Brand New Ford Mustang Cobra On Our Roads

[madmax]

@madmax - Care to PM or tell a bit about the US tax system? Not here I guess. I just don't get how they're giving very good cars such as 2007/8 Civic Si's for around $4k even with shipping.

BTW a brand new Civic Si starts at $22K, a used 07/08 is about 10-15k, I don't know where you arrived at the $4k number.

The price quoted does not include taxes. The taxes are paid by the customer at the time of the sale. The tax rates changes from one county to the other (compare county to our praadeshiya saba areas). It's usually around 5-10%, where I live it's 6.75% This tax has to be paid every time a car is bought. Even if I buy a second hand car from a private party I would pay taxes to the state depending on the sale price. There is also a $1500 gas guzzler tax that has to be paid for a brand new car if it does not meet a certain fuel consumption level.

Edited October 2, 2010 by madmax

[BLu3HaZe]

BTW a brand new Civic Si starts at $22K, a used 07/08 is about 10-15k, I don't know where you arrived at the $4k number.

The price quoted does not include taxes. The taxes are paid by the customer at the time of the sale. The tax rates changes from one county to the other (compare county to our praadeshiya saba areas). It's usually around 5-10%, where I live it's 6.75% This tax has to be paid every time a car is bought. Even if I buy a second hand car from a private party I would pay taxes to the state depending on the sale price. There is also a $1500 gas guzzler tax that has to be paid for a brand new car if it does not meet a certain fuel consumption level.

Yup, that was the base price when I checked the US Honda site sometime back, and yes it seems most second hand ones are going above $8k. But there were 3 such cars, one was a USDM Civic Si coupe for $4, a Mugen Si sedan JDM type for $8k and a Si sedan for $6k. I was kinda suspicious about the low prices so had a friend over there check them and even he couldn't find any problem other than in the Mugen, which had had slight water damage due to a cracked moonroof and ended up as salvage. Others were normal condition, only problem being lease record before and then auctioned. The $4k Si guy told he wants to sell it anyway, as the other bidder had retracted and was willing to give it to clear up some space or whatever. Only problem was when I rang up St*ff*rd, they asked for chassis model, didn't know for USDM Si, told it was FD2, she told CIF 1.6M Yen. Pathetic, the car was only 5 lakhs!

That comes for any item, not only cars nah? But it's just a lovely system, wish we had it here. How much is tax for importing a car btw?

Sorry for OT above - Any idea how much it'd cost us commoners to bring a Mustang here? The tax in SL? There are people willing to sell 07 Mustang V6s for $6-8k and V8s for $10-12k

[madmax]

only problem being lease record before and then auctioned.

FYI: None of that is a 'problem'

[BLu3HaZe]

Not exactly a problem I guess, as all that had been paid, but the dealer said people there don't usually want them. I don't know, haven't been to US and it's different in UK.

[madmax]

but the dealer said people there don't usually want them

Bull SHIT! 99% percent of cars go through auctions here in the US. And more than 50% of cars are leased...

Edited October 3, 2010 by madmax

[jdnet]

Bull SHIT! 99% percent of cars go through auctions here in the US. And more than 50% of cars are leased...

When your talking about leased are you talking about actual leasing or financing? During the recession leasing dealrerships in large tried to stay away from it but it is only now begining to pickup again. I highly doubt that 50% of cars are leased. Now if we are talking about financing, then the number could very well be more than 50%.

[madmax]

When your talking about leased are you talking about actual leasing or financing? During the recession leasing dealrerships in large tried to stay away from it but it is only now begining to pickup again. I highly doubt that 50% of cars are leased. Now if we are talking about financing, then the number could very well be more than 50%.

I'm talking about actual lease (operating lease where you simply pay for the time you used the car and return it after the lease is up) on NEW cars. Online figures show 50-60% of new cars are leased (numbers were little lower during the recession but have started to pick up since)

@jdnet - were you (or are you still) based in the UK or USA? Vaguely remember you were....

[SeanD]

I highly doubt that 50% of cars are leased. Now if we are talking about financing, then the number could very well be more than 50%.

I concur. It also depends on whether you're talking fleet vehicles or personal vehicles. Madmax I'm curious as to which sort of vehicles the statistic you mentioned to applies? In the 10 years I lived there in several different states, I can't recall more than one instance where I knew an individual who "leased" (in the actual sense of "paying to use" along with all the residuals that come along with it, which I find far more common among individuals in SL than over there) as opposed to several fleets where actual leasing was fairly common. On the other hand, bulk of the individuals do finance their cars there as even a 12 thousand dollar econo car is a significant amount of money to spend in one go to the average American.

However, I found a lot of people did tend to refer to this practice of financing as "leased" (probably misquoted it for "lien.")As far as I know, even using in-house/dealer financing does not fall in to the category of "lease." Difference being that you get out of the lien by "paying it off," as opposed to getting out of a lease by "buying it out." That also makes me curious about how people purchase vehicles here in Sri Lanka. I was under the impression that a majority do purchase outright using their savings rather than using auto loans, but I think I may be incorrect here.

