Zez

Just had a quote from international autosource...

$289 a month for vw jetta (we don't care what we have, just asked for the cheapest). $1900 up front, 15k miles a year. Obviously sales tax and registration on top. Est insurance about $100 to $150 a month.

Does that sound reasonable?

Thanks

Guindalf

Impossible to answer!

Without knowing your credit rating and about 50 other details including details about the car itself, it's like plucking a figure out of the air.

They're advertising the Jetta for $169/Mo for "well-qualified buyers", so on the face of it, no, it doesn't look like a good deal, but if other factors are included, it may be.

Insurance is whole 'nother can-o-worms. Rates on a lease vehicle are always higher than a purchase, and you must keep comprehensive cover on it. However, it can vary widely from one company to another for anyone, so whatever your status, it's worth checking around. It will be linked to credit score, too.

ETA: The state you're in and where you live (rural/suburban/urban) will also affect everything.

notonuksoil

If you are an expat who is organising this from overseas prior to your relocation to the US with no credit score and no credit history I'd say thats about the right price.

Sign the lease for the minimum amount of time usually 2 yrs and as long as you pay monthly payments ontime and build up a good credit score you will have no trouble going to a dealership after the 2 yrs and getting a much better deal.

Mummy in the foothills

I'd be more worried about the miles and how much they will charge per mile over. I'm a stay at home mom and do 15,000 a year plus. Thats shopping, gym, school run, trips for long weekends to Tahoe or San Francisco, airport runs for visitors etc etc.
Dh does 100 miles a day just to commute to work and back, rarely uses his car unless he's working.

cheers

I don't think it is a good deal.
The Golf is rated as a better car than the Jetta.
With that monthly lease you shouldn't have to put any money up front.
I suggest you go on line and look at Honda instead and see what the monthly lease is with no money down.
Remember you are in the drivers seat when you are talking to the dealers because they need to move cars.

Zez

Sorry should have clarified... We would be just arriving so zero credit history which I presume makes a big difference! Only planning to be in the us for 2 years so leasing seems more sensible than hp. In San Fran?

It would be my stay at home mum car. I currently do 15k a year with a 40 mile a day commute so wouldn't expect to do more than that.

HarryTheSpider

You asked for the cheapest from Intl Auto - VW would do you the same - in fact you'll end up paying VW Credit direct for this - we had a Tiguan from VW, arranged through Int'l Auto.

You're coming in with no credit score or history, so you'll be paying a premium. The Golf may or not be a 'better car' - only you can decide that BUT, the Golf is quite expensive to lease/buy compared to a Jetta anyway.

You may hear people tell you here about how incredibly expensive leasing is over buying.

But your issue is not, I suspect, one of total cost of ownership, but simply having a reliable car whilst over here, and you not presumably having the option of buying with a loan - you'd have to put 20% down as a deposit AND your monthly repayments would be around double or more of your monthly lease payments because the loan will only be for 2 years - nobody will give you a loan - or a lease - that goes beyond the exit date on your visa - we went through the same thing nearly 3 years ago when we came over.

We had very good service from Int'l Auto AND VW Credit, and by the way, VW Credit will report your lease as a loan so it goes towards building your credit history - that's what happened with us anyway...

We're just off to renew our lease now we have our Green Cards - it'll be a Jetta!

Good luck!

Cheers

Harry

NatashaB

We used International Autosource and they were pretty good, but you do pay a premium on top of standard dealer lease prices. If you want a Jetta, VW do an international leasing program of their own, so I would suggest looking into that.

AmerLisa

That's what I was thinking! That mileage sounds pretty low.

NatashaB

Our VW lease allows 1000 miles for month - so you would get charged (I think it's 10 cents per mile) for anything over that when you turned the car in.

cheers

Check that because my last three leases have been 15 cents per mile I think.

I think my last 5 cars have been leases because they made financial sense.
Low or no down payment, low monthly auto expense for payments, no repair bills.

If you get a new lease after the old one has ended they usually don't charge for being over the allowed miles. I think you said this wouldn't apply in your case because you are going back to the land of cheap used cars.

Zez

Harry the spider that was exactly our thinking! Natasha b, have today contacted vw direct to see if we can even do it directly and if so if it would be cheaper. Thanks all x

ottotheboar

I think you will be lucky to find a lease which gives you much over 15,000 miles per annnum.
The aim is for you to turn a low mileage vehicle after 3 years to be sold on as a low mileage used car.

Guindalf

You can add miles as an up-front cost and it's cheaper than paying the excess at the end. If you feel you'll be doing, say, 20k a year, then it can be added into your payments at a cheaper rate.

Now we know more about your circumstances, a better response can be given than originally. Leasing makes more sense than the cost of renting for two years! Just be sure to watch out for dings and dents - they WILL charge you through the wazoo for those, so it may well pay you to get them fixed before returning the car.

TimNiceBut

I wouldn't be surprised if the $169/month deal is for 10k miles a year or less for someone with a credit score > 800.

That said, I'd still shop around some more, plus VW in general doesn't exactly have the best reputation for quality over here (look at the JD Power survey for used cars, they're pretty close to the bottom).

I personally would just try to buy a half-decent used car for cash and build up the credit history a little before venturing into the realm of leases and other forms of credit, but that's just me. Leases can be very hard to get out of if, say, your job situation isn't quite a 100%.

Another thing about leases is that the real deals are the manufacturer sponsored ones (IIRC the $169/month deal is one of those), the third-party ones often aren't that great and are close to what you can finance a car for that you actually own at the end of the term.

Just some food for thought.