Can you somehow contrive to buy your vehicle in Oregon? That way you won’t have to pay sales tax.
Momma Zappa - insurance in a non-issue, we just back down to comprhensive on the sitting vehicles. Prices for purchase and resell still look good - all bets are off for later in the year but right now are way in favor of the buy/sell vs. rentals (even through AARP). That’s part of the reason going used at my price range - limited loss and the kids at the end can always use it as an upgrade.
Teela - Looking at Oregon too. Sales tax is not that much of a killer at my price point - sub $8500.
The extra insurance is a complete ripoff. Your regular car insurance will cover all of that (though admittedly you’re subject to your regular deductible). Your credit card may also offer some coverage.
You will be limited as to who could drive the car: basically just you and your spouse. Roadside assistance coverage through AAA is maybe a hundred bucks (some auto insurers include something like that, AARP may as well).
I just went to Costco’s travel site and picked a couple of Enterprise and Budget locations ate random, for Jun 1 through November 30. I looked for cars rented and returned to Seattle.
Budget didn’t list minivans for the requested period. The two Enterprise locations listed 5,438 and 6,340, respectively, for “Dodge Grand Caravan or Similar”. Both with unlimited mileage.
Note: if you’re considering doing the long-term rental, book ASAP. You’re not on the hook if you decide to do something different, and prices will only increase closer to your travel dates.
On rereading, you’ve pretty well decided that purchasing is your best option and I can’t argue that, I just wanted to point out that renting would cost a HELLA lot less than Czarcasm suggested :).
You’ve misunderstood something. The insurance on the car we are buying won’t be a change from what we now pay for our two cars at home.
We never take the car rental insurance. We have coverage with our regular car insurance and our credit cards.
Not returning to Seattle, flying back to Hawaii from Atlanta area.
Rental was out of the question early on. Found we could buy in Portland/Seattle and sell for near the same in Georgia if we picked the right vehicle.
I think if it was me, I’d figure out what my threshold for a long car ride is- i.e. the drive vs. fly time/distance. Fly the longer ones, and rent for the shorter ones.