nominaomi

Hi Guys,

Was wondering if you can help. My OH and I are due to be moving out to Orlando at the end of the month (we have our visa appointment next week) as I have a new role with E2 employee sponsorship.

I've seen lots of people mention VW and BMW having skilled foreign worker policies for financing cars, but was wondering if people knew of any other manufacturers that did them?

Just be good to know what sort of choice we will have in terms of both vehicle prices but also models.

Thanks in advance!

Pulaski

International Autosource is a broker that sells several brands, notably the US domestic brands which contrary to a few doubters opinions, are very much improved in build quality and reliability. The one thing that you need to be aware of is that for IA to sell you a car you need to sign the contract and pay a deposit before you arrive in the US.

FWIW Volkswagen does not have such a great reputation for reliability over here and many of their cars are not sourced from the same factories that make the Volkswagens sold in the UK & Europe.

nominaomi

Hi thanks for your reply. I am looking into IA, have sent them a quote request. The only issue with IA potentially is timing as my new employer want me in the states ASAP, and also the size of deposit they apparently (only based on other forum posts) require as we need 2 cars. However totally not bound to foreign manufacturers, in fact I'd prefer an American car (I want a Jeep really )but just want to know what other manufacturers do schemes for expat finance so it's easier to get a car.

Bob

Audi.

Though with a deposit, it's one of the easy things to get financing for anyway and if your employer wants you over quickly, perhaps negotiate them stumping the deposit.

S Folinsky

VW reliability has improved in the last few years.

Golfs & Jettas are from Puebla. [My JSW has a German sourced engine/transmission. I understand that the 2015 TDI engines are now made in Silao, Guanajuato.]

The US/Canadian Passat are NOT the same as a European Passat. They are manufactured in Tennessee.

nominaomi

Thanks again guys People have said car financing is fairly easy, I just get worried about trying and not getting it and it causing a black mark on my credit file before I've even started building a credit rating. Ideally I'd love a Jeep. But just want to be sensible in terms of future credit prospects!

We have money for deposits but it's just the size of them required if I am trying to sort 2 cars, one for me and one for my husband.

Although he's said he wants a Vespa to begin with!?!?! I worry he'll get squashed on those massive American roads!!!

Hotscot

I originally thought this was a thread about looking for a job....

Bob

He won't have to worry about getting squashed by a car, he'll have to worry about getting lost in a pot hole.

End of the day, it's all going to depend on your budget.

Low to mid range cars and you might as well get new because a few year old's won't save any real money. Get to the higher end cars and you can save quite a lot for a 3-4 year old car, but I suppose it depends on local markets, but around where I am that's the case, save $30K on a 4 year old loaded Audi v maybe $3K on a Ford Explorer kind of thing.

You said you're moving to Florida though and there's no state inspection on the car, so second hand might be more of a risk as you don't know if they're really going to be decent.

Either way, new or old, don't forget sales tax, cost of registration, plates, possibly a annual excise/property tax. Wording and rates all depend on the state, but there's usually a sizeable cost on top of the sticker price of the car to keep in mind for your budget.

nominaomi

Our budget really depends on what we get held to in terms of prepayment for rent, utilities etc. We have approx $15k to get set up as best we can. My husband isn't working initially at least so a car for him isn't urgent I just don't want him to feel isolated without transport which I guess the vespa fixes if necessary (he's a scooter enthusiast). So exciting but so many things to cover off!

Bob

Without credit history, budget anything from $50-600 deposit for each utility and be happy if they dont' ask for one.

Rent, probably looking at first and last months up front with anything from 1-3 months worth of rent as a extra deposit, but all that will depend on the local market.

Insurance on the car, expect about $1K per six months as a ball park for a new car and be happy if it's less.

Awesome Welles

He'd need to be clinically insane to ride a scooter here. I hardly ever ride my motorcycle here anymore - it's just too dangerous. The standard of driving here is quite terrifying if you're on two wheels.

Prepare to be shocked by the price of used cars, compared to UK, though the good news is that they don't rot (no road salt or sea air in O'town) - the paint gets cooked, but they don't rust away to nothing like they do up north.

Pulaski

We only get a little salt on the roads in the worst winter weather, which isn't much. We just passed the 12th anniversary of buying our Accord. It has 285,000 miles on the clock, and counting! .... And it is still on its original exhaust system (excl cat) and clutch, brake discs (rotors), shocks, and starter motor. It has 45,000 miles on its fourth set of tyres, so about half used, give or take.

Bob

Our last car went through 3 or 4 exhausts before 120K miles up north

The cat was the only thing that hadn't rotted surprisingly.

Cars being sold in snowy/cold areas, folks look for cars from warm states as they tend to be better, but then you've got to check the history to see they weren't in weather damaged areas. After Katrina etc, plenty of flood damaged cars ended up here and people bought them because they were from warm states.

Steve_

I remember seeing a Smart Car on the Deerfoot and the licence plate was: "NOTMAD". I beg to differ.

Anyway I wouldn't buy anything made by Chrysler or GM, which is not to say everything they make is crap but I can't see the point in taking a chance on it (because often it is crap). You only have to look at this whole fiasco with the GM recalls recently to see why.

Pulaski

More vehicles recalled since by GM than they've made since 2008, IIRC.