Edited October 3, 2010 by SeanD

[jdnet]

I'm talking about actual lease (operating lease where you simply pay for the time you used the car and return it after the lease is up) on NEW cars. Online figures show 50-60% of new cars are leased (numbers were little lower during the recession but have started to pick up since)

@jdnet - were you (or are you still) based in the UK or USA? Vaguely remember you were....

I was till last May. My wife is over there will December. For the last 5 years I lived in IL and WI and Ohio and Canada for a few years when i was a kid. On a side not: how is Ohio these days? the corn ready for harvest? lol!

BTW the numbers I remember seeing on leasing were less and they did take a huge dive during the recession as many companies stopped leasing out altogether.

[Sifaan]

That also makes me curious about how people purchase vehicles here in Sri Lanka. I was under the impression that a majority do purchase outright using their savings rather than using auto loans, but I think I may be incorrect here.

newer vehicles - majority buy on credit - either lease (banks or finance/leasing companies), hire-purchase (similar to lease, but no VAT, not available at banks) or personal loans (best option for an individual if you can get a big enough loan).

older vehicles - outright or personal loan because of age limits on leasing (and as the prices are lower the personal loan becomes more viable)

but I've never seen leasing here with a residual value, as is common in US etc

[BLu3HaZe]

Didn't know leasing was that common in the US, but maybe people aren't sure if the lease had been fully paid or not and stuff nah? And I can't check on those anyway. Besides, it's hard to get the LC stuff with those dealers, cuz they prefer PayPal, and I dunno what to do about that.

Anyway, about the $12k thing, that shouldn't be too hard even with insurance considering that most people here do have 1.5M+ cars even when they're around 25 or so, and that too from their own money and not just out of luck cuz of their parents having money or got lots of things from the old generations? Or is it cuz savings are less? Which can't be always be true cuz people who go from here save quite a lot in US, UK etc.

[BLu3HaZe]

DP

Edited October 3, 2010 by BLu3HaZe

[madmax]

I was till last May. My wife is over there will December. For the last 5 years I lived in IL and WI and Ohio and Canada for a few years when i was a kid. On a side not: how is Ohio these days? the corn ready for harvest? lol!

BTW the numbers I remember seeing on leasing were less and they did take a huge dive during the recession as many companies stopped leasing out altogether.

"BMWs on the 'top ten most commonly leased vehicles' in American list

"

Looks like my numbers could be a little flawed - because I was looking at the high end car market.

Corn already gone for this season. Starting to get colder outside. What were you doing here and what made you go back?

Edited October 3, 2010 by madmax

[xXx]

Boys what are the cons of getting an ex lease or fleet car? Don't leases have strict limits on mileage?

[madmax]

Didn't know leasing was that common in the US, but maybe people aren't sure if the lease had been fully paid or not and stuff nah? And I can't check on those anyway.

Dealer cannot take ownership of the car unless lease is paid off. And it will show in records. Things here don't work like SL.

[madmax]

Boys what are the cons of getting an ex lease or fleet car? Don't leases have strict limits on mileage?

Normal lease restriction is 12,000 miles an year but you can get up to 15,000 at additional cost. The car I have was a lease return, the lessee only put 22,000 miles on the car. I wouldn't think twice about buying a leased car. They would have to be serviced at dealer and adhere to strict useage guidelines otherwise lessee will end up having to pay penalties...

[BLu3HaZe]

Good to know that Means no problem if the quality is ok right? I wonder if people can hide salvage titles though.

Btw, any idea about the tax rates in SL if/when we get a USDM car or a US made car, like Dodge Neon, Caliber or whatever, or an Acura TSX or Civic Si as I mentioned. Guess the FOB can be taken as the purchase price on a brand new vehicle, but FOB price for used stuff from where? And main problem is converting LHD to RHD, who does that here reliably? And average cost?

[jdnet]

Corn already gone for this season. Starting to get colder outside. What were you doing here and what made you go back?

really? from what I remember in WI my buddy doesnt harvest till november. I went to college in Whitewater. Just decided to come back here because I like it more here, despite of all the political crap. Visited Ohio quite a bit in the recent years since I had a friend who lives in maumee and he was an expert on cars from Chrysler's LH platform and helped me fix what I couldn't figure out. I loved those all 7 hour trips I made from WI to OH just to fix a car and get drunk while doing it. I did it because I loved the scenery on my drive there and the fact that I drove without my wife so I didn't have to stop every 30 mins so she could go to the bathroom. Lol.

[jdnet]

Good to know that Means no problem if the quality is ok right? I wonder if people can hide salvage titles though.

