What car should we purchase?
Jun 4th 2005, 12:50 am
#61
Powder Maggot
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Nuevo Mexico
Posts: 4,452
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by Bob
diesel...that's a laugh...diesel is well expensive over here, and really hard to find, it's not like it's sold at every petrol station like in the UK...that's definately something that'll depend on where you live...
Jun 4th 2005, 1:31 am
#62
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by AdobePinon
Geez, Bob, how many times do we have to tell you? You're living in the wrong state!!!!
Jun 4th 2005, 12:41 pm
#63
Gone but not forgotten. RIP
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 1,570
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by Tinyburst
Hi all,
My wife and I will be moving to the US at the beginning of August. Our daughter has sponsored us for our green cards. We have already purchased a home in Phoenix. Our daughter lives in Southern California.
We are not sure what car to buy. At the moment I have 2 on my list (the list changes almost hourly :-)), a Jeep Grand Cherokee or a Honda Accord. The Jeep because we had one as a rental car for our last visit and found it very comfortable and a good drive, but quite thirsty (5.7 litre engine). The Honda because it gets such good reviews.
We will mainly use the car for local runs and once a month or so a trip to see our daughter and grandkids (about 300 miles away or so).
Any and all advise/comments welcome.
Thanks
Tiny
My wife and I will be moving to the US at the beginning of August. Our daughter has sponsored us for our green cards. We have already purchased a home in Phoenix. Our daughter lives in Southern California.
We are not sure what car to buy. At the moment I have 2 on my list (the list changes almost hourly :-)), a Jeep Grand Cherokee or a Honda Accord. The Jeep because we had one as a rental car for our last visit and found it very comfortable and a good drive, but quite thirsty (5.7 litre engine). The Honda because it gets such good reviews.
We will mainly use the car for local runs and once a month or so a trip to see our daughter and grandkids (about 300 miles away or so).
Any and all advise/comments welcome.
Thanks
Tiny
Obviously I am a little Ford-biased but -
Test drive the Ford 500 (for a 5 seat sedan) or the Freestar if you need more seats (7). Both are available in All-Wheel-Drive if you will need it and both have good gas mileage. The Limited version of the 500 is fabulous.
The Jeep is antique technology, I don't even like driving the used ones we get in trade. The Honda is a good, boring, reliable car.
Jun 4th 2005, 3:17 pm
#64
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2004
Location: The Big Apple
Posts: 1,834
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by Tinyburst
Once again thank you. I am now more confused than ever. 
We are almost certainly going for a saloon. Definitely buying, probably cash unless we can get 0% or v. low% finance. The car we buy will be a keeper 10 years or more.
My wife suggested that we have a look in the car rental lot before we collect our hire car, so that we can see if they have a car we have on our ever growing list. I am thinking that we should hire a car for a month. That will give us time to shop around and wait for our SS no. It will also give us a chance to get a AZ drivers licence. Anyone know how difficult it is to obtain a licence?
Thanks
Tiny
We are almost certainly going for a saloon. Definitely buying, probably cash unless we can get 0% or v. low% finance. The car we buy will be a keeper 10 years or more.
My wife suggested that we have a look in the car rental lot before we collect our hire car, so that we can see if they have a car we have on our ever growing list. I am thinking that we should hire a car for a month. That will give us time to shop around and wait for our SS no. It will also give us a chance to get a AZ drivers licence. Anyone know how difficult it is to obtain a licence?
Thanks
Tiny
Jun 4th 2005, 3:20 pm
#65
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2004
Location: The Big Apple
Posts: 1,834
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by fatbrit
Read and inwardly digest here: http://www.azdot.gov/mvd/custsvcguide.asp
Unless you've got a German license, you'll have to take all the test -- it's a doodle! Written part you can pass by reading the manual given at the link above as you're waiting (and wait you will!), while the driving part is usually a parallel park and ten minutes round the block. Failure is not possible unless you manage to wipe out more than 6 children, two buildings and at least one other car in your 10 minutes round the block.
You may have problems with your status as I am certain the MVD drones make most of it up as they go along. The best bet is just to walk and find another office with another drone. As you point out, you'll have less problems if you've already got your SSN -- this should be your first task.
As for the insurance, you're between a rock and a hard place. If a broker tells you they're taking your UK driving record into account, s/he's bs-ing you. The simple fact is that you're going to pay more for your insurance until you've picked up a US deriving and credit history. This will take a minimum of a couple of years, I'm afraid. Shop it about. If you're buying a house, you can often get a discount with both policies at the same company (or add on renter's insurance if you're not). Would shop it through at least a couple of the big boys and a couple of the local brokers -- you may find the cheapest option is with a local company nobody's ever heard of until you're a worthy citizen who fits in their allocated boxes. BTW, you need to do your homework on US auto insurance as it's very different from UK.
Unless you've got a German license, you'll have to take all the test -- it's a doodle! Written part you can pass by reading the manual given at the link above as you're waiting (and wait you will!), while the driving part is usually a parallel park and ten minutes round the block. Failure is not possible unless you manage to wipe out more than 6 children, two buildings and at least one other car in your 10 minutes round the block.
