Car purchase/sale vs. flying renting

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Wife and I are making our annual trip back to mainland to visit kids, grandkids, great grands, friends, and stuff. This year will start early June in Seattle, WA and pass through - Denver - Okalhoma City - Dallas - Corpus Christi - to the Augusta/Atlanta area. Then return at the end of November to Hawaii. There may be a side trip to San Francisco in the Seattle to Denver segment. Lots of little flights for the two of us and car/van rentals along the way.

Brainstorm (wife may consider it a stroke;)) is to buy a 6+ passenger van/suv/something in Seattle and drive the route. At the finish in Augusta/Atlanta, sell the vehicle. Comfort and space.

Why 6+? At most stops there will be us two, two adult kids, and two grandkids or great grandkids.

My thought is since we have few exact dates we have to be anywhere, why tie us down to airline tickets/cancellations. Plus we get to avoid stop-overs, security, baggage lugging, rental cars. If we drive, we can see what we want along the way (Seattle to Denver is the long trip - lots of National parks and scenery and places we’ve never been along the wandering way). Though a geezer, I’m still a good driver and the wife pitches in. Gas is free so I hear now-a-days back in the mainland.

Selling the car. We’ll be in Georgia for a month at least so no pressure for a quick dump or the kids could upgrade one of their vehicles (moving from 2 rugrats to a third - baby due mid-Sept).

My price point to buy is sub $8500; lots of options with decent miles on them 2008 to 2012: Honda Odyessy/Pilot, Toyota Sienna/Highlander, Acura MDX, Mazda CX-9, Ford Flex, Kia Sedona, Audi Q7, Volvo XC90. Get one with recent service (I’ll get a pre-purchase inspection in any case), drive it for the extimated 7000 miles we’ll cover and sell at the end. The big part of depreciation is done so I should get close to purchase price - within $2000 we should be ahead of all the airline tickets and other rentals needed along the way. And we get to set our own schedule for the most part. Lousy weather, we stay another day, etc…

One example is an Audi Q7, one owner, 117k miles, complete service records, only $250 above the NADA wholesale. Pricing it for Atlanta with now having 126k miles at good private party sale, I should make a $1500 profit (breaking even would be just fine).

Whatttayyaaathink? Am I mad?

All bets are off pending VIRUS complications.:eek:

2

I dunno. Say your car breaks down. The car belongs to the rental agency, it’s their problem. Belongs to you, it’s your problem. And selling a car for a good price (as opposed to just basically giving it away) is a pain in the patoot; plenty of flakes out there.

However, I firmly believe that the best vehicle for long road trips is a minivan. Some friends and I have rented a minivan from Enterprise and driven Seattle-Louisville and back a couple times. We had a lot of baggage, and those Chrysler minivans just swallowed it all up no problem. And the stow-and-go rear seating which disappears into the floor is slick slick slick.

3

Selling is a pain in the ass and can take valuable time away from your trip. If your family on the mainland doesn’t mind selling it for you, I’d say to go for it. That way, you don’t waste any of your vacation worried about getting rid of the van. After you fly back, they can work the meet-ups, test drives, tire kickers, etc. You’re more likely to get asking price that way, and you can throw them a bit off the top for their trouble. I’m prone to these types of wild, higher risk/high payoff travel plans, though. I also prefer driving vs flying when traveling cross country like that. So, I don’t think your plan is too bad of an idea.

4

I think you should buy your own 6-seater airplane.

Here’s an ad for one, for example. (Already sold, but you can see what it looks like. Ad includes slide show with multiple pics of interior and exterior.) Interior can be custom-configured with 4 seats or 6 seats.

5

I think this is a great idea …

… provided all those kids, grandkids etc. live within walking distance of airports.
Otherwise, I think the “buy, then sell” idea is feasible, but both transactions have obvious potential complications. To give this a fair chance of going smoothly, you’ll want some reliable local help.

6

In my view, even if you lose $3k on the buy-sell, it’s still a fair price to pay for the comfort and convenience gained. I’ve driven junkers across the country a dozen times, and only had three or four repairs, less than a couple hundred each.

7

I have done similar things in the past. They have always worked out for me.

I also like the freedom that this option gives me. I have given my temporary rig to relatives +/or friends at the far end of the trip a time or two. This was mostly because they needed more reliable transportation, not because I could not sell the car.

Obviously things can go very wrong, so make sure that you can afford to lose your entire investment in the car. Then do not worry about the selling experience until it is time to sell. That way you get to enjoy the entire trip.

IHTH, 48.

