Wonder if Covid plays in here. I’ve seen multiple parties shooed away as soon as dship Mgr hears no citizenship. “Sorry we can’t help”. Enjoy the bimmer!
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Right, most of the dealerships weren’t even aware of FPP. That said, most dealerships I’ve talked to the past 3 years didn’t shoo me away and were eager to sell me a vehicle. I feel like there is a lot of “financial engineering” happening in the finance office to get the transaction happen (sort of like the sub-prime mortgages?).
Haha that’s probably true. I probably could have leased a vehicle from any brand, but now that I know I won’t have problem getting the base MF from BMW (as well as loyalty cash), I will probably stick to BMWs in the future…
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I had a TC visa (pre-cursor to TN) and with less than a year credit history, I was able to buy a townhouse with down payment from my parents. Prior to that I had like one year’s credit on a $500 credit card when I was in grad school in the US. The interest rate on the mortgage probably was higher, but there are always strings they can pull.
Sorry to jump in your thread but my wife’s cousin has a TN visa.
She just moved from Canada to Florida for work which her first day is in a week.
She has great credit in Canada.
She just got a US Debt card, but no credit card as they want to see proof of income and she hasn’t started work yet.
She’s thinking about leasing a car. What issues should she be expecting?
Bowing out here. Not sure of the sub prime reference but I will not impune some action I do not fully understand! Good luck!
With FPP, I had everything (offer letter, visa etc) except for SSN / US driver license. So I had to rent a car for 3 weeks until received these two before my first car shopping. Btw, the rental was a base Civic and it felt completely inadequate on the US highways…
Her SS# is coming this week and she has an appointment with DMV in a few days.
Can she only get a car thru the FPP?
Or can she take advantage of one of these deals that some of the brokers offer here or is the FPP her only option?
The first time I leased 3 years ago, my assumption was that FPP was the only way (other than cash purchase). I still don’t see how I would’ve gotten approved without US credit history, regardless of my great Canadian credit score.
This is good info.
How long did you build up your credit history before you were able to lease?
Attempted to lease a great deal on a 2020 BMW 3 series Msport .
However , H1B visa renewal is being filed as I type this so I was told present a renewal receipt at a minimum to be considered. Even with that I was told the approval may not be 100%.
I am already a BMW owner with a loan through BMW financial (bought a CPO 2015 328i) and decided to lease a 2nd one with a 750+ score … I didn’t even get to a credit check .
Have you tried another dealership? Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if they are leading you on for more $$$…
Not necessarily actually. An approval for someone on an H1b visa is different than someone with a low credit score where they can juggle the applicant with tier excuses.
Lately, banks are getting stricter on H1b visa holders due to the current political situations and possible changes on certain visa terms etc.
However, your current H1b (one expiring this year) may also be a reason why bank may not be eager to lease you a 50k car on a 3 yr term as its real close to expiration. Understand that lawyers and people of knowledge get that h1b renewals are almost very certain to be granted (for second term) but for the normal person who goes by the language of your USCIS approval will only go by the expiration date OR by the fine print of your renewal receipt.
Totally get what you’re saying and that makes sense… just bummed out for missing out on a great deal !
Do you mean already expired with the renewal pending? Guess the min requirement h1 valid at least 6 months when sign a deal. Someone please correct if I am wrong
In Illinois I know people, mostly US citizen and Green card holder I’ve seen with trash credit get approved for something. Even some illegal folks get approved for something, I don’t how banks/dealer get it, but they put them in a car.
In 08/2017, I needed a car on F-1 visa with one history and 2 credit cards. I wasn’t able to get anything unless I got a co-signer.
By 07/2020, I co-signed my sister with TFS and two month later got a car for myself on my own credit. Built 3 years of credit history, no missed payments, 6 credit cards and 1 buisness credit card. Kept revolving debt low too. While paying first car payments. Still on F-1 visa and about complete school, I’ve a job offer with sponsorship guaranteed but nobody knows about it so I don’t think it mattered anywhere. I know a student who was on F-1 violated every single visa/state/federal rule, got there F1 revoked. Still managed to get car from Nissan, clean credit tho.
So I don’t think visa really mattered neither did I flash my immigration status to any sales/finance guy
thanks for sharing!
I think it really vary on dealership knowledge/brand. I was on F-1 visa with ~3yr history and ~720 score, BMWFS doesn’t even care and requires a co-signer while mazda(chase) gives t-1 credit and 36 month only with me showing the finance manager my summer intern offer letter.
Well, they are very different vehicle classes and customer segments. Also, Mazda switched from JPMC to TFS (Toyota) as their captive lender last year.