E3only

Hi there,

From my previous posts - my wife and I moved to States little over 6 weeks ago. The next bit of the challenge is to buy a car. The question I have is, has anyone been able to secure a loan being in the country that short time? I am unable to buy it cash down basis as we did not move with the comfort of a all expense paid relocation.....

My plan was to buy a car (which I can drive for 5 years at least) for around 10-12K and then put down 20-30% as a downpayment.

FYI - we live East Bay Area.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

sarahlou145

Hey

Welcome to California

We purchased a used prius in january, and managed to get a great finance deal - 3.4% (i think), but that was providing we did it over the remaining length of our visa, so 32 months.

We used Toyota in Burlingame, and we recommended them to a friend in the East Bay who came over and mentioned us and they also got the same great rate.

PM me if you want anymore details, id be happy to call the finance guy and give them your name and say you are looking for the same great finance deal

Jerseygirl

Maybe the OP would like a car with reliable brakes.

sarahlou145

they have other used cars too if you arent brave enough to drive a Toyota

E3only

Definitely good brakes ... as it is, with my body weight it takes that tad longer for the car to come to a stop!

Mummy in the foothills

If you have any car knowledge craigslist.com is a good place to look on the cars for sale by owner.
Dh being mechanical got mine there and it's still going strong 50,000 miles later

sarahlou145

Looks like old age is making me forgetful, i just checked the paperwork and it was 9.64% we got - sorry Initially they said it would be 30 something % as we had no credit history.

E3only - ive PMd you the details

EricK

I bought through BMW and got finance having been here for only 4 weeks. They have something called a "global executive" scheme. Audi and Mercedes offered me a similar deal. I got a 3.9% rate. Term was only 24 months as my Visa is 3 years and had already run a couple of months at that stage. Had to provide a letter from my employer confirming salary, copy of my Visa and I94.

E3only

Thank you! I call 'em. .30% !! kidding me.

Hubcaps

Volvo have offered us something very similar here using the same paperwork but also do a UK credit check too.

E3only

Did you buy BMW ? Old / new? I am not quiet a 'new' BMW types No issues with producing visa and job offer.

Philgr

If you bank with a Credit Union it's worth talking to them about financing options - sometimes they are easier to deal with than the big auto financing companies - especially if they see your salary getting paid into their accounts. Getting a loan from them also gives you more choice as far as cars go since you don't have to "work with the sales folks" to get financing approved - which is always painful in car dealerships!

E3only

- Credit Check, I assume you get your credit report yourself and they didn't do the check right?
- Credit Union, no I don't bank with any. I went for the big names when I opened my bank accounts. Wells and Chase. I don't mind opening an account with a credit union but I don't know how much would it help given I would like to buy a car pretty soon I guess.

Also, if it helps I did get an Amex with handsome limit via global transfer scheme. I mean not sure if that helps at all?

Bootle

If you are planning to stay for a while I would be wary about doing too many car loan enquiries. The credit check process is that they will check your credit history through one of the service providers - a bit like Dun & Bradstreet. A good dealer will look through the whole history and a bad one will just look at the credit score.

E3only

Thanks. I was reading through a lot about credit scoring and things like that. One point they made was any auto loan or home loan enquiries within a 30 day period are counted as 1. The Article was then talking about shopping for best rates given it's counted as 1.

I would have **** all score given I have not been here that long. I am told though, my unsecured credit card with Amex will only help.