8

I’ve got my private pilot license though my medical and check rides are waaaay out of date:D

Still hard to fly the crew out to dinner - assuming things open up later safely.

9

I’m trying to limit any potential huge loss by going “used car” at the start and getting an inspection. I also check for bad trends with certain autos like weak transmissions or known cooling system failures.

Selling within a month should be reasonable and my son at the end is good at that portion of the transaction having done a bunch of trading in the past.
I’m psyched, just get the wife on board and it’s adventure city:D

10

What issues would there be with taxes, title and license? You’d have to figure out how to get the plates and title so the car was legal to be driven. And don’t forget about insurance costs.

One option might be to buy and sell the car from a place like CarMax. Buying the car from a major dealer means they’ve done some kind of knowledgeable inspection of the car. I’m not sure what they’d buy the car back for, but the advantage is that they’d buy it on the spot.

You might want to get AAA if you don’t already have it. Hopefully the car wouldn’t break down, but having an AAA membership means it would be easier to get towed. Since you’d be driving in remote areas, get the upgraded membership which will tow long distances instead of the 7 miles with the basic membership.

11

I used Truecar to find a new-to-me car at a semi-local AutoNation dealership very recently. Could not have gone better. They offered a variety of included warranties with the price. (As opposed to extended warranties or mandatory service plans not mentioned in the low-ball price.) Things like 5 day/250 mile return of vehicle and rescission of contract. 6,000 mile limited warranty, and other stuff. You’d have to be comfortable driving with dealer temp plates though, and I don’t know how that would go in another state. I guess they’d mail the tags to the final destination?

Alternately, and I think SenorBeef mentioned it here in another thread, rental car company sales are a great way to get a lower mileage car that you know has been maintained. They stock minivans, crossovers and bigger SUVs. I was all set to buy a Fusion Hybrid from one before this car dropped in our lap.

I like your idea. But then I like to drive. And I hate flying post 9/11.

12

I used Truecar to find a new-to-me car at a semi-local AutoNation dealership very recently. Could not have gone better. They offered a variety of included warranties with the price. (As opposed to extended warranties or mandatory service plans not mentioned in the low-ball price.) Things like 5 day/250 mile return of vehicle and rescission of contract. 6,000 mile limited warranty, and other stuff. You’d have to be comfortable driving with dealer temp plates though, and I don’t know how that would go in another state. I guess they’d mail the tags to the final destination?

Alternately, and I think SenorBeef mentioned it here in another thread, rental car company sales are a great way to get a lower mileage car that you know has been maintained. They stock minivans, crossovers and bigger SUVs. I was all set to buy a Fusion Hybrid from one before this car dropped in our lap.

I like your idea. But then I like to drive. And I hate flying post 9/11.

13

To help get her on board, I will share two experiences similar to yours. Both of them turned out great.

  1. I sold my primary vehicle prior to a deployment, so when I came back stateside we had only my wife’s car. In two months, I’d be moving to Germany and I already purchased a vehicle that would meet me upon arrival. But that still left me without a vehicle stateside. My options were to just share a car with my wife, get a bicycle, or rent a car. Instead, I decided to just buy a used motorcycle that I drove around for two months and then sold it for the exact amount I paid. Free use of a Harley for two months!! One important aspect of this is that I shopped for the bike about a month before I returned from deployment. So, I actually committed to the sale prior to ever seeing the bike. This was obviously a risky move, but it made everything smooth.

  2. Back around 2010, I was getting ready to return to my home in Italy from a deployment to Afghanistan. Some of my family planned to visit once I got back, and while I had a nice car, I didn’t have anything big enough for everyone. So, instead of renting something for the two week visit, I decided to get a used van.I found a good price for one online, and paid for it via PayPal unseen. I paid about a month prior to my arrival back home. Once I arrived, I met up with the seller and received my van. This thing was great, and super useful.
    I drove the van on a road trip from Venice to Munich to Paris to Milan to Rome to Naples and back to Venice. It worked out great! No issues at all!
    I got a lot of use out of it for several months before it was time to return to the US. When I finally sold the van in May, I made a deal with the buyer that I would need to borrow it for the entire month of June. The buyer would be on a training mission during this time, so the timing was perfect. I gave him a great price, which–because I got such a great price to begin with–was not much less than I paid for it. In June, I took that van on a road trip through southeast Europe.
    I drove that thing for its second road trip from Venice to Budapest to Bucarest to Sophia to Athens and then back up through Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and finally back to Venice. Again, no issues!! Once I got back, I handed over the van and the keys and flew back to America.

