Update: I called Toyota and they let me extend for 6 more months! I am so surprised but it goes to show that you don't know until you ask. So I'll know where I'm going when we have to make a decision, but I still look forward your comments on car purchases. thanks!
Original Post:
So we have a little car dilemma and I really need some advice. I know it's better to wait and see where I am assigned before making a car decision, but our lease (and its 6 mos extension) on our Toyota Sienna minivan ends next month. I always thought I would prefer to avoid the hassle of shipping a POV (privately owned vehicle) and the wait in country for it to arrive, but then I realized that buying a car in country would probably involve paying cash. Am I wrong in that assumption? I know I could be assigned anywhere, but I am assuming that we will go to a developing country where it might be difficult to finance.
Original Post:
So we have a little car dilemma and I really need some advice. I know it's better to wait and see where I am assigned before making a car decision, but our lease (and its 6 mos extension) on our Toyota Sienna minivan ends next month. I always thought I would prefer to avoid the hassle of shipping a POV (privately owned vehicle) and the wait in country for it to arrive, but then I realized that buying a car in country would probably involve paying cash. Am I wrong in that assumption? I know I could be assigned anywhere, but I am assuming that we will go to a developing country where it might be difficult to finance.
So if we don't have the resources to buy a car with cash at post, I'm thinking we'd be better off either buying the minivan now (which is kind of a little beat up on the outside, but runs great, so maybe that makes sense) or buying something else that we can finance.
So the next question is: is a minivan a bad car to have? Will it be wiser to go for an SUV in case we're in a weather challenged country where we will need the 4 wheel drive? Are there standard cars like Toyota 4-runners that FS people generally buy?
Please, please comment and tell me your thoughts...thank you!
10 comments:
My advice would be to go with your first instinct and wait until you find out your post. You might not only be assigned to a country where a minivan is totally impractical but also one that doesn't allow cars or certain types of cars to be brought in. Or, if you decide to buy, do it with the understanding that you may be selling it within the next few months or year (you could always end up in DC for your first post). Good Luck and welcome to the FS!
Unfortunately I don't know anything about financing a car at post. But I've heard that one issue with buying cars at post, if you're going to a developing country at least, is that generally speaking what's available on the local market isn't up to American safety standards. So your only real option is buying from other diplomats who are leaving, which can end up being a great situation, but there's just no way to know for sure that something suitable for your family will be available at the right time, especially if you're at a smaller post.
You mentioned that the minivan you're thinking of buying is kind of beat-up. How old is it? Some countries have restrictions about the year of the car, allowing only cars five years old or newer, or even three years old or newer. If the minivan is older, that might be an issue depending on where you're assigned.
I've also never heard of anyone bringing along a minivan to post (I'm sure it's happened, but if I can't think of a single example it must not be common). In addition to being impractical in a lot of developing countries, it might really make your family stand out, which, depending on where you are, might also be a safety issue.
The Toyota Rav4 is often referred to as the car of the Foreign Service. We ended up with a Honda CRV, which we've heard works pretty much everywhere too. Other common cars in the Oakwood parking lot? Jeep Liberties, Jeep Four-Runners, Nissan Pathfinders, etc.
Good luck! Hope you get some useful advice!
You would be far better off waiting to buy until you know where you are going. What you can take to post varies dramatically from post to post. Another benefit to waiting is that once you join, you can finance through USAA, and they are awesome in terms of letting you take a financed car overseas. Lots of places won't.
Since you are going to be here in January, can you just renew your six month lease and bring the car with you here? You will almost certainly be here long enough to finish out the lease, and by that time, you will also have the advantage of knowing where you are going and what kind of car you can bring.
Hi - I agree with waiting until you find out where you get posted. I know you're interested in South America and Brazil especially and if you do end up coming to Brazil, I would recommend against bringing a minivan. There are way too many potholes and when it rains, you can expect to drive through a pond rather than on roads...we have a CRV that we bought from an FSO who was leaving post which worked out great for us. There are a few used car dealerships that FSOs have used in the past in the NoVA/DC area (check livelines archives) to sell their cars before leaving for post - good luck with everything!
thanks everyone. Keep the comments coming! I wish I had more time on the lease but we don't. I do plan to call and beg them and use the "state dept orders" line but I'm not optimistic. That would at least buy us some time to figure it out. It's a 2007 I think. anyway thanks again.
Definitely wait until you know where you are going!!!! I can't wait to hear!
I am just going to echo what most people have already said. There's a good reason to wait until you know your overseas post before you make the decision. We are going to New Delhi, which is a right-side driver country. They've recently decided that they are not going to allow the importation of left-side drive vehicles, so we can't take anything.
Because your lease is up, you may need to think of what you need before you get posted overseas separately from what you'll need once you get to post.
I have also read that Toyota RAV 4 is the most popular vehicle in the FS. For a lot of posts high clearance, SUV-type vehicle is a good idea because of poor (sometimes mountainous) roads and flooding.
Some countries want only newer cars (5 - 10 years or younger), others require older cars (Mexcico - because of crime/theft). In areas where you have a lot of crazy drivers, you are better off getting an older vehicle because it's only going to get dinged up. In some countries servicing US or European vehicles is very difficult and expensive,so you may be better off with a Japanese/Korean model. But there are so many different requirements, that you really can't guess.
Best of luck!
another thing that you need to think about - is the place you're going a right side or left side vehicle? our previous post in india no longer allows left side drive cars in.
you also need to worry about window tinting - our post in oman doesn't allow more than a certain percentage of it on the windows - and WILL make you take it off.
most posts DO insist that you buy your car outright with cash ... because you're buying from another FS family - or other outgoing expat. but there are also other places to ship cars in - like cars from Japan where you can buy on credit ...
lots to think about...
The comment about the tinting is correct, especially for Mid East countries (we were in Bahrain). We did ship our Toyota Sienna to Bahrain, but before we could ship it we had to buy it outright (it was only 6 mo old) because Toyota wouldn't give us the title w/o paying in full, and we needed the title to ship! We sold it 2 yrs later in Bahrain for only 2K less than we bought it for. Other countries (ie: Japan) - easier to buy there - you can get a cheap, functional car from somebody leaving. We're currently in Colombia and we have a car provided, but I have seen people bring minivans here. I wouldn't because of the potholes and theft, and taxis are cheap. You should just wait until you find out your post and then go from there. Truthfully, I wouldn't ever ship a car again (and we have 4 kids!) - I would just buy one at post when I got there because every place is different.
You'd be surprized how inexpensively you can buy a car from someone who is leaving post. Noblody cares what kind of car you drive as long as it is functional in most places. One FSO here bout a Honda Odyssee from someone leaving for $1500 bucks.
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