "non-approved" tyres, and for minor scratches or interior wear or stains. You also have to pay a penalty for driving over a certain distance each year, which is usually in the 10-12k range, and even for cheaper brands can be 15-20c a mile, and that soon adds up.

6. Take a look at International Autosource. I used them for my first vehicle and can't recommend them highly enough. You do have to sign the contract and pay a deposit before you arrive in the US, but they will provide finance despite you having no US credit history, and the repayments will immediately help in building your credit score.

Alan17

That is impressive. What kind of Michelins are you using? My last set only got about 25K

Pulaski

Primacy MXV4's are what's on there currently, the product description has varied a little over the years. We have 45,000 miles on the current set, and there is every indication that they're going to give us 80,000 miles or more. The set that gave only 60,000 miles was so disappointing.

rpjs

One reason SUVs are popular in the north-east is because they are usually all-wheel drive and that can be make all the difference in snowy/icy conditions. We didn't want an SUV but after watching non-AWD cars slide down our road last winter, we went for a Subaru as they have AWD as standard.

Jerseygirl

If you have a UK DL you will only take a written multiple choice test. You will probably be asked to hand over your UK DL...I refused. Make a copy of your UK DL it will be useful if you return to the UK. Take a look at the NJ DMV website for the documents required to get a DL...proof of address etc. Since 9/11 they have really tightened up on the ID require

I recommend that you have at least one SUV. NJ winters tend to be very cold...with lots of snow and ice. We have both leased and purchased vehicles. I prefer to lease because I like a new car every two or three years. Hubby prefers to buy.

Edit: NJ Manufacturers is the best insurance company by far. It's only open to employees of certain NJ based companies...your husband should ask his employer if they members.

Pulaski

Every vehicle is at risk of sliding downhill, to wit the SUVs that end up in the ditch in slippery conditions. 4x4's are much better at driving uphill when there is snow or ice on the road.

Bob

You'll want 2 cars. You'll want to budget at least $1K per six months for insurance on decent, new cars.

Lease, might work if you only plan to be here for a couple years and don't plan on going anywhere, other wise, it usually makes more sense to buy, plus it's a good way to start building up some credit history.

New v nearly new, for most cars there isn't going to be much of a saving, just a few grand. If you get a higher end car, that's when you'll see a saving.

Thing to watch out for when getting second hand and when cars start to dip in value is usually at the 60K mark when lemon/certified warranties drop off, is that there's no state inspection in NJ, so the cars could be in a real shit state if you don't know what to look out for and rust is a very real problem in snowy areas. Exhausts and suspension can and do rot out a hell of a lot quicker than in warmer locations and they can be pretty expensive to replace. Tyres also, get replaced much more frequently, unless you go to the effort of getting winter tyres and swapping them over seasonally, though I've no idea what the rules are for NJ.

rpjs

Sorry, should have specified we watched cars sliding downhill when they were trying to get up the hill!

Tuesday's probably going to fun for that.

Pulaski

More fun watching from my perspective. Vicariously, that is.

Nutmegger

You said it! They are now forecasting 20 to 30 inches of snow and we just got a robotcall from the power company warning us that we may lose power. We stocked up at the store, now it's time to make sure there's gas in the barbecue and get the candles and flashlights out.

MidAtlantic

These are good places to look to check out prices and reviews:

https://www.truecar.com/

Official Kelley Blue Book New Car and Used Car Prices and Values

S Folinsky

Also edmunds.com is a good site.

S Folinsky

What type of vehicle to buy is quite subjective and people get quite opinionated.

On SUV's -- the size of those range a lot -- there is a difference between a Honda CRV and a Chevrolet Tahoe. We raised two kids and never owned a SUV or a Van. Now if one has three kids, the equation changes a lot.

On my UK and European trips, I've noted that other than the absense of SUV's and pickup trucks, I did not find the vehicle fleet to be all that different. However, Americans do tend to buy somewhat bigger cars. The "standard" family sedan in the US will be the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Chevrolet Malibu et al. That said, I think a Toyota Corolla will work just as well for a family with two kids as a Camry.

Do look at Korean brands: Hyundai and Kia. I know that Brian Cooley at cnet.com recommends the Kia Optima as a good combination of styling, features and price for family sedans. I've driven rental Hyundais and found that I actually liked them.

CARFAX™ - Vehicle History Reports and Used Car Listings is your friend on used cars. Put it in your smartphone and you can run a check once you have the VIN of a vehicle you are interested in.

Carmax.com is a good source to get the "feel" of the market for good used cars. However, their prices are a tad high. One usually should not pay more than the Carmax price for a good used car.

Do note that most "foreign" brands are now manufactured in North America [I say North America because of the effect of NAFTA.]

I've never done it, but I wonder if the car rental company sales lots are a good source for boring but reliable cars.

hoffage123

Is this advice relevant for New Jersey only - because depending on the state, you have to take the written test, pre-licensing course and driving test (NYS being one of those)?

Hoffage