tonis
Registered Users (C)
Good luck, but you won't need it!
DV 2015 Oceania winners
- Thread starter Kellie
- Start date
CC1
Active Member
Does anybody have any info on buying a car when you get to the states, my hubby has been told the insurance is really expensive he was told you have to insure yourself not the car and it costs what we pay in a year they pay per month, could you confirm this one Simon or shed any light on this issue
Britsimon
Super Moderator
Does anybody have any info on buying a car when you get to the states, my hubby has been told the insurance is really expensive he was told you have to insure yourself not the car and it costs what we pay in a year they pay per month, could you confirm this one Simon or shed any light on this issue
Yes insurance is a bit more expensive here than other countries. Why? Because lawyers here are the first responders to any accident!
I'm drafting a blog post about a few major purchases, but for a car I can give you some pointers.
I bought my car a week or so after arriving. I didn't want to rent a car for long. Until you can get finance you might have to pay cash, and I would not recommend the "buy here, pay here" type of car dealer. I bought a used car because I hate the depreciation of cars, but actually that is not a "normal"American mindset. Most people finance/lease their cars. I bought a 2010 Merc ML350 and with taxes and the various fees it was around $30k. You can't drive the car off the lot without insurance, and I pay around $700 for each 6 months (annoyingly my company won't do a 12 month plan). I didn't really shop around so I'm sure I could have done better. The broker was able to give me some good driver discounts because I had obtained my insurance history from the UK showing many years of no claims bonus.
You can get cheaper insurance if you don't have the same "levels" of coverage. I opted for pretty high levels - the reason for that is that you are more likely to be sued if they decide you have money. In fact I now have "umbrella insurance" (about $600/year) because I am liable for things like someone tripping over on the path to my front door or something silly like that. You need to balance the level of coverage with your assets and how much you want to pay for insurance. My umbrella is $3M. On top of that I have renters insurance, and since I just bought the land I now have a "course of construction" policy (protection for onsite materials, accidents if a neighbors kid falls down a hole on my land), which will transition into home insurance.
So yeah - get used to paying for insurance (unless you have little/no money then you are not worth suing!).
SuicideBlonde
Active Member
Congrats! We just got to mobile reception in Darwin (been road tripping the NT the last week) and no 2NL email for us
I'm a bit crushed .. Better happen in January!
Britsimon
Super Moderator
Congrats! We just got to mobile reception in Darwin (been road tripping the NT the last week) and no 2NL email for us
Yep - it is pretty clear they didn't get to July yet... :-(
SuicideBlonde
Active Member
Sigh.. Waiting is torturous but as others have said at least we have a low CN. I just wish we had known submitting late-ish would affect us!
EmilyW
Well-Known Member
Without wanting to sound rude, for those with a low case number who submitted the DS260 late, your 2NL will be delayed by a month. Spare a thought / some perspective for our fellow OCers who may not get the luxury of a month's delay and will not get to interview.
It's sucky that the VB numbers are powering ahead but that the processing of the DS260 isn't matching. But it's a month delay. Two at worst.
It's sucky that the VB numbers are powering ahead but that the processing of the DS260 isn't matching. But it's a month delay. Two at worst.
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CC1
Active Member
Thanks Simon, Well that's not so bad on the car front we pay more than that in Auzzie, can tick that one off the list of concerns but I have never heard of renters insurance, we have contents Insurance for the goods inside your property and home Insurance when you own your home but renters Insurance is a new one on me
Britsimon
Super Moderator
Thanks Simon, Well that's not so bad on the car front we pay more than that in Auzzie, can tick that one off the list of concerns but I have never heard of renters insurance, we have contents Insurance for the goods inside your property and home Insurance when you own your home but renters Insurance is a new one on me
Renters insurance is just contents cover, rather than buildings and contents (home owners insurance). Sorry, new terms, I should have explained.
guestgulkan
Well-Known Member
Simon's insurance sounds like overkill for the average new migrant who owns nothing. Just grab the minimum legal insurance for your state and it'll be cheap.
I paid 196.02 per six months for an SUV in Colorado with GEICO. You can get it cheaper elsewhere.
I paid 196.02 per six months for an SUV in Colorado with GEICO. You can get it cheaper elsewhere.
Britsimon
Super Moderator
Yeah - totally agree as I said before, if you have nothing you are not worth suing - the insurance I have is because I don't want to lose what I have!! However, once someone has equity or savings in the bank waiting to buy a home, the insurance matters.
Don't go too cheap on insurance though - they can attach against future earnings...
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
Can you give an idea of value of the car and any stuff you were able to show them (credit record, driving record, insurance records etc?)
I must say that while insurance looks more expensive than we have at home - though actually if we can get rates around gulkan's it is cheaper, depending on what the car value is - the fact that cars themselves are hugely cheaper and gas a lot cheaper more than offsets that. I think it's important to look at the whole package - cars are probably on average 60% of what the prices at home are - insurance needs to be colossal to offset that.
