[21Archer84]

Originally Posted by vj123

In his case, buying might be a better option as he will easily overshoot 15k miles per year (max mileage option in a lease).

Thanks vj123. I'll discuss the same with my friend and see how things progess.

Originally Posted by vj123

Different brands have different requirements. I was planning to buy a Mustang when i graduated and Ford approved me for a lease (with limited credit history) and not a loan. Some local credit unions will offer auto loans for people with no or limited credit history.

Happy to hear that both Lease and Auto Loans are possible for people with no credit history.

Originally Posted by vj123

Dealers can manipulate customers very easily with any lease. Most dealers would not share money factor and residual of a lease and this makes it really difficult to understand the deal. They would try to convince the customer with monthly payments which is a terrible way of buying any vehicle.

Dealers are Dealers right, be it India or US, they'd obviously be looking to increase their profits, especially with new car buyers.

Originally Posted by vj123

Most Ford offices do not have parking structure or covered parking for employees. I think there is an option of parking closer to few buildings if the person who owns a Ford vehicle. If one puts in some effort and time, you can get better deal than the ones offered to Ford employees.

Thank you. Will know the situation today once he's back from his first day at work.

Originally Posted by vj123

I have not heard huge difference in auto insurance quote between owned and leased vehicle. Auto insurance payments would be in addition to lease payments and can be substantial for few models. I know people who have decided their vehicle models mainly based on auto insurance quotes.

Not sure about the difference, but I too have read ( a Consumer Reports Article, if I'm not wrong) that the insurance prices also depend on the Brand and Model.

Originally Posted by mobike008

You're welcome Archer. Since I'm in the region perhaps my suggestions will make more sense.

I agree and also since your car purchase happened not too long ago. Things would relatively be fresh in mind.

Originally Posted by mobike008

If my wife had cut me loose, I would have brought home a hellcat...Sigh!

I remember this from your CX-9 thread.
OT: I did get a chance to test drive a mule ( not sure if it was a hellcat or R/T), a manual Challenger during my stint at FCA. Can't express the joy i felt inside during the couple of laps at the Proving Ground . Surprisingly, the challenger has decent room for a small adult in the Rear (I'm 5'8")

Originally Posted by mobike008

Indeed a small world. Now don't add to coincidence and tell me he plans to live in Muirwood??? You can ask him to get in touch with me and happy to help with any other info for a fellow Hydeez.

He's yet to look for a home. You're already helping. However, Will get in touch if ever he needs any additional help.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Where are you based out of?

Currently in Japan with the hope to relocate to the States.
BTW, I'm happily married and have a 3.5yrs young kid.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Leasing is always the best (IMHO) as cars are highly depreciating assets and you end up losing a lot so lease lets you enjoy a high end brand new car in it's peak period (3 years) at a nominal cost.

And leasing helps with having fun with different cars every 3years and keeping up with the changing technology.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Buying is for people who want to retain the car for 7-10 years. If you look at my car buying history, I have never kept a car beyond 3-4 years.

Another Simple analogy of Lease vs Buy .
Lets take an example of BMW X3 ($52,000).
.
.
.

I hope this gives you the drift of overall costing between both these options. I would recommend him to get the lease as he can still buy the car at the end of the lease period but, he needs to be careful of what "residual value" the dealership puts in the agreement. Thumb-rule is "Lower the better".

Again a simple budgeting rule for newbies in US (again these numbers will vary depending on their income potential).

Lease : $30,000-$50,000 is affordable.
Buy : I personally not recommend a car >$30,000.

I also found this helpful article, almost similar to the points you mentioned.
https://jalopnik.com/how-much-should...ome-1839886863

Originally Posted by mobike008

I doubt if he is contract worker he will get the benefits. This option is only for FTE's. But, let me double check with a friend who is an FTE at GM and will let you know as he got a Traverse recently.

I wonder how much of a difference it would be, if he doesn't get the same benefits as FTEs.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Agree. I did not want to mention but, Lincoln's are also bought mostly by white Caucasians (Have an Indian friend and an Indian client - Both are exceptions...LOL) and as you rightly mentioned older people.


Buying for a newbie in US will be really expensive especially since he has set his heart on a Lincoln.

With buy option, IMO, it will be tough to go beyond the Accord, Camry, Fusion levels.

Any specific reason for White Caucasians to be fond of Lincolns?

You're right about the purchase, Most Indians that I know don't look outside the Japs, for multiple reasons ofcourse, ease of maintenance and lower purchase price being the major ones.

Originally Posted by aah78

If your buddy is leasing, then get a new car. If he's buying (financing), get a used car - will be a better deal.

If he's going to use it primarily for a 5-day work commute & local trips to grocery stores, etc. then a 15000mile lease will be more than sufficient.
If he's planning on multiple long distance road-trips, then you can get high mile leases (18-20k miles), which will be priced higher.
If he does a few 1000 miles over his lease mileage, it's not a big deal.


