ScottishExpat100

Hi all,

I'm planning to move to Houston from the UK in a few on months on an L1-B Intra Company Transfer - I'm still waiting on the offer, and am thinking about car allowance and how much this is likely to be. Appreciate cost will be model dependent, buthHas anyone had experience with any of the European Car Makers' (BMW, Audi, VW) Foreign National/International Executive Programmes ?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated !

Glasgow Girl

Others can help with the car programs but if you get an allowance you might also want to look into what insurance will cost. You will be treated as a brand new driver and for the first couple of years it will be very expensive compared to the UK. $2,000 per year is a ball park figure for a plain vanilla SUV but will obviously be driven by vehicle choice and personal circumstances. For some reason I have never been able to figure out it is partly driven by your credit history and you won’t have any in the US which is part of what drives the cost. It will reduce rapidly once you have been here for a year or two. Geico Insurance provides some of the better rates for people arriving from overseas, but that is the $2,000 ball park figure. Others can be a lot higher.

ScottishExpat100

That's great advice, many thanks. I hadn't factored in it being so high.

Pulaski

BMWs and Audi's depreicate like a rock - there are some great deals for 3-year-old premium brands (I drive a BMW myself that had originally been leased for three years), but lease costs factor in that heavy depreciation in the first 2-3 years. You might do better with a VW, but don't ignore other possibilities, including Ford (unless you're looking for a saloon car) and Cadillac models. If you are looking for a saloon car I would be looking at Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, and they are both solid, reliable and good looking cars.

petitefrancaise

Recently saw a VW Tiguan from IAS with $4500 down on a 2 year lease for $450 a month which I thought was not terrible.
You might be able to get a 3 yr lease which should be a bit cheaper.
Mazda is usually cheaper for leasing for new expats.

ScottishExpat100

Thanks, Pulaski !

durham_lad

Depending on where you live will also make a big difference in insurance costs (car and home). When we first moved to Texas we lived in Friendswood which is just south of Houston in Galveston County and the second time we lived in Texas we lived in The Woodlands which is north of Houston in Montgomery County. Insurance prices were way higher in Harris County which covers Houston. (With a population of 4.8m Harris County is the biggest in Texas, and 3rd largest in the USA)

OldEastEnder

I've lived in the States as a British expat since 2005 and have leased cars for about 15 years. Most manufacturers have some sort of expat incentive, not just the German brands. Mazda, Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan etc all have them. As do GM (Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick etc), Chrysler, and Ford among domestic manufacturers. As Pulaski has said, the German brands are very expensive to lease and depreciate like lead balloons. For example, the residual on my Mazda CX-5 is 63% after 3 years. On some BMWs it can be as low as 43% after 3 years - depending on agreed mileage, money factor, and your local marketplace.

It's much more expensive to lease now than just two or three years ago because interest rates have soared and discounts off MSRP have all but gone. Car salesman over here are like vultures. They will sell you a car if it means you being ground to a pulp or carried off in an ambulance. Seriously. It's very hard not to overpay for a car here, even if you think you got a good deal. You almost certainly didn't.

The best knowledge base for car leasing is Leasehackr. (forum.leasehackr.com). I highly recommend you work with one of the brokers in the "Marketplace" section and there are plenty in Texas. They will save you thousands of dollars and find you the exact car and spec you want. They will also have access to the various programs and incentives for expats. Having used brokers many times before I never want to walk into a car showroom ever again. Not even for the free coffee.

Good luck with your career move and let us know how you get on with car leasing.

ScottishExpat100

Thanks for the feedback, OldEastEnder. I'll definitely take a look at Leasehackr. I'm still negotiating/finalising the contract with my employer, but so far they've agreed to contribute USD 1 k a month towards a vehicle, so I'd like to find a lease a (with no down payment), which with insurance and whatever else is required (?) that comes in below this budget.

OldEastEnder

That's a very generous allowance and should get you a nice car, even with no down-payment. Are you coming over permanently or just for a specified term? One more thing to add is that if you turn in a lease early you will be hammered with charges and fees. So make sure your lease term matches (or is no longer than) the time you will be staying in Texas. Good luck!

tht

Is it a personal car or work one / commercial plate? If they are we giving you $ it’s likely taxable so I would confirm that…

what you are describing in terms of including insurance sounds like a Volvo car subscription….

https://www.volvocars.com/us/care-by-volvo/

“One monthly payment includes the maintenance, protection for tires, wheels, and excessive wear. Volvo also takes care of the insurance coverage”

ScottishExpat100

The contract is for 2 years, likely with the possibility to stay longer if the job goes well/ I like it.
I spoke to International Autosource today and they quoted me as per below.

Has you heard of anyone having experience with this company ? I've read some reviews online that they're sales team are tenacious, but thereafter the service is poor.

Also, understand the depreciation on VW's is not as bad as other European cars, does that sound about, right ?

++++++++To finance the vehicles for 72 months based on a ZERO down payment, your monthly investments INCLUDING taxes will be:

Taos S $503

Tiguan S $558



To finance the vehicles for 24 months based on a ZERO down payment and 10K miles annually, your monthly investments INCLUDING taxes will be:

Taos S $624

Tiguan S $656

ScottishExpat100

Thank, tht. It is has been confirmed that the allowance would be net of tax.

In regards to insurance, I wasn't anticipating that being included in the deal from the dealer, but just the cumulative cost for car + insurance coming in below USD 1 k. Understand insurance for a new arrival can be expensive and in the range of USD 2 - k annually.

Will take a look at the Volvo link.

christmasoompa

We've had quotes from IAS, and they've been great - you can search the forum but I don't think I've ever seen anybody have a bad experience with them. We've gone with the VW expat scheme in the end, but IAS were very good and if they'd had the right vehicle we'd have been happy to use them. We don't move until next month so haven't seen the process through with VW yet but so far so good.

tht

is 10k miles PA enough for you? The extra fees can be high if not… people can do many more miles here than the UK, probably because the US is so big and gas (petrol) is so cheap..