[aah78]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Thats interesting , insurance rates with an Indian License will be lower? I always thought it was the other way around. My friends say without US driving history it will be > $200 per month(for about a $50k car) and combined with my exorbitant parking charges here buying a car is a pricey affair.

Sorry, if I wasn't clear. Rates with an Indian license will be higher.
Insurance rates will vary based on the carrier, your limit selections, etc. but your friends seem to be within the ballpark.

Lol, yes, unfortunately parking is expensive in NYC. What borough are you in?

There are ways to get around it - e.g. buying a cheap car and park it on the streets if you can.

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by aah78

Sorry, if I wasn't clear. Rates with an Indian license will be higher.
Insurance rates will vary based on the carrier, your limit selections, etc. but your friends seem to be within the ballpark.

Lol, yes, unfortunately parking is expensive in NYC. What borough are you in?

There are ways to get around it - e.g. buying a cheap car and park it on the streets if you can.

Yes thats what I thought. I used to live in Mid-town Manhattan near Times Square, parking was like $800-900 per month so a car was out of the question. Street parking was impossible to find and its limited to certain times of the day/week. A few weeks back I moved to Jersey City, NJ where its a more "affordable" $275.

[Jeroen]

Not only will insurance on a foreign DL be more expensive, you might have difficulty finding one and they might make it a requirement you get a USDL within a certain period.

Our insurance company gave us 2 or 3 month to get our US DL. No big deal. At least in Kansas at the time it was very easy.

A bit more challenging than getting my DL in India. In Delhi I had to drive all the way to a traffic light about 200 meters down the road, turn and drive back without hitting anything. The US examiner had me drive all around the block! At least twice the distance!

Jeroen

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by vj123

3 car seats or adults in the rear of GTI/R can be challenging especially with the high transmission tunnel.
.
.
Also there was an update last week that 2024 would be the last year for manual GTI/R in the US.

3 seats are mainly for my kids only. 3 adults in the rear seat scenario is too rare for me to give it any weightage.
And since I would like to lease, my options are even less. Golf R, GTI (maybe), Toyota GRC, Elantra N, Civic Si or a Mini. That's it. And since most of these will not be on a dealer lot, specially in a manual transmission trim where it is optional, it is going to be an interesting hunt.

[vj123]

Originally Posted by amitoj

And since I would like to lease, my options are even less. Golf R, GTI (maybe), Toyota GRC, Elantra N, Civic Si or a Mini. That's it. And since most of these will not be on a dealer lot, specially in a manual transmission trim where it is optional, it is going to be an interesting hunt.

At least with GTI/R, you shouldn't have any issues in finding a manual. These vehicles dont have a huge option list and dealers typically have a good mix of the inventory between manual & auto due to the customer base. Also i bought both GTIs from a dealer in the DC area. Few of them are high volume dealers in the country with plenty of inventory (around 35 GTIs in stock) and offered great deals (pre covid).

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by amitoj

3 seats are mainly for my kids only. 3 adults in the rear seat scenario is too rare for me to give it any weightage.
And since I would like to lease, my options are even less. Golf R, GTI (maybe), Toyota GRC, Elantra N, Civic Si or a Mini. That's it. And since most of these will not be on a dealer lot, specially in a manual transmission trim where it is optional, it is going to be an interesting hunt.

I think you should shortlist the Elantra N and Velostar N and check them out.

After driving your WRX, I think you may appreciate the Elantra N more for space and Velostar N for better handling.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by vj123

At least with GTI/R, you shouldn't have any issues in finding a manual. These vehicles dont have a huge option list and dealers typically have a good mix of the inventory between manual & auto due to the customer base.

How's your experience been with the GTIs? I just hope they are still around on dealer lots when the time comes for me to return my STI.

Originally Posted by mobike008

I think you should shortlist the Elantra N and Velostar N and check them out.

After driving your WRX, I think you may appreciate the Elantra N more for space and Velostar N for better handling.

Veloster is ruled out because it is a 4 seater too. About the Elantra, I dont know man. It just does not seem to have the looks that will make me turn back and look at it as I walk away. All 3 of my cars so far, Charger, STI and Z3 have that. The Elantra looks like a previous gen Honda Civic Type R wannabe.





Pics from: US Car and Driver Elantra N Photo Gallery

[vj123]

Originally Posted by amitoj

How's your experience been with the GTIs? I just hope they are still around on dealer lots when the time comes for me to return my STI.

MK7 GTIs would be one of the best cars i have ever owned and i adore that platform. Its one of the most reliable platform from VW and its almost impossible to beat the fun to cost ratio which it offers. I had a 2016 and ended up selling it for a bigger vehicle for family needs. I missed it dearly and ended up getting a 2019 few years later. You can find my ownership experience in the below thread - LINK (My 2019 VW Golf GTI DSG (Rabbit Edition))

When i got my 2019, price difference between the GTI Rabbit and R was around $15k and i couldnt justify myself spending the difference. With current MSRP and zero incentives, i would title towards the R if i was in the market now. Major letdown in the MK8 is the updated infotainment but its not a deal breaker for many.

