megalaser

Hi, I am moving from the UK to Florida soon and I will need to get a car when I arrive, does anyone happen to know any long term rental or lease companies that will accept a customer with no credit history? I only got my SS number 2 weeks ago and I am about to start the efforts to build a credit history but for now I have effectively no credit history and would like to avoid using all my dollars (especially with this exchange rate) by buying a car. I am wondering then if anyone knows any lease or rental companies that will either accept UK credit card or rent to a new immigrant with no credit history. Alternatively if anyone has a good idea to solve this problem. Also if I can't solve this and have to buy a cheap car will I have any problem getting it insured with no credit history? Many Thanks! Simon

Ray

You can rent a car with a credit card no problem..
Probably only progressive will insure you until you get a US license

leasing cars might be possible but not easy ..some car companies are no longier doing leasing ..but there are other leasing companies..

best thing ..buy a cheap car ..and get your licence ASAP

megalaser

Hi, thanks but what I am asking about is if anyone knows any rental companies that do long term (ie: by the month or 3 months ect) rather than the normal Budget. Hertz ect which are geared towards short term rental and are happy to rent to those without a US credit history or with a UK credit card.

Also do you happen to know if somebody with no credit history would experience any problem getting car insurance on a second hard car?

Many Thanks

Simon

Ray

All rental companies have a max of one month or 30 days ..but its just a point of going in and renewing it after 30 days ..don't know any that do 3 month straight off

Already answered the insurance question

http://www.progressive.com/

md95065

Oh, really ...

Avis monthly car rentals

Bob

just ask the manager, a lot of the rentals will do a longer term rental if you ask in advance....getting insurance shouldn't be a problem, but it'll be a crap rate till you get a US license.

Ray

Used to be with Florida car insurance they would not do over 30 days..
must have changed ..shit happens ..

lochdaz-of-blantyre

I'd suggest contacting readydrive.com They are a partner of International Autosource. Both firms rent/lease to expats in the US and elsewhere.

Good deals on long term rentals...e.g. Full Size SUV for $950/month.

D

megalaser

Really? thanks for that suggestion I will talk to them, basically what I want to do is rent a car for the first month, while I have it I can take my test and hopefully pass and get my licence and then try to find a company who will either rent something to me long term or lease me a car but if not then I wil have to buy something cheap and insure it until I establish enough of a credit score to lease properly.

augigi

Geico insured me for the first 6 months. I had a foreign license, but they required me to get a US license within 30 days of the insurance starting. They were bloody expensive too!

Havnfun

We arrived in California in September from Canada and the best solution we found was to take over someones lease. There is a website that advertises people who want to get out of their vehicle lease (due to the economy there are a lot of people with BMW, etc. they can't afford the payments on).

We found a lease with 9 months left on it and paid it in full so the leasing company had no risk. I was able to do this prior to even having my SS number and I am now driving a beautiful 2007 Mercedes E350 and it cost about $3,200! After the 9 months are up I have the option of buying the car or turning it back in.

megalaser

Hi, this sounds like a really interesting idea, I would have thought a good credit rating was required though? Could you please let me know the name of the lease swap company (and website?).

So you paid the £3500 in advance lease payments taking you through to the point where a balloon must be paid or you return the vehicle?

Thanks!

Havnfun

We didn't have SS numbers at the time so we had no US credit but they did look at our Canadian credit rating but since we paid the lease upfront they weren't taking a risk on getting the monthly payments.

At the end of the 9 months I have to either pay out the balance of the lease or return the vehicle. The website is swapalease.com
You enter in the state and zip code of where you want to look what model of car and it gives you a list of all available cars and what the monthly payments are (some people are even offering to pay you money if you take over their payments) and how much time is left on the lease.
It's fun looking at all the cars -how about an Aston Martin for $4280./month or a Lamborghini Gallardo for $3795./month

lj2

Call international autosource. They will lease to you without any US credit history - hats who I goit my car from on a 2 year lease. They also help with sorting out insuranc ethrough AIG.

Loads of threads on this but you need to arrange it BEFORE you get to the Country. They even let you get out of the lease without penalty if you are refused a visa.

megalaser

Thanks for the tip, I have found their website, can they arrange leases for all makes/models of cars or is there a limited choice? Also did you find them more expensive than a regular leasing company? How long in advance of you moving to the US did you arrange your lease and did you already have a US drivers license when you arranged it? I won't have a license until I arrive in the US and take my test ect - is it possible for me to get insurance without having the licence or will they let me buy/lease the car and get the insurance using my UK licence and then get the US license soon afterwards? Many Thanks!