Mclapperton

Hi guys , new around these parts ..... My company wants me to consider a role in the USA which would involve me and my wife and daughter ( 13 ) moving to Boston area . Client site is in Waltham outside Boston.

So I'm going to have a lot of questions coming up .

I'm excited and terrified in equal measure .

I have a car in the Uk , it's a new car on one of these lease to buy schemes in Uk.
So I get a new car out the showroom , but signed up to pay 250 per month for 5 years. Then I either hand it back or pay the difference and I own it.
Bad news is ...... I'm only 1 year in .

So if I move I would have to leave the car and probably have to keep paying for it .
Is it worth considering shipping it over and using it in the USA ?
I wouldn't plan to use it much , just office and local town shopping .
Or is the opposite side of road ( RH drive of my car ) to dangerous or confusing ?

Am I mad to even think about this ...... Otherwise I'm paying for a car I won't use and will have to buy a new one over there to get around .

2) how long can I use my UK driving license in Boston / MA state ? I've googled and can see indicators I may be able to use it for a year before having to sit a test ?

Any comments would be really helpful , like I said .... Expect to see me around with more questions 😊

Guindalf

A RHD car in the US is very rare and mostly pointless. It would be confusing, especially for a Brit, to drive it here.

Can you not contact the leasing company and see if you can hand it back (with or preferably without some kind of penalty)? That may be cheaper that paying for it and not using it. You may even find that as it belongs to the leasing company, they will not let you export it anyway!

There are others who can answer specifically about Massachusetts, but I think it's 30 days before you need to get a US license.

Pulaski

I doubt you will be allowed to remove a leased vehicle permanently from the UK - how would they repossess it if you defaulted on the loan?

If your employer wants you to move you should negotiate with your employer to pay the surrender penalty to terminate the lease - the cost should be small compared to the other costs of moving you and your family.

Owning a RHD car in the US is going to cause all sorts of problems, including getting some spares, and that the (dipped) head lights are pointing the wrong way. When you want to get rid of it you will find it to be unsaleable/ untradeable for anything but scrap value.

In summary, yes, bringing anything other than a RHD car with historic, collectible, or sentimental value would be an act of madness.

neill

My first thoughts would be insurance. How much would it cost a non-national with no insurance or credit record in the US to drive an imported car that may not conform to US standards? Get someone at your new employer to recommend some insurance companies and get some quotes.

ottotheboar

Unless it is 25 years old the only option is a one year temporary import.
It then has to stay out of the USA for 6 months so you can not just drive to Canada and come back to get another year.
Regarding RHD some think it is "cool" in Mini and Land Rover circles personally I think it is a pain in the neck.
As mentioned without the V5 in your name I doubt anyone will ship it and Customs over here may be suspicious.

Peter124

RHD in the USA is a major pain when you are trying to enter or leave a parking garage. Or get fast food at a drive through. Or .... many other examples.

AlphaTangoMike

Welcome to the forum. Car question aside, what visa will the company be applying for? I noticed that you mention the 'client site' and not 'the US office'? (Just interested).

MarylandNed

How can you move a car that you don't own? RHD would be a pain for other reasons. You might also have issues with maintenance and parts. How does the cost of shipping the car compare to the financial penalty to get out of the lease? But again, how can you move a car that you don't own anyway?!!!!

I would try to dump the lease. Have you heard of this company?

How to get out af a car lease early?

Mclapperton

Thanks for the replies team ! Many thanks as i appreciate your feedback .

To answer the question above ...

Not sure yet about visa , my company seems to prefer the H1-B but I think that would cause problems for my wife's ability to work. I need to talk on this further and convince them to get me an L1 so my wife can get a job.

The company I work for is a large global IT / solutions company . The role I am thinking about taking is a programme role based at the client site. So we deliver networks , data centres , platform type services into blue chip companies .
So our client wants some one on site to beat up on .

My wife is a nurse by trade so we need to think about getting her some sponsorship as well , and an exam to convert her skills .
My daughter is 13 so would need to go into high school .

The client site is based just outside Boston , in a place called Waltham. Looks nice enough in pictures and as we are in our 40's we ain't looking for rock and roll lifestyle.

Mclapperton

This is the type of car arrangement I have , it seemed like a good idea at the time . Lower payments , brand new car and we can walk away at the end of the deal .


Personal Contract Purchase (PCP)

Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) is similar to a Hire Purchase agreement as you will usually pay an initial deposit, followed by monthly instalments.

What's different with PCP, is that your monthly instalments are only paying off the depreciation of the car, rather than the entire value of the car.

How does PCP actually work?

At the start of your PCP contract, a Guaranteed Future Value (GFV) of the car is estimated. This is the car's expected value when your contract ends.

For you, this simply means that the money you're actually borrowing and repaying is the difference between what the car is worth now, and what it will be worth at the end of your contract (the depreciation). You'll pay this difference off in monthly instalments.

This means lower monthly payments for you, but you will need to pay a final payment at the end (the Guaranteed Future Value) if you want to buy the car.

fozzyb

I'd be amazed if a company wanted to use a H1B over L1 (the timescale and unpredictability of getting a H1B is horrible). Have you worked for the company for less than a year? Plus you have missed the window for H1B this year - so if they go that route you wont be starting until Oct 2016 at the earliest.

As Pukaski above says - persuade your employer to pay off the lease on the car.
If they are the ones requesting the move they probably won't take too much persuading. When I moved to the US (on an L1) my employer even gave me a checklist of things I could claim for, such as costs of terminating mobile phone contract or golf club membership.

Unfortunately I had a PAYG phone and never played golf so neither were applicable.

Mclapperton

Hey great feedback !
I have mobile phone contracts as well and just thought I would have to swallow the cost of them . Hadn't considered getting my employer to carry the cost for that .

I've worked for the company for 15 years in a number of roles so been around for a while .

That's more good news about the h1-b visa , how it's at certain points and L1 is more open .
The role is an exec role anyhow so certainly fits within the description of the L 1 classification.

I will ask the HR guys about a check list , there has been mention of a lump sum to cover relocation costs of about 10k ish .

fozzyb

Other thing is make sure you get a clause about greencard sponsorship in a reasonable timeframe written into your contract.

You want to be able to get on with your life without the worry of your employer changing their mind hanging over you.

IlAlfie

Our company paid off our lease car in the UK too. You should be able to persuade them to pay it off...

kodokan

Especially with a teenager of that age. We came over on L1-As, but got GCs as per our agreement a year or so later.

Hubby lost his job some months back; our son at the time was 14, almost 15, and I really wouldn't have wanted to move him back to the UK involuntarily at this point in his education.