Hi, I’ve viewed a few posts from either leasehacker or other posts from google, however, I couldn’t find any successful data point about leasing a subaru as a non-permanent resident.
Since I want to have a manual transmission car but with normal size(car size and trunk size), wrx or wrx sti are my best choices. Anyone has related experiences?
PS: now I’ve heard about some successful cases of Subaru loan from H1b holder. So is the success of loan equal to success of lease??
Every FS institution approaches it their own way and may have their own programs, but in general - do you have a good credit score and history? With previous car loan/lease payments? Also, what kind of job/income? And when does the visa expire (as it’s stated now; not counting renewals, extensions, etc.)?
In some cases, the lessor wants more money upfront… won’t know till you try.
Well, I have more than five years credit history with 760+ experian score(which has the lowest score among all three credit orgs). Income is absolutely enough. Visa is going to transfer to be H1B soon.
@Kctham18
The thing that worried me so much is that how could it not even have one post about leasing a subaru successfully as a non-us citizen.
There have been discussions about leases by visa-holders but every person’s case varies along with make/model, lessor. Some even consider one-pay leases, but lessors still treat it as a “regular” lease, regardless if it’s paid in full.
One sticking point usually - if you are looking for a 36-mth lease, does the visa expire after the 36 mths, or before (doesn’t matter if it could be extended - what does it say on paper)? Again, situation varies by lessor. IIRC, BMWFS has a ‘foreign executive’ program (or something like that) for visa holders. Won’t know till you give it a shot, and a broker or dealer who has experience dealing with cases like this. Good luck!
yeah~ u r right, won’t know how it would be until I try it.
Maybe @rubbergash could give you some insight on this.
If you’re from an EU country (including UK), VW, Audi, MB, BMW can use your UK/EU credit history.
But as Kctham said, some creditors won’t let you have a lease or loan that goes past the end of your existing visa.
Before we got married, my wife (a UK citizen) was able to get a 60-mo loan from HFS with no problem. Then again, she had an AmEx and through that she had credit history that did reflect on the credit report.
If Subaru is still Chase, it’s not easy. It’s an auto decline if your visa expires before the lease end date. Even if the visa is valid past lease expiration date approval is tough.
Chase doesn’t like to work with non-permanent residents like other true captive lenders do (BMWFS, MBFS, TFS, etc).
You just need to know who to talk to.
And he’s moved a lot of vehicles!
You’re better off looking at Civic Si or buying a CPO 3-series
BMW has a foreign student program, as does Volvo, they require crazy down payments iirc though. It’s worth a look, but you might be right CPO might be the way to go.
In the current immigration environment, all kinds of visas are getting canceled or non-renewed. Finance companies are probably going to end up changing their internal policies as an inevitable reaction to this.
Haven’t seen an STI or WRX deal shared on here in ages. OP is barking up the wrong tree.
Find something easier to hack as a lease or a financed purchase, and do it quickly
Though @rubbergash has WRX for under $300/mo.
Agree on all three statements, best of luck to the op.
Just wanted to share my experience with BMW.
I’ve had previous car loans on my credit history, have good debt-to-income ration, and have a 800+ credit score, and I’m on an H1-B visa.
For both my last BMW lease and my current lease, the question of whether I was a visa holder or permanent resident never came up in any of the paperwork, and financing went through without a hitch with nothing down and MSDs. No one asked.
Thx for letting me know. I’ve heard lots of successful cases about BMW lease but nothing about Subaru. If Subaru doesn’t allow me to lease it, then I will consider BMW.
@BigGoogle, were you able to get the lease from Subaru? I went to a dealer and was informed that they dont offer lease that exceeds the visa validity 
which is ridiculous policy.
It’s not really. If your visa gets denied, then what?
@HersheySweet, I pay the lease termination/remaining lease amount. How is that different than me taking the lease and want to terminate early? There is a reason they look at credit history right?