Originally Posted by amitoj

Veloster is ruled out because it is a 4 seater too. The Elantra looks like a previous gen Honda Civic Type R wannabe.

GTI/R has its own fan base with repeat customers and is personally owned by several auto journalists for a reason. I would pick a GTI/R over your other options and you wouldnt be disappointed coming from a STI.

[MercFan]

Originally Posted by rudra_bvrm

Hi,

I have moved recently to US and looking for a car and felt that Santa FE limited variant as VFM. Can you let me know the out of the door price for this and how you felt the car overall performance, what could have been better after 2 months of ownership?

Thanks,
Sudheer

Apologies for the delayed response.
After owning SantaFe for more than 5months, I love the car and its Turbo engine which gets you more than 275HP. Driving on the freeways and forests is a charm. First service is due at 8000miles and curently reading on the ODO is around 7600miles. Almost covered the entire west coast except Washinton state. Boot is so big that I can sleep with my legs stretched (i am 5.8'), no problem there. No dearth of features, all of them really come in handy as this is a big car.

Few negatives I could sense some rattling noises beneath the front seat, need to get it checked. Turbo engine is very powerful but initially takes a bit of lag and then races away. There is no wireless android auto and apply car play (this is frustrating), however the new SantaFe on sale from this year end has wireless features too.

Would advice you to also look at same segment cars in Kia, Toyota and Nissan. Thanks and happy driving.

[MercFan]

Gas prices in California are skyrocketing. Initially when I came to Sacramento the price per gallon was around 3.90$ and yesterday it was close to 5.30$ at Costco, 5.90$ in Arco and Chevron. In cities like SFO and LA prices are close to 6.9$. USA has one of world's largest oil reserves and this is the rate at which gas prices are skyrocketing.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by MercFan

Gas prices in California are skyrocketing...

You live in the most expensive state in the US that has also taken the lead in discouraging and eventually eliminating gas vehicles - the high price of fuel should not be a surprise. Texas had the lowest gas prices at the time of an article I read recently.

Originally Posted by MercFan

... USA has one of world's largest oil reserves and this is the rate at which gas prices are skyrocketing.

I don't know if you have been following the national debate over the past few years on US energy security - that exact and very valid statement you have summarized is significant enough to be a top agenda item that is part of the wide chasm between the two major political parties in the US.

[Foxbat]

Has anyone been able to get a lower insurance rate after moving to the US by showing their old Indian Driving license to show driving history?

I have a friend who is a French Citizen who was available to get a lower insurance rate in the US after moving from France by showing her old French Driving license. This was in New York / New Jersey.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Has anyone been able to get a lower insurance rate after moving to the US by showing their old Indian Driving license to show driving history?

I have a friend who is a French Citizen who was available to get a lower insurance rate in the US after moving from France by showing her old French Driving license. This was in New York / New Jersey.

I had a formal no claim letter from my Dutch insurance company and my US insurer would not accept it.

Car insurance was one of the few things that were a lot more expensive to us living in the USA, compared to living in the Netherlands.

Jeroen

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Has anyone been able to get a lower insurance rate after moving to the US by showing their old Indian Driving license to show driving history?

Unfortunately, Indian driving license has no importance in the US system. In fact, many states don't even rent or lease a car till you get a proper driving license in US.

Driving License is the most important document in the US that you should keep on you at all times that validates your identity.

Unlike in India, here you go through a written exam, driving with an instructor (usually who is always on edge to fail you) to get a license.

Written Test

I remember the written exam was a piece of cake and I got 100/100 in my first attempt as it's really basic questions.

Drive Test

Parallel parking is the tricky one and they fail you for slightest mistake.

In short, Indians don't have that luxury to getting lower insurance by showing your driving history in another country.

I started with super super high insurance ($250/month) to now at $70/month.

Reckon everyone has to evolve through this process. It's paying through your nose to get embedded in the American system.

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Unfortunately, Indian driving license has no importance in the US system. In fact, many states don't even rent or lease a car till you get a proper driving license in US.

Not sure about leasing but renting a car is common on a foreign license. I have been doing it since 2014 and very regularly in the last 1.5 years.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Unlike in India, here you go through a written exam, driving with an instructor (usually who is always on edge to fail you) to get a license.

Written Test

I remember the written exam was a piece of cake and I got 100/100 in my first attempt as it's really basic questions.

Drive Test

Parallel parking is the tricky one and they fail you for slightest mistake.

All true for 49 states except the golden state of New Jersey where I moved to a couple of months back. Here you can convert your foreign license to a NJ State License by giving a test of 50 questions on a computer at the DMV and showing some documents.

My wife and I passed the online test yesterday and our full licensed got approved but we still need to pick them up. This might explain why NJ has some of the worst drivers (you might have heard of the term Jersey Driver). I know of many Indians who never drove in India but got a license made their to convert it to a NJ Driving License and use it as an ID

NJ has other strange laws like you can't fill gas in your car by yourself. There is always an attendant who does this for you and is on stand by 24x7. Supposedly because it's unsafe to do it yourself !