Hi all,

It's looking promising that my company are going to transfer me from the UK to our office in California, and I know if it gets a approved everything is going to move fast as they are desperate to bring me over! I'm just doing all my research into everything now!

I currently have a car financed through Ford UK which I've had for 2 years... I'm in talks with them at the minute to see if I can come to an agreement about how I'm going to settle my finance/hand the car back - even discussing whether something could be arranged between them and Ford USA.

In the US, will I struggle leasing a car? Can they base my credit on anything I had in the UK? If I went directly with Ford USA do you think I would have an easier time leasing a car since I've used Ford UK for 2 years?

Also, what's car insurance like in CA? Is it generally cheap or will I struggle getting decent quotes - hopefully they won't be as extortionate as UK prices!!

Appreciate your help,

Ash

Nobody takes into account anything from the UK so you just have to live with the fact that you'll be starting from zero.

Having said that, I didn't have any trouble getting car finance. I rented a car for 4 weeks before buying a car from Ford. You have to settle for a higher than usual interest rate until you build up your credit. Fully comp insurance for me on a new fiesta is $110 per month.

I thought that might be the case, hopefully I'll be ok buying from Ford.

I was surprised at the cost of Fords on their US website compared to the same car over here!

What are generally the cheapest insurance companies over there just so I can keep for reference?

I found Progressive to be the cheapest for me.

There is no such company that is "cheapest", it depends too much on your location (state and town), what sort of coverage you want, if you're willing to plug big brother into the car or not and a whole host of other factors.

Some will take UK NCB into account, others won't. In some states, they'll check your credit, in others they can't. Some will take education into account, a lot of them take your job into account etc etc. It's a bit of a minefield.

Expect it to be expensive at the beginning, especially if you don't get a US license before you buy a car. Also, keep in mind that the policy limits over here are much lower than in the UK and that state minimum insurance is usually a joke.

Absolutely, I agree. It's best to weigh it all up for yourself based on your circumstances. It is a good idea to get your social security number and drivers license as soon as possible as then all the paperwork will be a lot smoother.

Ford here are not the same quality as in Europe, even the head of design in Detroit imported a Mondeo because in her own words 'They are the best car Ford make' they have no started making them here using the 'Fusion' name. The choices are limited also.
Car loans or leases are the best way to kick start your credit rating here. I got a car loan for a new car two days after starting my first job here. They are also the easiest credit to get.

Before moving to CA, I started the car leasing process with international autosource. Their customer service was A+, answered all my queries and provided unmatched quotes for the ford vehicles. After arriving here, went to many car dealers for almost all American and non-American brands, and as mentioned above, the quote for ford vehicles through IA was better than the dealers on the ground - if helps, you can find the quotes if you search for one of my threads on this matter.

Likewise the search for the "cheap" insurance was extensive, spoke with all mainstream insurers including the ones offering employee discounts through my firm, the cheapest quote for wife and I holding UK DL was around $250 per month for two new ford vehicles. Before concluding the deal with IA for ford vehicles, I went into a VW dealership in the South Bay and ended up leasing two new VW Passats on 0% down payment for $560 PCM (including all taxes etc). The process took 4hrs including the insurance piece. The agent at the dealer was English, he knew a broker, he came to the dealership completed the paperwork and I got the minimum CA coverage for wife and I for $157 per month. VW offers an expat package and don't need credit history. The post sales service was brilliant and I'm a happy chap.

Hope this helps.

P.S: for leasing, you need social security number and a letter confirming salary and employment from the employer if you don't have a pay stub (SSC can take upto 6 weeks to arrive from the day of application). For insurance, UK DL and scanned copy of your degree (they give you discount if you are a graduate - I would have received a further 10% discount if I had the CA DL). Some insurers don't even give an insurance quote until you have the California DL.

Thanks all for your responses!

I have been looking at IA but am I right In saying that it has to be arranged in the UK before entering the US?

Is the expat package with VW standard in all dealers in the US and are there restrictions to it? Do you also know whether there are any other car dealerships that do expat packages?

Driving is going to be a must for me but I'm under the impression that you can only drive on a UK license for 10 days if you become a CA resident - if this is the case then I will probably go down the route of getting my CA licence ASAP and then start looking at leasing.

In CA is it similar to the UK where there is a huge waiting list for driving tests? If so, how long does it usually take to be able to take a test?

Another question (maybe a stupid question) but will having points on my UK license affect me in any way having a CA license?

You are 'supposed' to get it sorted in 10 days but in actuality, there are a few things that slow this down. Your SSN will probably take around that long, then another couple of weeks to get a test sorted.

Your closest DMV will be in Newhall and it doesn't seem too busy as long as you book an appointment for things. I had points on my UK license and it made no difference.

I took my test in a rental, then got my car after passing. About 3-4 weeks after arriving if I remember correctly.

Thinking about it, I'm not going to be able to do my test in a rental car as I'm under 25 and don't want to pay the extortionate extra daily fees for under 25s.

What do I do in this situation? Sort my car out, insure it under my UK driving licence, take test, change insurance to CA DL??? But by the time I'm ready to take my test my 10 days will be up on my UK licence so would that make my insurance invalid to take a drivers test?

The ten day limit is unachievable in almost all cases, and rarely enforced. Be sure to be able to show that you were working towards getting your DL as quickly as possible, but scheduling and taking a road test within ten days just isn't possible, and everyone knows that, including the police.

Thanks, that's good to know. Hopefully I'll get away with it as I will be doing everything I can to get my CA DL as soon as possible. I probably won't drive much on my UK license anyway but will need to insure my car using it as soon as I get it just so that I can take my test. I'm assuming I can take my test in a car insured under my UK license? Or is there some kind of provisional lisence that's needed first like there is in the UK?

Also, I know my insurance will probably be more expensive under my UK DL but when I pass, will my insurance be reduced when I phone them to tell them I now have my CA license?

No, your UK license will be fine, and many of us here, including me, showed up to the road test driving on our UK license, and nobody has ever reported that it phased the examiner.

We moved to California (SF Bay Area ) 2 weeks ago.

Re leasing, we have leased a vw Jetta SE from vw directly (their foreign professional programme). It's cost us $298 a month over 25 months for 15k miles a year including some damage waiver, so any dings etc upto $5000 are no longer our problem! We needed a SSN for this, but hubby came here 3 weeks before we moved so got one then.

Insurance cost us $170 a month for the Jetta with Geico. We pay $290 a month for the Jetta and a 2000 Mazda MPV. Expensive, but ok for an expa with no history.

Tried to book my written test today...earliest appointment is 14 oct for me and 31 oct for my husband....so not 10 days then! Still, at least we can say we tried and. Can't sit in the DMV for 4 hours...child 2 gets out of school at 12.30 and with the 101 traffic there is no way I can be there before 9!!