Best Car if relocating to the USA?
Discussion
I'm considering a temporary - 3 year - move to the USA. The really boring and predictable thing to do would be to get what i'm used to - a BMW 6 cylinder wagon or an Audi S4, or to take a Defender with me.
However - part of the fun is surely to have something I couldn't have here... big V8 pick up? Dodge Charger...?
Only thing - needs to seat 3 kids so no 2 seaters, and ideally would be spacious - and interesting!
Don't typically like acres of american plastic and beige tho - hate jeeps for example
Thoughts?
However - part of the fun is surely to have something I couldn't have here... big V8 pick up? Dodge Charger...?
Only thing - needs to seat 3 kids so no 2 seaters, and ideally would be spacious - and interesting!
Don't typically like acres of american plastic and beige tho - hate jeeps for example
Thoughts?
The very biggest car you can find. Lincolns, Cadillacs and the like are enormous, much bigger than anything you'll ever drive here. Petrol is still comparatively cheap in the US and there are still unrestored cheapy running 60s and 70s full size cars about. Do it now, in another ten or twenty years time the petrol will go up and the cars will rot, getting rarer and more valuable.
Depends where you are going. I moved to Boston last year and a good number of the cars you see are Japanese 4WD of some description because it can get quite snowy (tho not so much this winter so far). Other than that it is the usual pickups and people carriers. If you are going somewhere further south then a Charger is a good choice, They look nice are pretty big and you can get a nice V8 in it, they have a 4WD option as well. I just bought something dirty cheap (2002 Ford Focus ZX3) to get me though the Mass driving test and winter until I had the time to look for something better. I am looking at a Subaru Forester XT (pre 2006) with a manual gear box as I need the space to lug stuff about, 4WD is nice for the winter and I can play about with it using STI parts.
Since it is only temp you should take a look at http://www.expatride.com/ to get something sorted out. As you expect the prices are higher than if you already have US credit history. Keep in mind that some towns such as the one I live in can have their own Car Taxes, for example Arlington, MA where I live charge $25 / $1000 of the value of the car annually.
Oh and fuel here atm is under 60p a litre of regular unleaded.
Since it is only temp you should take a look at http://www.expatride.com/ to get something sorted out. As you expect the prices are higher than if you already have US credit history. Keep in mind that some towns such as the one I live in can have their own Car Taxes, for example Arlington, MA where I live charge $25 / $1000 of the value of the car annually.
Oh and fuel here atm is under 60p a litre of regular unleaded.
Something European if you want an enjoyable drive and don't mind paying a premium, Japanese/Asian if you want boring and reliable, American if you want relatively cheap, simple, boring and reliable. (excluding Mustangs, Corvettes etc etc). When I lived there I had to have Euro 'cause I couldn't deal with how most American cars handled and looked so old fashioned.
Edited by chazola on Tuesday 15th January 19:14
You'll have a job finding wagon versions of anything. Especially anything interesting. Wagons just don't sell in the US.
Roads are very different over here, so what works well in Europe very often doesn't work very well stateside. Roads are generally very badly surfaced (especially in the northern states), very long, very wide, very straight, and very boring. So sharp handling and a compact size at the expense of ride quality and general comfort is a big mistake to make.
Pickups whilst a cool idea from afar are generally very crude to drive and the SUV versions of them are equally crap and yucky inside, although of late they have got a lot better.
From experience, vehicles that work best over here are big saloons (think s-class size), large non-pickup based SUV's, and torquey engines.
If you need to regularly carry very large loads (who does?), don't care about fuel consumption (given the distances in the US you can't not these days), tow something extraordinarily heavy, or go very offroad then a pickup is a poor choice for the vast majority.
ETA: And be prepared for the shock as to how expensive like for like used cars are compared to the UK.
Roads are very different over here, so what works well in Europe very often doesn't work very well stateside. Roads are generally very badly surfaced (especially in the northern states), very long, very wide, very straight, and very boring. So sharp handling and a compact size at the expense of ride quality and general comfort is a big mistake to make.
