AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Hi all,
Will be moving to US in the coming months, likely will be L1B as it's an intra-company transfer. I have been in touch with International Autosource regarding the lease of a car during the term of my visa (prob 3 years?). However, I am being advised to secure the car before I land in the US, as they can get the best pricing that way. I believe it's the 'Preferred' program. I was wondering if anybody has used the 'Advantage' program after they landed in the US? What kind of deals/prices did you receive (feel free to PM if uncomfortable sharing details). I understand that the c.$400 fee is part of the lease price, judging by some of the quotes they've sent to me. I have seen that AIG's expat assistance product is $440 and also includes things such as car finance/lease assistance, as well as many other benefits like bank account/credit card/phone assistance. Am I better off going for AIG's service? |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
They're telling you to secure a car prior to arriving because it stops you looking around locally and secures their contract with you. It's well documented on various posts on this forum that you can obtain car leases/finance directly from dealers. They also tried pressuring me into a deal, i instead got a car directly on a foreign expat program from a dealer.
I took out the AIG's assistance program and they put me in touch with Advancial, i had a credit card with a $7.5k limit within 20 days of arriving. I know they offer insurance assistance too, but their quotes were higher than me going directly to an insurance provider, so i didn't use that part. They also may or may not have forgot to charge me their fee :) |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Originally Posted by Jack8602
(Post 12371106)
They're telling you to secure a car prior to arriving because it stops you looking around locally and secures their contract with you. It's well documented on various posts on this forum that you can obtain car leases/finance directly from dealers. They also tried pressuring me into a deal, i instead got a car directly on a foreign expat program from a dealer.
I took out the AIG's assistance program and they put me in touch with Advancial, i had a credit card with a $7.5k limit within 20 days of arriving. I know they offer insurance assistance too, but their quotes were higher than me going directly to an insurance provider, so i didn't use that part. They also may or may not have forgot to charge me their fee :) On the Advancial credit card, how did they determine that you were eligible? Did they verify employment letters/salary or was it more a case of using your UK-based credit history? Did you use any other services of AIG's program? Good result with the fee! Hope they don't start chasing |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Yeah i know what you mean about test driving, it's an important factor to me. VW/Audi/Mazda, Ford i think too - have a scheme for expats. I didn't use anything else on the AIG program.
If you can pay for a rental car for upto 4-6 weeks, then there's no reason for you to restrict yourself to having to buy from IAS. I say 4-6 weeks as a high estimate of how long you may need a rental, i had my rental for exactly 3 weeks, the time in which it took me to get all the below: I'd suggest doing the following as soon as you arrive, i did this: Take your driving test and get a license ASAP. Not sure what it's like in states outside of Texas, but as soon as you pass here - they give you a temporary license at the DMV so you can use that for test driving cars and getting leases etc. Get your SSN as soon as possible. I attended the social security office on day 3 of being here, it arrived in the mail 7 days later - you'll need that for financing/leasing. Once i had both of the above, i went to a VW dealer and drove away with a brand new car within 3 hours. VW needed a copy of my visa. An offer letter from my employer, 2 references from people i know, my salary information. They called my office to verify i was who i said i was etc. Advancial just asked for an offer letter and my salary - no credit check was possible because i had zero history :) - From what i can gather they base the risk on your employer and salary and determine what limit to give you. They also offered me 35k car loan if i wanted it. |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Originally Posted by Jack8602
(Post 12371182)
Yeah i know what you mean about test driving, it's an important factor to me. VW/Audi/Mazda, Ford i think too - have a scheme for expats. I didn't use anything else on the AIG program.
If you can pay for a rental car for upto 4-6 weeks, then there's no reason for you to restrict yourself to having to buy from IAS. I say 4-6 weeks as a high estimate of how long you may need a rental, i had my rental for exactly 3 weeks, the time in which it took me to get all the below: I'd suggest doing the following as soon as you arrive, i did this: Take your driving test and get a license ASAP. Not sure what it's like in states outside of Texas, but as soon as you pass here - they give you a temporary license at the DMV so you can use that for test driving cars and getting leases etc. Get your SSN as soon as possible. I attended the social security office on day 3 of being here, it arrived in the mail 7 days later - you'll need that for financing/leasing. Once i had both of the above, i went to a VW dealer and drove away with a brand new car within 3 hours. VW needed a copy of my visa. An offer letter from my employer, 2 references from people i know, my salary information. They called my office to verify i was who i said i was etc. Advancial just asked for an offer letter and my salary - no credit check was possible because i had zero history :) - From what i can gather they base the risk on your employer and salary and determine what limit to give you. They also offered me 35k car loan if i wanted it. What kind of downpayment did VW ask for? And was this fairly recently? |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
As long as you get your ducks all in a row early on - it's fairly simple to get a car.
I took out a 2016 model Golf in January 2016. VW offered me $0 down - but i chose to put down $1,500 and i took out $4.5k worth of enhanced warranty & coverage for when i return the car. I pay $485 a month. If i left the warranty and enhanced coverage i could have knocked $120 a month off that, but i value the importance of them (Just as well too because i had the whole AC system replaced due to a fault!) I'm also on an L1B visa - so know the pain of the process of the offer coming through :) |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Originally Posted by Jack8602
(Post 12371201)
As long as you get your ducks all in a row early on - it's fairly simple to get a car.
