[Chris100]

Hi all,

looking for a bit of advice here, basically I have been offered the chance to transfer my Job to the USA probably around the end of this year prehaps start of 2013 the trouble is I suspect at this time I will have about 10 months remaining on my PCP deal before I could VT the car.

Question is do I have any options other than to leave the car in the UK and wait until I have paid the 10 months worth of payments before I hand the car back or will BMW have some sort of system in place to help people in this position.

I know my best option is to phone BMW I was just curious to see if anyone had been in a similar situation and what the outcome was.

Thanks,

[Jat]

See if anyone wants to take over the PCP - might be an option (not sure about credit checking etc).

See what a settlement on the car would be (depends on how much deposit you put etc), and see if it makes sense to buy the car off BMW and sell it privately.

Best bet is to speak to BMW and see what they say (although I expect they will just say you need to pay the difference to get the VT stage).

[Falmouthboy]

It all comes down to if the car is worth more 'trade' than the outstanding debt when you hand it back. You may come out with a few bob or have to pay a bit. However, I would suggest you try a few dealers and haggle for the best price.

[Chris100]

Don't know anyone who would be in a position to take over the PCP so that won't be an option, and it is unlikely that I will have the cash to pay the remaining up front.

It seems to be a bit of a waste having a car sitting here that won't be in use, at least there is no chance of me going over my mileage allowance.

[xs2man]

Surely with your PCP deal the car will have "equal" equity at 10 months?

By that, I mean the trade-in price will be equal to the outstanding balance. PCP deals are usually geared up so that the cars value at the end of the term is substantially less than the trade-in value as it encourages you to use that "extra" as a deposit on the next PCP.

I would expect that, with 10 months to go, your car should be worth more than the remaining balance, thus you should just be able to sell it. PCP deals are often set-up like this so as to encourage those who might want to upgrade their vehicles earlier too.

Webuyanycar are even more robbing than dealers when it comes to trade-in prices, but they will buy your car outright, so might be able to clear the outstanding balance at that time.

Quicker and easier than selling the car privately, but obviously not as good returns.

[SCN_Saul]

i was under the impression, once you have past the halfway mark of the agreement, ie. you have paid off 50%+ of the deal, you can hand the car back and walk away

[Jat]

Originally Posted by SCN_Saul

i was under the impression, once you have past the halfway mark of the agreement, ie. you have paid off 50%+ of the deal, you can hand the car back and walk away

You can, but the OP is 10 months away from that point.

[xenon]

Chris, off the subject but have you started the L1 Visa process yet? My wife and I just got our L1 / L2 visas as I was transferring to the States too although we had to put on hold for other reasons. Get a good immigration lawyer otherwise it's a right ball-ache.

[Chris100]

Originally Posted by xenon

Chris, off the subject but have you started the L1 Visa process yet? My wife and I just got our L1 / L2 visas as I was transferring to the States too although we had to put on hold for other reasons. Get a good immigration lawyer otherwise it's a right ball-ache.

Hi, I work for an America company and I'm transferring internally so our company lawyers take care of all the paper work and visa stuff for me.

[xenon]

Originally Posted by Chris100

Hi, I work for an America company and I'm transferring internally so our company lawyers take care of all the paper work and visa stuff for me.

I'm exactly the same but it's still a PITA. My company appointed the immigration lawyers who did the application, which was about an inch thick, but the questions you have to answer in order for them to submit are numerous. Then there's the fun day out at the Embassy...

[Chris100]

Ah, didn't realise it was this complicated but I should have expected it as nothing to do with going to the states seems to be easy.

I spoke to a couple of colleagues who done something similar and they seem to explain it all straight foward sort of stuff.

Ah well, guess it will have to be done if I want to make the move. What part of the states are you heading for? I never been to Texas before so don't really know what to expect but I'm sure it will be an interesting move.

[xenon]

Florida.

It is straightforward, I suppose but a bit involved. Having said that, when we went for the interview at the embassy the chap hardly gave us a second glance. Asked us one question each. Getting a mortgage is difficult with no credit history. Get yourself an American Express card and spend as much on it as you can, paying it off each month. This builds up a credit history which is transferrable.

[Chris100]

Florida is where I would have liked to have gone but my company has more of an operation in Texas at the moment, I have a company American express card but it is in my name so this should hopefully help with the credit rating but I will spent at least 12-18 months here before I even think for buying and again this won't be until I sell my current house which will mean I will need little or no mortgage anyway.

I am thinking about transport, I will need a car which I presume I will need a credit history to get an hold of and I will need one of these right away so this will be more of an issue for me I think.

I work for an American bank so hopefully this will make things on this front a bit easier.

[xenon]

Working for a bank will help enormously. I went to a BMW dealer and they said they would accept a letter from BMW Finance (UK) as proof of credit-worthiness.

[Chris100]

Originally Posted by xenon

I went to a BMW dealer and they said they would accept a letter from BMW Finance (UK) as proof of credit-worthiness.

That is good to know, I will be sure to obtain something from them. However going to the States I feel I am going to have to indulge my want for a V8 muscle car such as a Camaro SS, so I doubt that I will be going down the BMW route.