Two HUGE road trips out of a van that I bought without ever looking at it. I hope you have a similar experience!

14

Another big YES vote for a mini-van. We got a hand-me-down from my parents, and I scoffed at the cliché of the sports car guy becoming a dad and suddenly he’s driving a tan Toyota Sienna.

But I stopped sneering at it when I loaded it up with everything we needed, then picked up another family on the way. And still got ok gas mileage!

My one recommendation? Sun roof(s). Especially in the mountains, you’ll be looking up as well as out.

Huh, even Car & Driver likes mini-vans…
I’ll bet if you get to Georgia, give it to your kids and say “Drive it for a while, then sell it or keep it.”… they’ll never sell it.

15

I’m a bit unclear about whether you’re going to register the car in WA and, if so, whether you have a WA address to use for the registration. States vary a bit in whether you can register a car without an in-state address.

Also, I believe that WA has a pretty significant tax on car purchases, so I trust you have included this in your calcs.

16

Also check the car market, WA might be more expensive a market then the sell location. From past travels GA is a pretty cheap market.

17

Also, check out in advance how to handle the bureaucracy of the sale. Who has to sign which forms and where.What hours is the dept of motor vehicles open, how to you tell your insurance agent in Hawaii to transfer your policy to the new car.

18

I checked out Budget for rental prices. Renting a Pacifica or something like it will cost you about $7060 with 18,750 free miles. If you want insurance coverage for the car it is an additional $11.57 a day, personal insurance for driver and passengers is an additional $9.95 a day, and liability is $16.25 a day. Coverage for flat tires, dead batteries, lost keys etc. is $7.07 a day.
Total if you add insurance and roadside assistance: $16.739.
Not counting fuel.

19

Thanks for the tips and stories.
Insurance is no problem - already talked with our agent. Based on the vehicles we’re considering and our cars here in Hawaii off the road except for comprehensive; it’ll be a wash or a slight refund.

Plates are the next challenge. Probably can use a relatives local address, or out-of-state buyer. Relatives will check but DMVs are a hassle in good times:(

Probably go AAA. Our insurance also covers but not so extensively.

Resale numbers on my two prime targets (Audi Q7 and Mercedes ML450 -old luxury that I wouldn’t buy new) are actually pretty good in Georgia. The backup Kia Sedona is not so hot. Minivans in general have taken a hit - which is stupid. I blame the “soccer mom” mafia.

We’ve done road trips before. Picking up cars at the port and back to our new PCS home when I was back in the states and over in Italy. Three years ago; son, daughter, granddaughter, wife, and I did a van cruise from Belgium, through much of Germany, Poland, down though Hungary and Austria to Italy, then back to NATO in Belgium. A older Toyota Sienna (300,000 miles - not km) with every warning light on the dash glowing:eek:. No problem:cool: We checked it out beforehand, son was an ASE mechanic before the Army.

Plates and taxes are next challenge. Keeps the brain warm.

Stay safe.

20

+1

We always rent either a minivan or a midsize SUV for long road trips - we own a CRV, which is fine for around the town stuff or short trips, but for longer trips it’s nice to have something larger for luggage, transporting extra people, legroom etc. I still shake my head at the time I reserved a minivan, someone else showed up at the agency also hoping for a minivan - and the agency asked if we’d consider this other vehicle instead (which they rented for the same price as the minivan would have been): a Ford Expedition that seated 8 people. It was woooooonderful for our purposes. Aside from the parking hassle (it was much longer than a regular vehicle), and the nosebleeds from the altitude, that is :D. If we hadn’t had luggage, I could have folded down both rows of seats and slept in the car without being cramped at all.

I googled “6 month car rental” and Enterprise and Budget both came up; I’d seriously consider that option vs buying / selling, depending on how the finances work out. Eliminates the buy/sell/tag/taxes/insurance hassle entirely. Look into discounts for the process; I get very good discounts when I book through my Costco membership. For giggles, I went directly to Enterprise and put in numbers for June 2 through Nov 14th and got a total of about 5600 dollars (without using any Costco discounts or whatever) for an intermediate SUV. A minivan was a LOT more for the same period.

Going through Costco for the same period, I got figures 10-20% cheaper than I saw going direct through Enterprise; Budget was cheaper for most cars but Enterprise was cheaper for a minivan.

If that kind of money fits in your budget, I’d seriously consider going this route versus the hassle of buying / selling.

As a side note: whatever you do, check with your insurance company re coverage for the car(s) you leave at home; you might be able to negotiate a substantial discount without actually dropping coverage. You’ll need coverage for whatever you drive on the mainland anyway.