I took out a 2016 model Golf in January 2016. VW offered me $0 down - but i chose to put down $1,500 and i took out $4.5k worth of enhanced warranty & coverage for when i return the car. I pay $485 a month. If i left the warranty and enhanced coverage i could have knocked $120 a month off that, but i value the importance of them (Just as well too because i had the whole AC system replaced due to a fault!) I'm also on an L1B visa - so know the pain of the process of the offer coming through :) So, are you saying that you would have been liable for the AC system if you didn't take out the coverage? There's no standard warranty with a new car? |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Originally Posted by petepete99
(Post 12371207)
So, are you saying that you would have been liable for the AC system if you didn't take out the coverage? There's no standard warranty with a new car?
Enhanced warranty coverage saved my ass on the A/C being refitted because some of the parts weren't under that standard manufacturer warranty. I would've been liable for a $3.5k bill on parts not covered + labor. the power train, for example is covered by standard. The specific parts i had to get replaced for my A/C weren't. I do think I've been incredibly unlucky on this car though, and it's probably a one off. That said, I'll be looking to another brand once my lease is up as I've now got a credit rating and can shop around more freely. |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Originally Posted by Jack8602
(Post 12371215)
Standard manufacturer warranty is included for 3 years - but it doesn't cover everything - some other manufacturers may be different i guess.
Enhanced warranty coverage saved my ass on the A/C being refitted because some of the parts weren't under that standard manufacturer warranty. I would've been liable for a $3.5k bill on parts not covered + labor. the power train, for example is covered by standard. The specific parts i had to get replaced for my A/C weren't. I do think I've been incredibly unlucky on this car though, and it's probably a one off. That said, I'll be looking to another brand once my lease is up as I've now got a credit rating and can shop around more freely. |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Originally Posted by petepete99
(Post 12371243)
Sounds like you've been unlucky. Was it a GTI? Or just a standard Golf? I will definitely consider VW to get me started, though I do have my heart set on something American and brash because "when in Rome". :thumbsup:
I'd have purchased American if i could. I even work for one of the big manufacturers here, but they're not particularly versed in L1 visas - me being the first one ever, so they couldn't sort me a car due to my credit being that of a 16 year old. VW were good for me starting out in the US. Bear in mind that this offer is across the whole VW group so don't limit yourself to just them - and some other dealers do offer expat schemes. Audi: https://www.audiusa.com/content/dam/...fessionals.pdf VW: https://www.vw.com/content/dam/vwcom...fessionals.pdf Got a shit ton of cash? Porsche will also take you on :thumbup: Same brochure, just different pictures. |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Originally Posted by Jack8602
(Post 12371215)
Standard manufacturer warranty is included for 3 years - but it doesn't cover everything - some other manufacturers may be different i guess.
Enhanced warranty coverage saved my ass on the A/C being refitted because some of the parts weren't under that standard manufacturer warranty. I would've been liable for a $3.5k bill on parts not covered + labor. the power train, for example is covered by standard. The specific parts i had to get replaced for my A/C weren't. I do think I've been incredibly unlucky on this car though, and it's probably a one off. That said, I'll be looking to another brand once my lease is up as I've now got a credit rating and can shop around more freely. |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Originally Posted by Jack8602
(Post 12371258)
Standard SE model.
I'd have purchased American if i could. I even work for one of the big manufacturers here, but they're not particularly versed in L1 visas - me being the first one ever, so they couldn't sort me a car due to my credit being that of a 16 year old. VW were good for me starting out in the US. Bear in mind that this offer is across the whole VW group so don't limit yourself to just them - and some other dealers do offer expat schemes. Audi: https://www.audiusa.com/content/dam/...fessionals.pdf VW: https://www.vw.com/content/dam/vwcom...fessionals.pdf Got a shit ton of cash? Porsche will also take you on :thumbup: Same brochure, just different pictures. Porsche would be pushing the boat out, just a tad! |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Originally Posted by rbackhouse
(Post 12371276)
Huh. Someone is yanking your chain if you think that your A/C would not be covered by the standard VW 3 year warranty.
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Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Originally Posted by petepete99
(Post 12371603)
I did think that was a bit odd. I would have thought it would have been covered unless it was classed as either wear & tear or owner-fault?
Apparently VW are now offering an "Enhanced" warranty of 6years/72k on their 2018 models in an attempt to woe back buyers but you don't pay more for this. There are "Extended" warranties that dealers will attempt to sell you when buying the car but these don't kick in until after the standard one has run out, or claim to cover things the standard one doesn't but that is virtually nothing. In general they are a ripe off, the dealers put a big markup on them to add to their profit on the deal. You also have to go through the fine print because exclusions can be extensive. |
Re: AIG Global Expat Assistance (and International Autosource)
Originally Posted by Jack8602
(Post 12371215)
Enhanced warranty coverage saved my ass on the A/C being refitted because some of the parts weren't under that standard manufacturer warranty. I would've been liable for a $3.5k bill on parts not covered + labor.
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