car refinancing

net_bh · Post by **net_bh** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 8:47 pm

Hi,

I have a car here in the US that I havent yet paid off. I wish to bring it to Finland, but the finance company tells me to either pay it off completely, get it refinanced or sell it off. I could pay it off on a credit card, but dont want to unless there is no other option.

Does anybody have pointers to refinance a car in the US and bring it to Finland? Or any other ideas?

Thanks.

Regards,
A

**Sponsor:**

dusty_bin · Post by **dusty_bin** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 9:26 pm

if you are making the payments regularly then why tell the finance firm in the first place?

Did you buy the car and borrow the money to pay for the car, or are you making lease payments or hire purchase? In the latter two examples, you are effectively renting the car and do not own it, unless you buy out the lease with a balloon payment in the case of the lease, or complete the finance committment in the case of HP. In these cases, as you are not the owner until the end of the contract, I gues that taking the car out of reach of the finance company would be theft, but are not most cars bought (these days) using credit sale where the money is borrowed from the finance company, unsecured?

sayx · Post by **sayx** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 2:09 pm

I was in the same problem as you when I moved my stuff from the US to here. I paid off the car on visa and then we got a loan in Finland to pay off the visa. You have to have the car papers in your name to move it out of the country. US customs will ask for them.

net_bh · Post by **net_bh** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 1:30 am

What 'sayx' says is right: I need to show the papers to US customs.

I was thinking about the 0% APR credit card option too. If i did that, do you know what are typical APR rates for loans in Finland? I am at a low APR here and dont want to pay too much higher.

Also, some pointers to Finnish lending institutions would be really helpful. Do they consider a good WORD CENSOR - SPAM POST/MESSAGE!!! in the USA to offer low APR?

Regards,
A

sayx · Post by **sayx** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 8:36 am

First of all, if you’re coming here, for get 90% of the way things have been done in the US. You will not be in Kansas anymore Dorothy. So the interest rate will not differ as much as in the US, right now I have a loan at 8.5% (+/- .2) with no collateral, and a second one with collateral @ 4.25% or so (+/- .2). So you may wish to get a loan there and pay it off from Finland.

ronrubies · Post by **ronrubies** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 1:58 pm

Generally, credit is not as easily available in Finland as in the US and is more expensive; my guesses why are 1) partly the small market size and 2) partly the cultural aversion to personal debt. A recent immigrant to Finland will usually find it difficult to get credit until they have established a large bank account here (i.e. loan collateral), or have a history of steady employment here. Credit card limits also tend to be lower than in the US. Therefore, I recommend that people moving to Finland have as much credit available (credit cards, bank credit lines, etc.) until they can establish themselves here. Coming from the US, it may seem odd to use credit cards to pay off a car loan in order to send the car to Finland, but it is a very practical thing to do. Also, if you get a very low APR, such as 0%-4%, you might be better off keeping that loan rather than finding financing in Finland.

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 3:45 pm

You may get a loan from a bank without collateral up to 8000 or so, but the interest rate will fly around 10%.

Just out of curiosity - have you calculated the cost of having a car in Finland if you can afford to both drive and pay for it?

net_bh · Post by **net_bh** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 6:21 am

Thanks for all the replies.

Hank: I have factored in the cost of maintaining a car and the exorbitant gas prices in Finland. Doesnt leave much at the end of the month. But maybe its my being used to having a car for so many years (or plain old feeling of independence/arrogance) that I dont want to let go now!

Is public transportation really that good in Tampere for daily use?
Even in winter?
I really dont have to start from home an hour in advance to get to work on time?

Sayx: Funny you say that....i was in Kansas city for 2.5 years

mookoo · Post by **mookoo** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 8:15 am

sayx wrote:You will not be in Kansas anymore Dorothy

net_bh wrote:Sayx: Funny you say that....i was in Kansas city for 2.5 years

Darn Wizard of Oz!

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 10:00 am

net_bh wrote:
I really dont have to start from home an hour in advance to get to work on time?