Btw, any idea about the tax rates in SL if/when we get a USDM car or a US made car, like Dodge Neon, Caliber or whatever, or an Acura TSX or Civic Si as I mentioned. Guess the FOB can be taken as the purchase price on a brand new vehicle, but FOB price for used stuff from where? And main problem is converting LHD to RHD, who does that here reliably? And average cost?

would be much easier getting a used car from somewhere else considering the most cars made in the USA were LHD even export models. You will however be able to find a few RHD non-converted postal Jeep wranglers. BTW the dodge neon is THE worst POS you could find. My mother in law owns one and I did all the repairs on it and boy were there repairs to do all the time. The most fun I had was when she got a flat in the winter and I looked for the spare tire only to find that the tires was frozen in a block of ice. Turned out the cheap foam they used to seal the rear lights failed, leaking water into the wheel well when it was raining and later froze in the winter. Lol. Never seent that one before. Had to stick a heater in the trunk and melt all the ice off to finally get to the spare.

[jdnet]

"BMWs on the 'top ten most commonly leased vehicles' in American list

"

Looks like my numbers could be a little flawed - because I was looking at the high end car market.

Yeah if you are sticking to the only to higher end of the market the figures will be correct. The main reason is the social class of people buying those vehicles. If you were rich you would probably want to change your vehicle more frequently than a middle class person would. Thus leasing out would be a good option as you don't have to deal with the hassle of selling it and it will more likely be a better investment.

[BLu3HaZe]

would be much easier getting a used car from somewhere else considering the most cars made in the USA were LHD even export models. You will however be able to find a few RHD non-converted postal Jeep wranglers. BTW the dodge neon is THE worst POS you could find. My mother in law owns one and I did all the repairs on it and boy were there repairs to do all the time. The most fun I had was when she got a flat in the winter and I looked for the spare tire only to find that the tires was frozen in a block of ice. Turned out the cheap foam they used to seal the rear lights failed, leaking water into the wheel well when it was raining and later froze in the winter. Lol. Never seent that one before. Had to stick a heater in the trunk and melt all the ice off to finally get to the spare.

Hmm, yea it's easier from elsewhere but it's like the cheapest new vehicles are found in the US as it seems to me, and Japan being very high, and UK in the middle. Those are what I check on anyway, I don't have much contacts or relatives in other places.

If the chassis is different, how do people here quote FOB prices btw?

Hehe Ok, well I thought it was kinda ok, cuz some friends have it and says it's cheap, so seems it's just 'cheap'...

Btw, Andrew got a SRT-4 right? Isn't that based on the Neon, like Challenger, Viper etc.?

[Sifaan]

Hmm, yea it's easier from elsewhere but it's like the cheapest new vehicles are found in the US as it seems to me, and Japan being very high, and UK in the middle. Those are what I check on anyway, I don't have much contacts or relatives in other places.

If you are getting a car from UK you can avoid paying VAT (17.5%) which should make a big difference (at the time of purchase you have to say it's for export; car can't be driven in UK, or can be driven for max. 6 months - I forget the details. of course you have to buy from a VAT registered business, not a private seller).

also your contacts in UK may be eligible for a gift permit. this wouldn't work for US cos gift permit vehicles have to be RHD

[xXx]

Didn't know leasing was that common in the US, but maybe people aren't sure if the lease had been fully paid or not and stuff nah?

who are you referring to as 'people'???? How come the individuals involved in selling won't have access to that info?

Dealer cannot take ownership of the car unless lease is paid off. And it will show in records. Things here don't work like SL.

How does that work? Isn't it just like a loan default? Can't the finance company take over the car????

Good to know that Means no problem if the quality is ok right? I wonder if people can hide salvage titles though.

Btw, any idea about the tax rates in SL if/when we get a USDM car or a US made car, like Dodge Neon, Caliber or whatever, or an Acura TSX or Civic Si as I mentioned. Guess the FOB can be taken as the purchase price on a brand new vehicle, but FOB price for used stuff from where? And main problem is converting LHD to RHD, who does that here reliably? And average cost?

This should be the first thing you should look into if you are planning on bringing in a LHD car. I'm pretty sure after the convert there won't be much of a saving especially if its a average car with a fancy badge.

Salvage title can be hidden if it wasn't claimed form the insurance. But what are the chances of that.

[xXx]

That comes for any item, not only cars nah? But it's just a lovely system, wish we had it here. How much is tax for importing a car btw?

We have such a lovely system too. It's called VAT. Since most cars sold in US is built in North America there's no additional import tax.

'Import duty' for a car is actually in single digits over there (there are few other levies that come on top as well i believe), vaguely remember it been in the region of 4 or 6%.

[madmax]

How does that work? Isn't it just like a loan default? Can't the finance company take over the car????

Sorry , I wasn't being clear enough. Both the leasor's and lessee's names appear on the title, but the lessee is the rightful owner. When the lease is over or if the vehicle for repoed the dealership will take ownership of the car.

Here's an Carfax (they report the history of the car). Look at item 2 & 3 on the detailed history.

http://www.carfax.co...4n1QQzBDHLNm1h1

Edited October 3, 2010 by madmax