Jericho79

How does the credit check process work? I see it says you don't require a "local" credit histiry, but does that mean you have to provide /they obtain a credit history from your current country?
Thanks

Tom1981

In my case they wanted three references from my US employer, plus details of salary (signed offer letter etc). I don't know if they actually called them up or not - would suspect not! But I don't think a traditional credit check was performed, either in the UK or the US...

Jericho79

Thanks

Jaag

I got a quote through IAS, although I was keen on test driving the vehicle first and wanted to check insurance so decided against it, which I'm glad about personally.

I found most if not all dealerships offered manufacturer backed programs to finance new & used vehicles based on Tier 1 credit (i.e. most favorable rates) for people arriving on visas, they just required an employment letter showing a salary (i.e. > $75k). This is quite often enough to get 0% financing.

Also to consider is rebates is a massive thing, especially on domestic vehicles, and they're always offering deals on clear-out models so if you can be flexible there's some really decent deals to get in person, and also the dealerships have a lot more stock 'ready to go' than in UK, so you can 'sign & drive'.

I'm not 100% sure on legals, but the dealers all said you will need a US license. Not sure how IAS get around this, so maybe there's ways around it for leasing.

You'll want to make sure the lease/finance is tied to your SSN so it builds your credit rating I would think, does IAS allow you to add this information after?

Pulaski

Yes, in fact you are required to.

Clahal

We arrived 9 days ago so don't have our SSNs yet.
We tried to lease a Toyota but they wouldn't do it without a SSN.
We're paying through the nose for a rental car!
Any advice on which dealerships might be able to help us?
Thanks 😀

Pulaski

Ford, GM, or Chrysler-Dodge are the big three domestic manufacturers, and I would recommend them in quality in that order (Ford = best). From what I hear, the desperation of dealers to sell cars is in the reverse order, with Chrysler-Dodge and Chevrolet "highly motivated" to sell cars. I read recently of a wag who reported that Chrysler-Dodge would finance a sale to a stray dog so long as it didn't pee on the showroom floor!

Joking aside, Volkswagen is often reported on BE to be desperate to sell cars willing to finance vehicles for new immigrants.

Clahal

Ok thanks for the info. I'll try Ford and VW then I think 😀

Bill Dowder

i don't know about everyone else here but we had no us credit when we moved and it posed us several problems at every dealer we went to and our uk credit or salary didnt matter at all to anyone. the dealers treated us like ghosts. international autosource is by far the best source for an expat to get their car. after moving to the US I have quickly realized that what these other car companies advertise is total rubbish. international autosource also guaranteed that I will pay the lowest for the car that I ordered so in case I did get a real offer for less they will beat it for me. guess what? i tried hard to get something lower and not any dealer would give me a real offer that was lower! it's really an easy decision in hindsight and I encourage more people to use international autosource before you realize how much rubbish everything else is here and what an opportunity you missed out on. i should also add that their insurance program saved me some extra money. insurance is mandatory here and you will need it

Clahal

Bit of an update for anyone following this thread...

We went to Ford (having also been to Toyota previously) and they can't do anything without a SS#. Even buying a new/used car outright isn't an option because without a SS# and in fact ID card, you can't register the car in your name and therefore cannot get insurance.

I spoke with International Autosource today and they offer a great service, even reimbursing your car rental costs whilst you're waiting for your new car to be ready for delivery.
However, it proved too expensive for us. We need a 7 seater so he was looking at a new Ford Explorer and it is $340 a month with a $7500 down payment (plus another $1300 in sales tax).
Maybe this is a fairly standard amount but it seems crazy to me that over the 3 year leasing period, we'd be paying out around $20k but never owning the car! It's only worth around $32k to begin with.

I think we're just going to have to wait for our SS#, get an ID card and buy a used car outright from a dealer for around $10k.

This is by far the most stressful and difficult aspect of our move this far!

Pulaski

Not really. The $20k includes imputed interest on a $32k loan, dealer profit on the "sale", sales tax, and then the loss in value of the vehicle, which is likely to be approaching half the cost of the new vehicle over three years, so I think $20k for three years use of a new vehicle isn't a bad deal, and as leases are quite popular, I guess quite a lot of people agree with me.
A used seven seater for $10k is going to be a bit tatty.

Clahal

I see where you're coming from but from my point of view, spending $20k on a $32k car and then having to give it back after 3 years doesn't make sense.

Not sure if this link will work but there are some ok looking cars on Autotrader...not too tatty!

http://m.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=400013149&featureCo des=1306&zip=07083&endYear=2016&vehicleStyleCodes= SUVCROSS%2CVANMV&pageLayout=list&sortBy=distanceAS C&startYear=2008&maxMileage=75000&searchRadius=25& maxPrice=12000

Pulaski

There isn't much room for passengers 6 & 7 in a vehicle like that.

Clahal

They're only aged 3 and 5 so I reckon it'd be ok for a few years.
There are others (slightly more cost wise):

http://m.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=407880009&featureCo des=1306&zip=07083&endYear=2016&vehicleStyleCodes= SUVCROSS%2CVANMV&pageLayout=list&sortBy=distanceAS C&startYear=2008&maxMileage=75000&searchRadius=25& maxPrice=12000

ocaiden

First post here, but I've been lurking for a while. Lots of very useful information on this site!

I move to LA on Monday and have also sorted a car with Intl Auto. I've also got a rental for a couple of weeks until we can pick it up, but I haven't seen anything saying they will reimburse the rental costs? Do you have to ask them? Thanks for any help!