Considering he's a new driver, his insurance will be on the higher side. Play insurance companies against each other to get a better (lower) rate.

Thank You so much for your inputs. I somehow feel, he might end up getting a used Japanese car, to survive the initial days.

I think it's fair to cross-negotiate the Insurance price and I believe it's common for people to do it with Internet connectivity, Mobile, providers too.

[nikhilarni]

Originally Posted by aah78

Actually, going in for a courtesy / loaner vehicle is not a bad idea.
Dealerships don't usually keep these cars long term as they are basically used to lure owners toward newer models.
So in most cases, you do end up getting a newer & pretty well equipped car at a lower price.

Hi Sir,

Thanks for the tips and info. I am thrilled to announce that I got a CPO GLC. This forum and super helpful members like you gave me the confidence to go ahead with the buy.

It was a 2017 GLC which had done barely 8500 Miles and was surprisingly fully loaded with the HUD, heated and ventilated seats, distronic and all.

The minute I Test drove it, my wife and I knew this was the one.

Attached this one pic of the car after getting it home. I just drives so smooth.

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by 21Archer84

Someone working at Ford, can help me with this query.
Any advantages of getting a Ford product, say, covered parking at Work or better discounts during the purchase/lease? (I know FCA would let Employees use Covered Parking if you owned one from their stable)

Depends, Ford at Dearborn is a huge campus. There is no preferential parking in most of the executive offices. right now, if you have any electric car, you can charge it for free at Ford. There is a dude with a Tesla who charges at the Ford Powertrain engineering where I work.

But if you are in the factories at Livonia, Flatrock or Rouge. you get to park closer to the entrance if in a ford.

Originally Posted by vj123

Most Ford offices do not have parking structure or covered parking for employees. I think there is an option of parking closer to few buildings if the person who owns a Ford vehicle. If one puts in some effort and time, you can get better deal than the ones offered to Ford employees.

Not true. There are 2 huge covered parking structures in the product development complex with almost 150 level 2 chargers which are free to the public.

The Ford employee discounts are per the A plan and X plan. The A plan and X plan prices are non negotiable. Sometimes the dealers give better discounts.
https://www.knoxford.com/ford-a-plan...ee-pricing.htm

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Normally insurance is included in the lease arrangement and thus the lease price. But you do need to check the details, own risk etc.

One practical problem is that lease companies very often do not want to give a year of no claims certificate. That is very relevant if you at some point in time want to take out car insurance yourself.

Jeroen

Not in Michigan and rest of USA. You need to get your own insurance, which is pretty expensive

[AccordSport]

Originally Posted by nikhilarni

It was a 2017 GLC which had done barely 8500 Miles and was surprisingly fully loaded with the HUD, heated and ventilated seats, distronic and all.

Do you mind sharing the OTD price?

[nikhilarni]

Originally Posted by AccordSport

Do you mind sharing the OTD price?

While negotiating, I rounded the OTD to 39500 and then the Additional warranty was 2750

Trust that is helpful.

This car has the Premium Package 3.

[jalajprakash]

Originally Posted by 21Archer84

This is on behalf of a friend who just moved to the states, that I would like to know too. I tried to go through the previous pages, but there are too many to cover all the questions at one place.

I was in a similar predicament a few years ago and here are my words of advice.

The Lincoln MKC shares the platform with the Ford Escape and all the features he is looking for can be found in the Ford Escape other than the looks and few interior materials. So if he doesn't mind the Ford badge instead of Lincoln, the latter would be a better buy. AWD is not absolutely necessary in the snow either, as I personally drove through a couple polar vortexes with a FWD Ford Fusion with All-Season Michelins and never faced any issues. It's just about being smooth with your inputs in the snow. If cost is no issue, then I guess AWD and a separate set of winter tires would be the best bet.

Would recommend that you look at insurance prices before looking at car prices. For a Ford Fusion SE (around $22,000 MSRP) I was given a quote of $6,000 per year for insurance as a driver with no US History and young male who is not married. I was able to finalize the insurance at little under $3,000 per year with Progressive I believe. But essentially it was a cost almost equal or maybe even more than the lease payment itself. Your friend being married will get a lower rate but other than that for a more expensive vehicle it will scale up accordingly and be quite expensive. I was able to stack on discounts such as pre-paying for the whole year (15% discount) and getting the GPS device which monitors acceleration and braking behaviour (30% discount if you drive like a Grandma which I did for 6 months ) while simultaneously re-shopping every 6 months (taking refund for the pre-payment).

I prepaid my complete lease to avoid interest but would recommend against it as I know better now. In case the car gets totalled, the lease company gets the insurance money minus your lease downpayment and you get nothing so whatever advance you put down, you lose completely in case of a crash and it becomes a nice bonus for the leasing company. Instead, try to figure out your deal without any money down. Here's a video I recently watched regarding how to get a good lease deal.

https://youtu.be/4k9XfEjbi1k

I would personally recommend just purchasing a used or leasing a new Subaru with heated interiors and AWD. I heard Subarus usually have lower insurance prices too due to the AWD leading to fewer crashes in the winters overall compared to cars who also have 2WD versions. I only purchased the Ford because my friend got me a Friends and Family discount from Ford and I wasn't able to shop around at other brands as I needed a car quickly to start my Summer Internship in Ohio.