And you plan on doing that with a car in winter? It takes a hour to get the car started (1/2 if you're lucky)

Going to work in a car
Wake up 7.30
1. Go to yard, find a foot of snow on car. Lock frozen. Go back in (10 minutes, lots of cursing)
2. Get a few plastic bags fill them with water (10 minutes, lots of cursing)
3. Thaw some lock that will open. (5-15 minutes)
4. Get the scarper and brush out and start scraping your windows after you remove the foot of snow. (10 minutes) * (optimist)
5. Start the car *(realist change 4 and 5 and save 10 minutes)
6. a)Car does/ b) does not start. (5 minutes)
7. In case of b) Look around for help (5-10 minutes, depending on coldness)
8. In case of a) try keep it running, hope the handbrake isn't frozen (10 5-10 minutes depending on the cold.)
9. Start driving to work. Yoour door has probably frozen solid "open" so you have to keep it with your hand. Meanwhile your exhale freezes to the window and you have to scrape from the inside too. Driving takes approximately 1/2 hour longer than on a summer day.
at work 8:50

Going to work in a bus
Wake up around 8:00 the neighbor sawing his car to start.
niuniuniuniu...rrrrrrrrr niuniuniuniu BRANNNNnnnnannNNNNAAAANNNNNANNNNAAAAANNNNNAANNNNnnnn....nnnnkfghht.
niuniuniuRAMBABBEBARARRARRAARARARARAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNnnnnnnnn...SPLUTTER...NNARRRARAANANATAATATATANANNANANANANANANA...
turn over and smile.
8.10 get out of bed, shower. Listen to the other neighbor stomping in and getting hot watewr to thaw his doors.
8.20 step outside and look at the third neighbor standing sheepishly with red and black wires coming from his brand new (1992) Mercedes-Benz while another neighbor gives power from his Lada.
8.30. Step into a warm bus, snooze.
8.50. At the office.

Man, I have 3 cars. I take the bus to work in the winter

net_bh · Post by **net_bh** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 10:19 am

Very descriptive.

Why do you have 3 cars, if i may ask?

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 10:37 am

Usually one of them starts.

I used to have 6... err.

OK

1. Daily Driver; 1987 DaewooLeMans (Sold in USA as Pontiac), nowadays Chevrolet. My in-laws shipped it over. I got it after paying taxes (car was free). Driven 170.000 only. No rust really. Needs a bit of a restoration though. Runs half decent after Delco stuff changed to Bosch. California emissions crap, can't be driven in more than -15. Might change the intake manifold and dump the catalyte to get it "running". Keeping it still 4 years my nephew is getting a present on his 18th

2. SUV: 1973 VW Doppelkabine. Former Austrian fire brigade Crew Cab. Tuned up 1,7 aircooled engine. Would need to get from the shop yard, got front end redone. Starts with a keytwist, good to drive except over 90 gets a bit wobbly. Six seats and enough space on bed. Bought it as need to haul stuff. Going to travel with it probably. Needs welding (not rusty, but bad looking repairs). Got an engineless 1975 as spares sitting at the cottage I'd need to take into pieces.

3. Behemoth. 1988 VW Passat/Santana/Dasher. Dad's old car. Was on cinderblocks for 3 years. Got a mate to fix it & got it registered & on the road. Mate drives it now and so gets his "payment". He wants to buy it but has no money. Good winter car. I might repo it for the winter if needed. (Mate rents my cottage so its "in the family" kind of deal.)

+ had 3 beetles... sold the 1968 and 1969 (in part exchange got the 1975 pickup van), kept the 1967. Thats going to the shop soon... needs an engine lifted in. Need to figure that one out.

And then there is a burned beetle hulk I need to get rid of after removing some parts and then I got rid of another 1975 dasher that'd been sitting in the field for 15 years so... who me white trash?

teme · Post by **teme** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 2:01 pm

net_bh wrote:Is public transportation really that good in Tampere for daily use?
Even in winter?

Check http://atlas.tripplanner.fi/tkl/fi/
Enter home address first, work address then, and pick a date and time. (Doesn't work in English for some reason.)

Hank forgot waving at the queing cars while you cruise the bus lane.

Post by **neil** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 3:30 pm

Hank W. wrote: Going to work in a car
Wake up 7.30
1. Go to yard, find a foot of snow on car. Lock frozen. Go back in (10 minutes, lots of cursing)

I like this one: Car was parked on street. Foot of snow fell and snowplough already been. Car now not visible. Major digging needed. Back to apt'mnt to get wellies and shovel.

Reminds me of this http://media.ebaumsworld.com/snowtow.wmv

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 11:07 pm

Remember Neil that one morning spending 20 minutes trying to get the car thawed and it'd only been like -10 that night or something?

Finland Forum

Find information about moving to, living in and life in Finland

car refinancing

car refinancing

car refinancing

Finnish Credit Markets