bod1984

Hello,

What is the best way to get a car when moving to the USA? I am hoping to move over in the next couple of months (visa etc dictating) and I will need to get a car relatively soon. I will most likely rent one for the first few weeks but will be looking to buy or lease for the longer term. As I will have little or in fact no credit rating (I lived in San Francisco '09-'10 but I don't think that will have provided much of a rating if any at all) what would be the easiest / best thing to do?

Thanks in advance.

HartleyHare

There have been numerous threads abou this in the past. If you use the search function you should be able to find them. Here's one to get you started: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...=Leasing+a+car

Pulaski

+1.

Also get in touch with International Autosource, their service worked for me, and many others. When you arrive you'll have so much to do, set up and arrange, so having your car acquisition taken care of ahead of time is a huge plus on it's own, that the prices and rates are competitive is great news, AND you're building credit history from the moment you arrive! A win/win/win situation, IMO.

Bob

How long you planning to stay?

Budget?

Type of motor?

Above affects answer. But buying second hand is generally best, with as much of a loan down as possible to reduce cost and build credit history.

Lease if your sure you aren't staying more than a couple years

bod1984

I guess we will be there for at least two years, we're coming with an open mind, if it goes well who knows we may stay there forever!

Budget wise, without really knowing what to expect to pay for a car over there, would $500 a month cover car payments and insurance etc?

What would be some example monthly costs for InternationalAutoSource - from anyone who uses them on here, willing to divulge such information?

Pulaski

I think we were paying $360/mth for a $16k car, 0% over 36 mths. Finance these days is commonly over 72 months, but cars cost more. I think someone recently reported that they could lease a Ford Explorer from IA for a bit over $400/mth. Loan payments on a Fusion I guess would be around $300-$350.

Insurance is not cheap though, but varies significantly by state, you should budget $2,000 for the first year and be pleasantly surprised if it is much less.

Bob

That would be decent car, but insurance ball park is $1 k per six month on a new car, when you have no credit or driving history.

HartleyHare

We have just leased a VW Jetta through VW's Foriegn Business Professionals programme. We are paying $399 p/m for 24 months. We had to put $1000down. As far as I understand the monthly payment includes tax and service charges too. We are currently getting some insurance quotes. So far State Farm quoted around $2100 for 6 months (they said they do not take into account our 12 + years no claims and clean UK driving record). We then went through a broker who quoted $1300 for 6 months. Both quotes were for the standard policy (as opposed to the minimum state basics). We are also taking out a renter's insurance policy alongside the car rental and this also lowers the policy amount.
Your location will be an important factor of any quote.

bod1984

Thanks for that HH, that's interesting. We are moving to Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ.

HartleyHare

Ok. I think there are a few people on the forums from that area.

Pulaski

Seems a bit pricy for an unremarkable vehicle.... probably reflects the low expected resale value after two years. Volkswagen tried to ramp up their US sales, and opened a new plant in Chattanooga a couple of years ago, but sales are on the slide, fairly significantly, and if that is typical of their prices, I can understand why!

LeavingLondon

My hubby just just bought a 2009, very low mileage, VW EOS Convertible through their Foreign Business Programme (cost $20k and his deal was for 2.99% interest because it was 2nd hand. We chose to put down $8k). We are about to buy my car outright, maybe from Craig's List as it's much cheaper than via a dealer.

Pulaski

I just went to take a look why a five year old Eos was selling for $20k ..... No wonder VW sales are down if they're trying to sell Eos's in the $30k-$40k and more range! Apparently VW brand management aren't content with playing second fiddle to Audi, as they are trying to take on BMW themselves.

sir_eccles

I have a friend locally who runs a mechanics, says he put his kids through school thanks to VWs.

HartleyHare

As we are only here for a couple if years we wanted to lease with the minimum amount of fuss. This deal was cheaper than the price quoted by IA (for a Focus). We also did not want to put down a big deposit, but keep our money accessible in the event of any emergencies.

Our car in the UK is a 1996 Rover 600, so believe me the Jetta is a step up