Expat Community > Italy

maradel
Joined 2017
Posts: 116

long term car lease

5 years ago

I'm trying to figure out transportation options for after I move to Italy, and I need some advice/insight. I am a dual US/Italy citizen, moving to Italy permanently at the end of January 2019. I understand that I will have to get my Italian driver's license within about a yr after I establish residence and that I'll be subject to restrictions about what kind of car I'll be allowed to drive for about a year.

I'm trying to figure out what to do about transportation during the first year or 2 I'm in Italy. I'm leaning towards doing one of the "short term" car leases to start with. If I initiate that before I establish permanent residency, will I get in trouble? If I'm allowed to do that (or can get away with it!), it would give me a few months to look around and figure out what I might need more permanently.

Those leases aren't exactly cheap, though. So, since I'm planning to stay, would it make more sense for me to just buy a car soon after I move? I'd rather not do that because I'm totally ignorant about Italian cars at this point! I'd rather just do something like a 2 year lease to give me a chance to settle in, get my license, get through the first year post-license restrictions, and improve my Italian. However, every time I try to search the web for long term car leases in Italy, I just pull up car rentals (not doing that) and short term leases (Renault, Peugeot). Are there long term car leases in Italy?

If it weren't completely stupid, I'd ship my old pickup truck over to avoid all this hassle! I love my 18 year old Ford Ranger! It has no frills, smells like dogs, & goes from 0 to 60 in about 5 minutes, but it gets me where I need to go! Shipping it would cost more than it's worth, HOWEVER, if I factor in the cost of having to rent/lease/buy a car in Italy right away, maybe it's not so stupid...

Opinions? Suggestions? Ideas? Jokes?

Grazie!

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SJB Global

SJB Global is a top-rated financial advisory firm specializing in expat financial advice worldwide, offering retirement planning & tax-efficient solutions with a regressive fee model.
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SJB Global

SJB Global is a top-rated financial advisory firm specializing in expat financial advice worldwide, offering retirement planning & tax-efficient solutions with a regressive fee model.
Learn More

SJB Global

SJB Global is a top-rated financial advisory firm specializing in expat financial advice worldwide, offering retirement planning & tax-efficient solutions with a regressive fee model.
Learn More

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Expat Community > Italy

long term car lease

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