Road trip coming up...cheaper to rent or buy?

[pwd72s]

Cindy is in the planning stages of a remodel. I will not be here when the remodel is going on. A long story, but my absence will save a marriage, I think...plus "road trip" appeals. The rough plan is to pack my cue case and my bags, spending time in various towns.

As with all remodels, this will take an undertermined amount of time. Cindy will need her easy to drive Ford Ranger. The 8 mpg power wagon is out for long trips.

So, my thinking...rent a small high mpg car (air a must)? OR...just buy a new one for under $20K, sell it at a loss after the trip is over? Probably best resale would be Honda or Toyota?

I don't plan on putting a lot of miles on the car...maybe 5,000?

[BeyGon]

Buy a two year old so when you sell it the loss won't be so big and you will probably find one with enough warranty to take care of problems for the time you plan on keeping it.

[billwagnon]

wow that sounds like fun!

[Jims5543]

MINI Cooper - extremely fun car to drive that holds its value.

[KFC911]

+1 on a "good" used one...no need to take a new car depreciation hit if you don't have to for such short term usage imo.

[MRM]

Renting will probably be cheaper. If you watch it you should be able to get a $29.99 a day/$179.99 a week sort of deal. If you figure you'll lose a grand or two on the car purchase/resale deal, you can do an easy calculation to find out where your break even point is.

The best buying option would be to get a good deal on a small used car like a Camry from a private party, drive it and sell it on Crag's List when you get back home. But remember, you'll pay tax, title and license for a car you buy and sell.

[Rot 911]

I'd check weekly car rental rates before I went through the hassle of buying and selling a car.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by MRM

Renting will probably be cheaper. If you watch it you should be able to get a $29.99 a day/$179.99 a week sort of deal. If you figure you'll lose a grand or two on the car purchase/resale deal, you can do an easy calculation to find out where your break even point is.

The best buying option would be to get a good deal on a small used car like a Camry from a private party, drive it and sell it on Crag's List when you get back home. But remember, you'll pay tax, title and license for a car you buy and sell.

One plus living in Oregon. No sales tax, and license fees are relatively low..

[MRM]

Cool. Then buy a used Mazda Protege, drive the snot out of it and sell it to a student who needs good, cheap, basic transportation.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Kurt V

I'd check weekly car rental rates before I went through the hassle of buying and selling a car.

Good idea...just called the local Enterprise outlet. Figure $215 per week as long as I stay in Oregon or Washington....I'm figuring 4-6 weeks...

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Good idea...just called the local Enterprise outlet. Figure $215 per week as long as I stay in Oregon or Washington....I'm figuring 4-6 weeks...

I can imagine RoninLB's response when he reads this..."stay in Oregon or Washington? Hell, that's not a real road trip!"

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

I can imagine RoninLB's response when he reads this..."stay in Oregon or Washington? Hell, that's not a real road trip!"

HOOT! You're right. I'm gonna send Ron a link...

[RoninLB]

Fuch'en A Jim


I met the bride in Denver after she had a business trip to la la land.

I pre paid Avis for a 6 cylinder for a month.

"sorry but the mid-size is not available. We can refund $ and give you a compact or exchange the mid-size for a Cadillac at no extra cost."

We had the Cad in every 20 campgrounds, jeep trails, broke the windshield, had a rock through the floorpan, bent a rim, and it rattled like an old NYC taxi after two weeks.

she dresses up in business clothes and marches into avis and complains about rocks falling down the mountain and causing her much grief and horror. They apologized for her dismay and gave her another caddy.


Rent a 6 cylinder and beat the crap out of it.

[alf]

Buy a Westfalia VW and sell it later. Not the easiest on gas, but you could live in that thing all summer.

[madmmac]

Don't buy or rent.

Steal something and you will have a lot more excitement and probably some good stories to tell.

[Neilk]

If you rent a car, try renting through priceline.com . You can get some great deals using a ridiculously low bid like $15 per day.

Also, check and see if there are any limitations on how long you can use a rental car on your own policy.

Lastly, whatever the contractor said regarding renovation time, double it... but you already know that.

[BeyGon]

When you rent the car and use your own insurance you are not insured totally. If you crash the car for any reason you are still liable for the time it takes to get the car fixed, just as if you are still renting it. In some cases that could cost a bunch. Or you can buy the extra insurance from the rental company, Expensive.
I would buy the two to three year old car, one that still has a warrenty, use my insurance and hope to get at least what I paid for it in six months or a year, depending on how good a dealer you are. Who knows, you might love the car and sell something else.

[jyl]

What about renting a small easy-to-drive motorhome, like a Rialta? Iffy MPG (Rialtas get appx 16-18 MPG) but save motel cost $700/wk and hassle of packing/unpacking/looking for vacancies - depends on where you're planning to go I suppose.

[911boost]

Forget the renting or buying of a newer car, I totally second the VW Westfalia comments. If you can get one based of the Vanagon, they aren't half bad on gas.

You are an old air cooled guy at heart, so maybe an earlier Westy would be more to your likeing.

Drive something with some character.

Plus, unlike some the of the earlier 911 guys, most of the VW people I meet are easy going and nice people.

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/car/731266042.html

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/car/724980221.html

Just ideas....

Bill

[Hugh R]

If not living in it, I think renting could be better. How long will you be gone? At $xxx per week you'll know exactly what your costs will be versus buying and seeing what you can sell it for. Assuming no glass damage or other upcharges for stone chips, etc.