# Car purchase in Calgary



## uknursingcouple (Jan 14, 2012)

Hi, We will need a car pretty quickly Id imagine when we arrive in Calgary from the UK (permanent relocation 2 Nurses&young family) a few questions...
Are second hand cars as stupidly expensive as I hear? If so any examples would be fab! I hear new cars are cheap by comparisson to UK?
I would probably need a loan / payment plan from the car dealer for a new car but is this possible with no credit history in Canada? Maybe I can lease a car cheaply until I can quickly build a credit rating? Sorry so many questions but any help would be appreciated. Thanks everyone!:confused2:


----------



## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

Apparently second-hand cars are more expensive than in the UK. Some new cars are less expensive but not al. You will have problems with credit without a Canadian credit report although some second-hand dealers can make arrangements but the interest rate will be higher. Car leasing has the same credit bureau requirements. After all, once you drive the car away they have lost their control.


----------



## OTRA (Jan 22, 2012)

Go to kijiji dot ca and select Alberta, Calgary to get a good look at used (and new) car prices (as well as anything else that can be bought and sold). It's a good resource for determining legitimate costs. It is normal and acceptable to bargain on the price of advertised items (unless it says otherwise in the ad). I'm not familiar with car pricing in the UK but I was under the impression (from Mr. Clarkson) that the UK paid exorbitantly for vehicles.

The vehicle, the registration and the insurance are all separate (though the dealer may assist in arranging the latter 2). Registration for a non-commercial vehicle in Calgary runs around $80CAD annually and insurance is based on driver history, car value (depending on coverage) and insurance industry black-box calculations.

Minimum insurance coverage is termed "PL/PD" which covers damage to other people/property but not to you. If you have an at-fault accident with only the basic insurance, damages to your car or property are not covered. Most (all) lending/leasing/financing arrangements require "full coverage" insurance to finance a vehicle, with them named as the beneficiary in a total-loss accident. Full coverage insurance may be steep for your first year here and could easily be in excess of $2500CAD on a new car. On the other hand, for two inexpensive used vehicles, we pay roughly $600 year for PL/PD.

If you are not financing your vehicle, the level of insurance you purchase is of course up to you.


----------