I guess I also need to stop saying "at home" soon...
Britsimon
Super Moderator
Can you give an idea of value of the car and any stuff you were able to show them (credit record, driving record, insurance records etc?)
I must say that while insurance looks more expensive than we have at home - though actually if we can get rates around gulkan's it is cheaper, depending on what the car value is - the fact that cars themselves are hugely cheaper and gas a lot cheaper more than offsets that. I think it's important to look at the whole package - cars are probably on average 60% of what the prices at home are - insurance needs to be colossal to offset that.
I guess I also need to stop saying "at home" soon...
You would most certainly not want to go with the minimum coverage levels that Guestgulkan mentions Susie. Part of why I mentioned that I paid cash for a used car was to explain that if I were involved in an accident, the "other side" will do some simple checks. The easiest is the coverage levels on your insurance, and whether the car is leased or not. Since mine is owned they know I am "worth" at least enough to pay cash for a car, and that is one asset they could be interested in. The next thing they would do is financial background search - and they would figure out what assets or insurance cover you have. In a sense having high coverage amounts and umbrella policies "reveals" those amounts and makes you "easy prey" - and therefore makes you more likely to be sued - BUT that is a hell of a lot better than having minimum coverages, they figure out you have money/assets and they go after you because of that.
Essey
Active Member
Well I've booked my flight to Sydney, hotel room at Travelodge ($125 for one night, not too bad) and medical appointment. There were two medical centres in Melbourne so I went for Medibank Health Solutions, which is closer and they just booked me in without even asking if I had a 2NL or anything. They do all sorts of visa medical there and the person I spoke to didn't really seem to know what the Diversity/Green Card Lottery was, they just asked 'immigrant or non-immigrant visa?' They are going to call back to confirm the appointment so we'll see how that goes.
ozimattskey
Member
Hi Guys,
What exactly is the below? Is the the compelte 8 page form that you fill out?
DS-260 confirmation page You can print this from the Consular Electronic Application Center any time after you complete your DS-260 application.
What exactly is the below? Is the the compelte 8 page form that you fill out?
DS-260 confirmation page You can print this from the Consular Electronic Application Center any time after you complete your DS-260 application.
SuicideBlonde
Active Member
@Essey - it's all happening for you! I called Medibank a little while ago to enquire about medicals - the lady was super helpful but said they'd just won the contract or something to do the US visa medicals so it was still a bit new to them? May explain them not knowing much about DV. they were a lot nicer to me over the phone than Bridge Street though Will be following your updates about the medical as that's where we'll be going to
I called Medibank a little while ago to enquire about medicals - the lady was super helpful but said they'd just won the contract or something to do the US visa medicals so it was still a bit new to them? May explain them not knowing much about DV. they were a lot nicer to me over the phone than Bridge Street though Will be following your updates about the medical as that's where we'll be going to
SuicideBlonde
Active Member
When we submitted the DS260 we received an email confirmation with a confirmation page attached in a PDF file.
"
I'm assuming this is what is needed to be taken to the interview.
Essey
Active Member
Sorry to hear you didn't get your 2NL yet - I know how you feel but hang in there and just remember that you are current and will definitely get an interview!
SuicideBlonde
Active Member
Thanks!
... yeah I know,...I'm being a bit dramatic about it all I know you get it- it's hard when our whole life is revolving around it at the moment -it's all I think about, having that date, so I can have a timeline!I'm definitely thankful for our low number and in the grand scheme of things a few months delay is fine. I know it will all happen soon (and probably around when we initially thought it would pre-VB announcements). This years VB's have been such a tease though!
It's great hearing everyone's reports back of successful interviews, upcoming interviews and 2NLs
Essey
Active Member
@Essey - it's all happening for you!
So Medibank just called me back to confirm my appointment, I spoke with a really nice lady called Emma who apologised for not getting back to me sooner and confirmed what you said about the fact that they have just started doing these and were a little understaffed! Sounds like you just got a grumpy person the day you called, Blondie. I'm booked in for this Wednesday (eek!) and she has asked me to email my vaccination history to her earlier if possible, which will be scanning and emailing her tonight. This is so they can order any vaccines that I still need. Based on the lists people have posted here, I have pretty much all the vaccinations except varicella already so I opted to not get one of those immunity blood tests and just pay for any additional vaccines on the day.
She told me that the x-rays are done on Collins St which are about 10 minutes walk from the clinic and they don't have to be done on the same day, but you just rock up with your referral to do that, you don't need an appointment, but I'll probably try and do it the same day. I was told it'll be about $520 including x-rays all up and not including any extra vaccinations. She also confirmed the medical was valid for 6 months (which we already knew). She's also going to email me some info sometime today but not exactly sure what. Apparently it takes about a week to get all the tests back and complete the medical, after which time you go back and pick it up. I'll post what the email says and how the medical goes on Wednesday for sure!