Melee

Well, your quote means you'd be making total payments of $25,200 + $4,000 = $29,200 on the $25,387 vehicle (+ registration fees etc.).

Therefore $3,813 in interest which is an interest rate of 8.29% (or 8.13% over the longer period)... Sounds high to me!

bod1984

Edit - Sorry I didnt read your reply correctly.

It does seem a bit high like.

My company have told me to wait until I arrive in the states to organise a car as they can assist in getting me a good loan etc, and they have arranged a rental car for my first month there.

I dont really know what is the best thing to do.

Maruchino

I recently made the move over without securing a car first.

If you decide to wait until you're here, what you'll find is that you won't get a shiny new car until you have your license as they can't get the registration done. It takes at least 2 weeks to get your social security number and then you'll have to pass your test. I am now approaching the end of my third week in the US and have my rental for 1 more week. I am assuming I will need to extend that (so bear that in mind if this is the route you're going down).

I have been to see plenty of dealers and most are giving me numbers that are comparable to Intl Autosource even with my circumstances (no credit history in the US etc).

My take on the matter is that if you're the sort of person who likes everything to be sorted out ahead of time, then go for it. Or if like me you're willing to 'wing it' for a bit, then wait til you get here.

Personally I am going to buy a 2003/2004 150k mile SUV with terrible MPG for about $4k. It will be cheap to fix, but expensive (relatively speaking) on fuel. However my commute is only 3 miles there and back (could probably walk it... nah!). The insurance is also about half the price of a brand new equivalent car. I too am moving for a short period, but if they decide to extend then I will go for the purchase/lease option in 6-12 months which by that time I will have some form of credit history and won't be bent over a barrel with high interest rates.

Hope this helps

lansbury

Go online look up a Ford dealer(s) near the zip code you are moving to. Send their internet sales the spec for the vehicle you want and see what price they quote you.

Bob

Even in a salt filled wonder lust of New England, or anywhere else on the sea?

Find that hard to believe....judging by the number of wheels, axles, CV joints, exhausts and other unidentifiable car parts that little the side of the motorways down here....

Radiators, head gaskets, exhausts, suspension/strut/joints/brakes and master cyclinders get battered pretty badly down here and then there's all the other small crap that creaks and dies like the AC, fuel pump, starter motor and all those belts etc...

None of that gets checked and you're looking at a major head ache and it's much easier to hide that when the state doesn't require an inspection...

Bob

That will entirely depend on your state.

That's not the case with every state. None I've experienced in New England for instance.

Pulaski

Sorry, I should have been regionally specific, and I am sure that areas where winters are harsh and lots of salt is used, or those close to the coast, suffer more wear and tear. That said, I'm not sure why the fuel pump would be on your list of things dieing regularly. .... But I would like to add that we did have the serpentine belt replaced premptively, I think at about 225,000 miles, but the motor has a chain that operates the cam shafts, and that is a lifetime part, so still original.

Zez

We're sorting a lease car through VW directly. It is $1000 cheaper on the down payment and $40 less a month than through international auto source for the same car. I'm sure some of the dealerships tha take expats with no credit history would be able to finance a car to purchase via the same scheme...

Melee

Just to conclude this mini-thread, I have just confirmed my order as follows:

Ford Fiesta 2014
SE Sedan Trim
6-Speed Automatic
+ SE Appearance Package

All for $16,300 (MSRP $18,335) including destination charges. I managed to haggle an extra $165 and $88 off their best 'invoice price' quotes for the vehicle and addon packages respectively too, just by asking.

$3,500 down, then $305 over 48 months.

The implied interest rate in that 6.17% which isn't great, however it's worth noting that their loans are penalty free if they are repaid early. So I'm planning on getting a 0% credit card over here before leaving and using that to make a larger down payment thereby shifting as much of the cost to 0% as possible. The rest will help build my credit history etc..

All in all, yes perhaps a slightly better deal may have been available on arrival if I'd have chanced it, but I can't complain at all that I've sourced a car, significantly under the sticker price from the other side of the Atlantic long before I even book my flights and can now avoid driving around the dealerships on arrival The guy I've been dealing with (Michael) has been very helpful and ridiculously polite!