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New immigrants to the US looking for a car

Ime

Diamond Member
I know some new immigrants to the US and they are looking for a car. The contract one of them works under puts them out in a rural area so there is no public transportation.

They want to get a car and are currently debating between used and a new cheap car like a Yaris.

My question is: They are literally fresh off the plane, so they have no credit history in the US. Could they even get a car loan, new or used?
 
they should probably find out how they are gonna get insurance with no driving record.
 
Originally posted by: OS
they should probably find out how they are gonna get insurance with no driving record.

That won't be an issue.

My company has quite a few foreign workers here. They apply for their SSN, get a state driver's license, then get the car and insurance. The last one got a fairly good rate on a brand new car through AAA.

EDIT: Thought I believe all of them lease.
 
Originally posted by: DougK62
Why do they need an expensive car? Save for a bit and buy one for a couple thousand bucks.

As I said in my post, they are considering used as well as new.

My question was more along the lines off, can they even get a loan? If not, then your suggestion will be their only choice.
 
Some used dealers will finance if one can show current employment.

A sizeable percentage may be required for a down payment 20-30%.

Most any town that has a couple of used car lots should be able to have one that will work with the situation.
 
i sold a car to an Officer from the Argentian Army, he was going to be in the US for training for 4-5 months. it was an old beater

maybe they should just buy a beater car with cash
 
I'm pretty sure they can get a loan/financing BUT the interest would probably be up the wazoo. A co-signer with a history of good credit might help.
 
it seems like knowing someone fresh off the boat = knowing someone that was black a few years ago.

It would be hard for a non-resident with only a few moments of employment history to get a new car loan.

 
Originally posted by: Ime
I know some new immigrants to the US and they are looking for a car. The contract one of them works under puts them out in a rural area so there is no public transportation.

They want to get a car and are currently debating between used and a new cheap car like a Yaris.

My question is: They are literally fresh off the plane, so they have no credit history in the US. Could they even get a car loan, new or used?

I was in the same boat back in Jan of 2002. I had to have a cosigner and I also got raped up the a$$ with 29% interest. I knew this was bad but 6 months later I refinanced at 5.2%.
The good thing with that was that I now had a loan paid off showing on my credit history. Not long after I got my first CC. Later I got the car paid off too.

In June of this year I moved onto my first house and financed $203k. Credit score is 760.

It takes time and count on being raped for the first few months but it IS worth it in the long run.
 
They should just get a beater for about 1k if they aren't staying too long. Some of my friends that were here for 6 months on a J-1 did that, and they then sold the car for 1200 and made a profit.
 
I'm sure there are many car dealers and loan(sharks) who cater to immigrants. Your friends have the advantages of being legal and gainfully-employed.
 
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