You may have problems with your status as I am certain the MVD drones make most of it up as they go along. The best bet is just to walk and find another office with another drone. As you point out, you'll have less problems if you've already got your SSN -- this should be your first task.
As for the insurance, you're between a rock and a hard place. If a broker tells you they're taking your UK driving record into account, s/he's bs-ing you. The simple fact is that you're going to pay more for your insurance until you've picked up a US deriving and credit history. This will take a minimum of a couple of years, I'm afraid. Shop it about. If you're buying a house, you can often get a discount with both policies at the same company (or add on renter's insurance if you're not). Would shop it through at least a couple of the big boys and a couple of the local brokers -- you may find the cheapest option is with a local company nobody's ever heard of until you're a worthy citizen who fits in their allocated boxes. BTW, you need to do your homework on US auto insurance as it's very different from UK.
On the insuracne - our broker took proof of no claims from UK and our quote dropped from over 1k to 400 bux - might have been BS but it was the best deal we could get!! I was thinking they wouldn't take it but I'm not complaining!
Jun 4th 2005, 3:22 pm
#66
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2004
Location: The Big Apple
Posts: 1,834
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by snowbunny
In Texas they've even dropped the parallel parking requirement.
But isn't parallel parking called something else in England? I can't remember what it is!
But isn't parallel parking called something else in England? I can't remember what it is!
Jun 4th 2005, 3:34 pm
#67
Septicity
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 23,762
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by Big D
Very unlikey you will get any kind of finance for a few years as your UK credit history won't count for anything.
Jun 4th 2005, 3:43 pm
#68
C.G.D.S
Joined: Nov 2003
Location: Ireland--->London--->Spain--->Rockport, MA
Posts: 3,353
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by fatbrit
Put enough deposit down for a secured loan and your US credit/work history is irrelevant.
Jun 4th 2005, 3:57 pm
#69
Septicity
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 23,762
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by sibsie
It took me six months to build up my credit score to 700 which was enough to get a decent deal on car finance.
That'd be about right. You don't actually get a score until 6 months after your first entry at the credit bureaux. It's usually around the 700 mark unless you do something silly like max out your credit card. However, you'll find it's very volatile until you've got a few years under your belt, i.e. if you take out another line it'll nosedive for a while before recovering.
The OP here, I believe, actually has the cash to buy outright. He can use a trick whereby you take a loan merely for the purposes of kick starting your credit score but pay minimal interest. This will also be good for him because he will have an installment loan on his record rather than just revolving loans provided by credit cards. This will give a better profile to his score, a factor taken into account by the FICO algorithm.
Jun 4th 2005, 4:51 pm
#70
Going home at last
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: PA to London UK 2008
Posts: 105
Re: What car should we purchase?
We lease a Jeep Liberty which is a very nice SUV although cannot take corners too fast in it we found this out when we first drove it frightened the salesman to death nearly! We also lease a Town & Country which is nice for the whole family as there is much more room than in the Jeep. The Jeep will also be good in the snow!
Jun 4th 2005, 4:56 pm
#71
Septicity
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 23,762
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by dragonfly
We lease a Jeep Liberty which is a very nice SUV although cannot take corners too fast in it we found this out when we first drove it frightened the salesman to death nearly! We also lease a Town & Country which is nice for the whole family as there is much more room than in the Jeep. The Jeep will also be good in the snow!There's only one SUV that'll power you nicely through a corner: http://www.subaru.com/shop/model_con...model=FORESTER
Not as competent as a Jeep off road, but a great all-round compromise.
Jun 5th 2005, 1:22 am
#72
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 3,338
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by fatbrit
There's only one SUV that'll power you nicely through a corner: http://www.subaru.com/shop/model_con...model=FORESTER
Not as competent as a Jeep off road, but a great all-round compromise.
Not as competent as a Jeep off road, but a great all-round compromise.
Jun 5th 2005, 1:03 pm
#73
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jul 2004
Location: Nw Mi
Posts: 1,081
Re: What car should we purchase?
Just don't buy an Aztec or a Buick. Aztec's are flamin ugly and Buicks driven by "wrinklies" who pull out in front of you. You may want to check out service costs before buying as some simple maintance can be quite costly with some vehicles as can depreciation.
Jun 5th 2005, 1:43 pm
#74
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,448
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by Bob
tell me about it...i've only seen diesel sold in three petrol stations in the state, and one of those had closed down *l*
You don't have trucks (18 wheelers) in Maine? All trucks run on diesel, and so anywhere there are trucks, industry, major highways, and interstates you will find diesel. Many "work trucks" sold to farmers and landowners are also diesel as they tow trailers more effectively, so rural farming communities are also likely to have diesel readily available.
Jun 5th 2005, 2:21 pm
#75
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 68,280
Re: What car should we purchase?
Originally Posted by jackpetj
Honda Odyssey
Honda CRV
Dodge Silverado
Ford Explorer
PJ
Honda CRV
Dodge Silverado
Ford Explorer
PJ