Advice on cars

[Tucker103]

Hi everyone - my family & I are planning to move to Sydney in Jan 2010. I've been doing some research on cars (carguide) and was wondering if anyone could provide some guidance, specifically:

* financing options for both new & used cars? (i found one site that was quoting 14% interest for used car loans - 2x what we get in the States)
* in the States we have leases which enable people to get cars they can't afford... does this concept exist in Sydney?
* has anyone imported a car from the US? I know the costs will be high but given the extraordinary prices on cars in Oz, I wonder if it's worth it.
* are there options for getting car payments taken out of your salary pre-tax?

Thanks in advance for any help/guidance anyone can provide!

[kaz101]

Hi Tucker103,

Welcome to the forum.

I moved your post to a separate thread.

I've not shipped a car from US to Australia but I have shipped one from the UK to Australia. You need to make sure you know the rules for getting the car on the road in Australia (that varies from state to state) since just because you are allowed to import a car doesn't mean you can put it on the road.

If the car is a luxury car then you have to pay another tax when imported.

I've written a lot about this is you search for Mustang you'll probably find it since we imported a left hand drive classic Ford Mustang.

I've not financed a car here, but my husband worked for a car dealership for a while and interest rates can be high depending on your circumstances and don't forget that you won't have a credit record when you move so it'll be judged on your salary.

Regards,
Karen