Hi everyone My family is moving to Tuscany for one year starting in October 2010. I want to buy a new car that we will use throughout the year of our stay. There are four of us including two small boys 8 and 6.
Hi Cantinone Thanks for your post. We have pretty much ruled out the French leasing option as I was quoted over $20,000 for the cheapest, smallest car for one year. We will actually be living in Bagnone MS on a residential visa for thirteen months which would work out to cost even more. We figure that we could buy a new car for less than that and then sell it before we leave and recoup most of the initial cost. We were thinking about a Subaru Forrester (because I've had one here in Australia) but are there good safe Italian cars that are similar? Are they cheaper to buy and reliable too? We are worried about driving all around Europe with left hand drive and the safty aspect of that. If we do get in an accident we want to walk away intact. I drive a Mercedes C200 now and it has airbags everywhere. I'd even consider getting one of these from Germany if that's easy to do. Even if we lose a few thousand on the car over the year, we would be way ahead. We really have no clue how to buy a new car in Italy and how to insure and register it. In Australia it is pretty easy and of course the language is not a problem. Any help on these issues would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks to all who have posted re our car plight. We did consider buying an Italian car Valentina but are unsure which brand to look at. We don't have much experience with Italian cars in Australia, apart from the luxury Ferrari's. We can't afford those. As far as leasing a French made car, we found out that the leases are only for a maximum of 6 months. As we will be there for a year we would need to start all over half way through our stay. Also the cost was around $20,000 for the cheapest, smallest car. We think we could buy a new car for a lot less and then recoup most of the money when we sell it after just one year. Does anyone know a car dealer who would be happy to buy the same car back after a year? We expect to lose a fair bit of money this way but it has to be better than a $20,000 lease. Comments anyone?
Thanks SirTK. That advice concures with random comments we have received from Australian car dealers. Subaru sounds good as I used to own a Forrester and it was superb in most conditions. We were a little worried about buying a non-Italian make and offending the locals in our small town community. I guess that may not be an issue. We will look for a Subaru Diesel. Thanks again.
Comments posted
Hi Cantinone Thanks for your post. We have pretty much ruled out the French leasing option as I was quoted over $20,000 for the cheapest, smallest car for one year. We will actually be living in Bagnone MS on a residential visa for thirteen months which would work out to cost even more. We figure that we could buy a new car for less than that and then sell it before we leave and recoup most of the initial cost. We were thinking about a Subaru Forrester (because I've had one here in Australia) but are there good safe Italian cars that are similar? Are they cheaper to buy and reliable too? We are worried about driving all around Europe with left hand drive and the safty aspect of that. If we do get in an accident we want to walk away intact. I drive a Mercedes C200 now and it has airbags everywhere. I'd even consider getting one of these from Germany if that's easy to do. Even if we lose a few thousand on the car over the year, we would be way ahead. We really have no clue how to buy a new car in Italy and how to insure and register it. In Australia it is pretty easy and of course the language is not a problem. Any help on these issues would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks to all who have posted re our car plight. We did consider buying an Italian car Valentina but are unsure which brand to look at. We don't have much experience with Italian cars in Australia, apart from the luxury Ferrari's. We can't afford those. As far as leasing a French made car, we found out that the leases are only for a maximum of 6 months. As we will be there for a year we would need to start all over half way through our stay. Also the cost was around $20,000 for the cheapest, smallest car. We think we could buy a new car for a lot less and then recoup most of the money when we sell it after just one year. Does anyone know a car dealer who would be happy to buy the same car back after a year? We expect to lose a fair bit of money this way but it has to be better than a $20,000 lease. Comments anyone?
Thanks SirTK. That advice concures with random comments we have received from Australian car dealers. Subaru sounds good as I used to own a Forrester and it was superb in most conditions. We were a little worried about buying a non-Italian make and offending the locals in our small town community. I guess that may not be an issue. We will look for a Subaru Diesel. Thanks again.