I used to live in East Lansing, Michigan so I hope my experience is relevant. Did visit family and friends a couple times in Farmington Hills.

[21Archer84]

Originally Posted by jalajprakash

I was in a similar predicament a few years ago and here are my words of advice.

Thank you for sharing your experience and opinions. Based on the suggestions from BHPians, looks like getting a car isn't a piece of cake in US. Lots of negotiation is to be done with Dealers and Insurance and financing in case of a purchase to get a better deal.

[VIPER_SRT]

Hello Bhpians,
Wanted to share my new ride, an 2019 F90 M5 Competition. I'm coming off a 2018 Porsche Panamera 4, was a good car but slow for my taste. This is my first M car and couldn't be happier. Did the 1200 mile break in service in 2 weeks. It's louder now and as per sales person, it's unshackled I'm very happy with the car for its usability; groceries, kids pickup/drop-off. It's like a sleeper car and doesn't get much attention on the road, which was exactly what I wanted. Not thinking of any mods because BMW has become very strict, can trace back any chip mods; not that it needs any! Plenty of power at disposal. I just changed to winter tires and it's lot better on grip in Northeast compared to Summer tires it came with!

[mohit]

Hi Toronto area members: A small meetup is happening this Sunday morning (2nd Feb) at Mississauga. Message me if you are not part of the WhatsApp group that was created and would like to join.

[MunnabhaiMBBS]

Need advice:

- Bought a Hyundai Venue in 1st week of May 2020 in Toronto, Canada.
- My wife works in the healthcare sector.
- Hyundai Canada introduced at-cost pricing for Healthcare sector employees on 21st May 2020

- I missed it only by 15 days

Still, want to give a shot,

- Emailed dealership : They flatly refused saying that the scheme came afterwards and vehicle is in my name.
- Hyundai customer care : Again a denial saying the same reasons.

Generally, this part of the world is very lenient while offering discounts to customers. I am hoping that they will consider my request.

Any tips?

[GutsyGibbon]

With my new carpentry hobby, I have been going out to buy hardwood and plywood too many times. I have scuffed up the interior of my Tesla and Mazda already. Also, after my dogs run around the dog park or dog beach they mess-up our cars, and I am getting to be too lazy to clean our cars. I decided it is time for a beater truck. I picked up this Ford Ranger last week.


I like it, and our dogs love it.

[hema4saran]

Originally Posted by MunnabhaiMBBS

- Emailed dealership : They flatly refused saying that the scheme came afterwards and vehicle is in my name.
- Hyundai customer care : Again a denial saying the same reasons.

You are not gonna get any of these benefits. Primary reason being the car was in your name and not your wife's name. They would have considered atleast if the car is on your wife's name.

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

I decided it is time for a beater truck. I picked up this Ford Ranger last week.

Congratulations on the purchase. You got a no non-sense pickup there. Basic, run of a mill vehicle. Hope this will serve well for your hobby.

[MunnabhaiMBBS]

Originally Posted by hema4saran

You are not gonna get any of these benefits. Primary reason being the car was in your name and not your wife's name. They would have considered atleast if the car is on your wife's name.

I understand your rationale buddy. Had it been a regular monthly scheme, I wouldn't have even bothered to build a merit to my case.

- Front-line workers are stress-fully working round the clock and risking their lives for the community. Hats off to them!!!
- I understand that manufacturers are launching various schemes to recognise and appreciate their efforts.
- It is very unfair to compare and apply the terms and conditions of regular discount schemes to Front-line workers schemes.
- The terms and conditions should be less stringent if one really wants to appreciate someone's efforts
- It is not that my distant relative is a front-line worker. Its is not just the front-line workers who are in stress, all his/her family members also undergo through the equal amount of stress.

I want manufacturer to at least review my case. They can make an exception I feel.

Thanks in advance for all the tips.

[mohit]

Originally Posted by MunnabhaiMBBS

I understand your rationale buddy. Had it been a regular monthly scheme, I wouldn't have even bothered to build a merit to my case.

First of all, good to see another member from Toronto. Unfortunately, once the deal is signed, there is nothing they will do. The deal they have will have a small print about start date and they can always hide behind it. Do not expect any consideration from them.

[MunnabhaiMBBS]

Originally Posted by mohit

First of all, good to see another member from Toronto. Unfortunately, once the deal is signed, there is nothing they will do. The deal they have will have a small print about start date and they can always hide behind it. Do not expect any consideration from them.

Hey Mohit, Hi to another Tbhp member from Toronto.

I want to share that the manufacturer has honoured my request and I have been reimbursed by the dealer in the form of certified cheque. So, not a single scratch to the contract. Persistence pays off!