Pickups whilst a cool idea from afar are generally very crude to drive and the SUV versions of them are equally crap and yucky inside, although of late they have got a lot better.
From experience, vehicles that work best over here are big saloons (think s-class size), large non-pickup based SUV's, and torquey engines.
If you need to regularly carry very large loads (who does?), don't care about fuel consumption (given the distances in the US you can't not these days), tow something extraordinarily heavy, or go very offroad then a pickup is a poor choice for the vast majority.
ETA: And be prepared for the shock as to how expensive like for like used cars are compared to the UK.
Edited by dvs_dave on Tuesday 15th January 19:22
^^ That's some fine automotive stereotyping chazola.
OP, I'd be tempted to get something you're unlikely to buy living here, so a nice big V8 or V10 pick up would be high on my want list.
Depending on budget, the Cadillac CTS-V saloon/ wagon with it's 550bhp engine seems appealing, as does the previously mentioned Dodge Charger (preferably in Super Bee SRT8 spec).
OP, I'd be tempted to get something you're unlikely to buy living here, so a nice big V8 or V10 pick up would be high on my want list.
Depending on budget, the Cadillac CTS-V saloon/ wagon with it's 550bhp engine seems appealing, as does the previously mentioned Dodge Charger (preferably in Super Bee SRT8 spec).
Mustang Boss 302 (or Laguna Seca)... $30k-odd to buy, ship it home when you're done! Yummy.
Agree absolutely that anything other than American muscle with a V8 would be a travesty in the States... I couldn't abide a truck, but would happily take the pony or a Dodge Challenger or the like!
Agree absolutely that anything other than American muscle with a V8 would be a travesty in the States... I couldn't abide a truck, but would happily take the pony or a Dodge Challenger or the like!
Thanks All. Agree it kind of has to be a V8. Raptor looks a great idea. Other than this, what's best twin cab truck? Or perhaps something classic?
Alternatively, looking at it the other way round, could be fun to take something over that you don't typically see there - M5 Wagon... or, my starting point, a restored v8 Defender Wagon.
Will be East Coast...
Alternatively, looking at it the other way round, could be fun to take something over that you don't typically see there - M5 Wagon... or, my starting point, a restored v8 Defender Wagon.
Will be East Coast...
Sounds like whatever you get will be import duty/VAT exempt when you come back to the UK on the basis of you living over there for more than 1 yr.
Therefore be aware that some American cars are totally unsaleable over here, and others may sell after three years for around the same or perhaps more than you paid for them in the US, even taking shipping into account.
It will affect whether or not you need to sell the car in the US when you return or import it back to the UK.
Therefore be aware that some American cars are totally unsaleable over here, and others may sell after three years for around the same or perhaps more than you paid for them in the US, even taking shipping into account.
It will affect whether or not you need to sell the car in the US when you return or import it back to the UK.
billywhizzzzzz said:
Thanks All. Agree it kind of has to be a V8. Raptor looks a great idea. Other than this, what's best twin cab truck? Or perhaps something classic?
Alternatively, looking at it the other way round, could be fun to take something over that you don't typically see there - M5 Wagon... or, my starting point, a restored v8 Defender Wagon.
Will be East Coast...
What sort of visa will you be on? Unless you're on diplomatic duty you can only legally import a non US type approved car less than 25 years old for 1 year, after which it must be permanently exported or destroyed.Alternatively, looking at it the other way round, could be fun to take something over that you don't typically see there - M5 Wagon... or, my starting point, a restored v8 Defender Wagon.
Will be East Coast...
Converting it to meet DOT and EPA standards is in the vast majority of cases not readily achievable, even for apparently similar vehicles, and show show and display permits are only really for true exotics.
Have a look at the info surrounding folk trying to import euro spec C5 RS6 Avants into the US to get an idea.
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