Long distance relocation: rent/lease or buy used car?

E

EuroEnthusiast

Banned
I've been offered a job in Toronto and will be planning a relocation in the next 2 weeks, bringing mostly fall/winter clothes and supplies and renting a room. I have stuff in storage that will be sold progressively but may choose to transport some furniture. The job in Toronto is expected to last a few months, maybe more but there's also a chance to relocate to Calgary.

I'm looking for suggestions on whether to find a lease transfer (max 12-18 months remaining), rent one from Enterprise, Avis, Global et al (very pricey), finance a used car or buy something with cash. For financing, the challenge is that it would be my first application (previously borrowed/rented cars, rented short term) and I don't know if I'd qualify since I'm unemployed now but do have a credit card, a small debt (student loan) and a job offer letter in hand for the company in Toronto.

I would ideally like to find a fuel efficient manual wagon, hatchback or maybe minivan FWD or AWD that's reliable and comfortable over long distances (Euro seats with good thigh support for longer legs comes to mind). If buying used, I'd for some balance of warranty, price range $5000-7500 including winter tires and necessary repairs to get ready for a cross Canada trip (would pay mechanic). Since I don't know how long the Toronto job will last and don't yet have an offer in Calgary, renting/leasing for a shorter term is preferred. Also non smoker preferred.

Another thing about insurance: do leasing companies or Insurance companies allow a car that was leased in Quebec to be insured in Quebec but driven in Ontario or do you have to insure it in province you do most of the driving?
 
Last edited:
You can insure out of province. I did that with my Quebec motorcycle when living in the USA.

But with all the unknown for the job, don't get into leasing/financing. Buy something outright that you can sell back anytime.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for your advice. For your insurance example, was the vehicle registered in QC and insured by a Canadian company that allowed full time usage and provided coverage for your time in the USA?
 
Bump, to update this thread, I didn't move yet but have 2 possible job opportunities in sight. I could use advice about what to do in these scenarios to acquire a reliable vehicle for 8-14 months, maybe longer. Note I am currently unemployed but have some savings, see post #1 for details.

One job would be a 12 month contract in Toronto. The other is a 6 month contract in a northern Prairie town.
Has anyone here completed a long distance relocation by road in the winter (I see it's 3400+ km from Montreal)

Also which vehicle (does it have to be a minivan or SUV?) would a queen sized mattress fit into? I was hoping AWD + manual but that seems unrealistic given the vehicle size required to transport a mattress & furniture.
 
I moved in the winter to Calgary, but rented a small U-Haul (smallest like 10ft one) to bring my stuff.
 
Do you plan and have the opportunity to live close by the workplace? You could rent a u-haul one way like MrSpace but only buy a car once actually on location and transit / rent a car until you find something. Or rent a u-haul box with a car dolly or trailer if you find a car locally before moving.

You have to get insurance based on your primary home location. For a 12-month contract in Toronto, you would need to get everything in Ontario unless you keep a primary residence in Quebec but even then you have to declare you will be driving mostly in another province for so many months.
 
i would say ditch the car suv or whateve rand rent a u-haull for moving your stuff and but a car over there. or bring the car you have here right now.
 
j'acheterai une petite voiture usagé fiable genre une corolla ou une matrix si tu as besoin d'espace. De plus (sous toute reserve) je crois que les assurances sont moins dispendieuse au quebec
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I didn't realize you can do 1 way rentals with U-haul.

Toronto is the top employment market especially for my field and proximity to Mtl is a big plus. I worked in Val d'Or and applied to local companies but there are simply more opportunities outside the province that can help fast track my career (recent graduate).

By the way I paid off the student loan so just have credit card debt that I pay off in full each month. Now I'd like to focus on what I need to do to ensure I'm approved by Toyota Finance et al. But will they even approve a lease transfer request (i.e. found on leasebusters) from an unemployed applicant or do I have to put down a security deposit? Of course if I get a written offer of employment I can submit that.
No, unfortunately the current car I drive (Impreza hatchback) can't leave the province long term and is scheduled to be returned to the dealer in the months ahead.
 
Quick599 said:
Also, keep in mind you will lose your Quebec Medical Card after 6 months out of province.
Click to expand...

Yeah I heard that. Is it possible to maintain the Medicare card if you continue to receive your postal mail in Quebec and fail to notify the government that you left? Right now I use Canada Post mail redirection service and rent rooms so my postal address remains in Montreal.
 
It's worth it to ditch quebec medicare and driver's licence

you will likely pay less taxes in Ontario than Quebec, of course not as less as Calgary but still, good to check
 
EuroEnthusiast said:
Yeah I heard that. Is it possible to maintain the Medicare card if you continue to receive your postal mail in Quebec and fail to notify the government that you left? Right now I use Canada Post mail redirection service and rent rooms so my postal address remains in Montreal.
Click to expand...

Do note that you will have to pay out of pocket for medical in Ontario with a Quebec card. Quebec doesn't reimburse the full amount which is sometimes even lower than half. You'll pay more on car insurance but you'll pay less on other stuff.

Do you plan to come back in Quebec? Is there a chance you might stay elsewhere and not come back? While you might get away with it, if Revenu Québec decides to randomly pick you or some white knigth snitch you about failing to tell government you moved, RAMQ and Ontario revenu (or wathever it's call) won't be too happy and you may end up loosing more than the hassle to make all the changes when moving from one province to another.
 
Yes I plan to return to Montreal since I have a storage unit with most of my stuff from a 1 bedroom apartment still in it. The idea was to keep it for now, just move the essentials and, if I can get the 12 month contract job in Toronto, return periodically to use it. However I recognize that continuing to pay for a storage unit in the city you don't live in can get expensive.

Anyway that Prairies company whose manager was supposed to contact me for a phone interview is late..not looking too professional.
 
Right now I drive an Impreza hatchback whose 48 month lease is set to expire in 3 months. Normally I would avoid a new car lease whose term goes beyond the 3 yr bumper to bumper warranty but in this case it was my dad who did a lease transfer so I'm essentially renting the car that's leased under his name. He told me I could use it in the province of Quebec, not outside, so initially he encouraged me to look for work in QC. But I knew that my field would likely take me to other provinces.

Now to update this thread, I received a job offer for almost 12 month contract in Toronto and am pretty sure I'll sign. I may be able to negotiate the start date but it will require relocation within 2-3 weeks. I don't have a lot to spend on a used car and my risk tolerance is low so would prefer a used car with warranty.

My questions: what kinds of questions would Toyota Finance or other credit companies) ask on an application and is it possible to be approved if you are unemployed but with a job offer letter? Or is it better to start a new job, wait for until a 2 week paycheck and show them that, plus a bank statement with a few thousand dollars in savings? The job in question would pay $45-55k/yr gross.
I'd be interested in exploring the possibility of leasing a 2015-16 model hatch/wagon for up to 24 months with balance of bumper to bumper warranty and eligible for extended warranty if needed. Would prefer to keep some cash for investments so low monthly payment is important.
 
EuroEnthusiast said:
is it possible to be approved if you are unemployed but with a job offer letter? Or is it better to start a new job, wait for until a 2 week paycheck and show them that, plus a bank statement with a few thousand dollars in savings? The job in question would pay $45-55k/yr gross.
Click to expand...

What do you think...

45k a year in downtown toronto isn't a lot of money
1) Find a place to live
2)Move
3) live there for a few months and figure out what your budget for transportation is /if you like the job and will stick around.
4)apply for credit as a productive member of society

You're welcome.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top