21 Years Old Driver: Renting VS Buying a Car

Old Sep 29th, 2020, 08:06 AM
  #21  
 
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It is pretty clear you don't want to hear us. You are new here so may think we are just a bunch of mean buzz killers who post for the sport of it. That really isn't the case - most (probably 95+%) truly want to help people. We don't make things up. We live and travel in the places you want to visit and actually DO know what we are talking about.

Originally Posted by Travelboy007
lol
. . . Not sure what he 'lol' relates to . . . Hertz is in bankruptcy. It is not guaranteed they will be around next year.

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Old Sep 29th, 2020, 08:35 AM
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Actually, I thought the statement most deserving of "LOL" was this:

Originally Posted by Travelboy007
Thanks man. I think that if I choose to purchase a car I will do it from a dealership. They are definitely more credible and leave your mind quite.
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Old Sep 29th, 2020, 08:42 AM
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Last edited by janisj; Sep 29th, 2020 at 08:43 AM. Reason: mis-read post
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Old Sep 29th, 2020, 11:28 AM
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OP seems to be shopping for the answers he wants to hear.

If you buy a used car it is almost always sold "as is", despite what a salesman may tell you. It might be worth running a CarFax on the car which provides a complete vehicle history. My late husband once bought a vehicle that had been involved in a flood in Louisiana and the insurance company had written the car off as a salvage vehicle. It took him almost two years and getting a lawyer involved before he could get clear title to it.
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Old Sep 29th, 2020, 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by jamie99
OP seems to be shopping for the answers he wants to hear. . .
Very young people often haven't learned the value of experience. Think back to when your parents knew nothing. I suspect posting here was an issue of boredom rather than a desire to listen & learn. We're wasting our time.
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Old Sep 29th, 2020, 08:15 PM
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Add me to the "rent" group. The convenience of having the rental company take care of breakdowns is inestimable. If you can purchase a used car with full roadside service, I dare say that cost ​​​​will not be much less than renting. If you break down in the middle of a desert or a rural town, finding a repair garage could be a real problem. You might have a wait for the rental replacement as well! Something to ask.

Have you discussed the discount for returning a rental car from one airport to another? Pre-covid, a pal of mine was able to get a better price.

Please report back and let everyone know what you decided and how it went. Good luck.
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Old Sep 30th, 2020, 04:38 AM
  #27  
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Thanks you guys for all of your comments and advices.
After reading your messages, contacting many dealers, reading plenty of boring DMV documents and doing some research - I thinks I will rent a car.
Ultimately the price of purchasing a car, for the duration of time I need it, is roughly $7,000, including coverage, fees, taxes, registration etc.
On the other hand, the total of renting a car is $6,400 including everything.
Car rental is more safe, less risky and just a little more expensive. Assuming I will manage selling the car I bought for 40% of its original price, I would save about $1,500. I thinks it is not worth it, not the mention the headache of purchasing and selling the car and the unquiet mind knowing it can break any time.
And since I am traveling with another person, I think the differences between the two become indistinct even more.
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Old Sep 30th, 2020, 05:16 AM
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You've made a good decision Travelboy007.
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Old Sep 30th, 2020, 07:55 AM
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Yes, you have made the right decision. You can enjoy your trip without the hassle of having to sell it at the end.
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Old Sep 30th, 2020, 08:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Travelboy007
Thanks you guys for all of your comments and advices.
After reading your messages, contacting many dealers, reading plenty of boring DMV documents and doing some research - I thinks I will rent a car. . .
Well, I confess I'm surprised but pleasantly so. And happy to be proved wrong. We both learned something.
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Old Sep 30th, 2020, 10:00 AM
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Originally Posted by MmePerdu
Well, I confess I'm surprised but pleasantly so. And happy to be proved wrong. We both learned something.
Indeed.
For the record, I noted every advice that was written here and listened to all of you guys. This is just my way of finding things out You can watch the other thread I started the other day - same thing happened there . I just like to know that I extracted every option and every way of action. It's one of my faults, and you did provide me assistance of great value which I extremely appreciate and have been appreciating this whole time.
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Old Sep 30th, 2020, 06:37 PM
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Does your trip have to start in California? For a trip that long, I would rent at least 2 and maybe 3 cars. If you must start in San Francisco, rent a car there and drive it about 2 to 3 weeks then return it where you rented it with no drop fee. From San Francisco/Emeryville take the Amtrak Coast Starlight train north bound overnight to Portland Oregon and rent another car. See a large part of Oregon with the second rental car. What is the plan for Seattle? I'm guessing a car you rent in Oregon will be somewhat cheaper per day than one that you rent at SFO.
My style of travel is to start from an Amtrak station near home and go to a city/town where I can rent a car and make a big loop and return where I rented it.
FYI: If you buy a car in Oregon there is no sales tax. In California, the registration fee is higher plus they charge at least 6% sales tax.
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Old Sep 30th, 2020, 06:45 PM
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if you want to go to Canada take a ferry from Seattle to Victoria and then a ferry to Vancouver and take a train on through other Canadian cities .....Rocky Mountaineer has 3 class prices and stays the night in a hotel in Kamloops and back on the train again.......
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Old Oct 1st, 2020, 10:51 AM
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Don't rent a car without reading all the fine print and especially the cancellation stipulations.

For instance usrentacar.co.uk will save you maybe $1000 , but they have cancellation fees that you won't have when renting directly from Alamo or Hertz.
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Old Oct 1st, 2020, 11:28 AM
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Who knows what companies will survive Covid and what their fees will be a year from now (trip is Sept. 2021)....
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Old Oct 2nd, 2020, 02:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Travelboy007
Thanks man, but I have already made a research and asked a bunch of people - I can buy a car in the US. I have family in the states that will allow me to use their address for the registration. I am not asking about the procedure, I merely think whether this is more profitable.

Just who, anywhere, looks for a profit when taking a vacation?


The equation involved here is effectively gambling in a scenario where you know in advance that you CAN'T win... and that the best you can hope for is to avoid losing.


The structure alone in the car rental scenario is such that you'd do much better by shopping around and pricing different alternatives completely within the rental car realm, than you would by risking it all on purchasing a car (and then needing to sell it in a timely fashion to get anything at all out of the deal).
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Old Oct 2nd, 2020, 02:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Travelboy007
Thanks man, but I have already made a research and asked a bunch of people - I can buy a car in the US. I have family in the states that will allow me to use their address for the registration. I am not asking about the procedure, I merely think whether this is more profitable.

Who goes into international travel in search of "profit" ?? (wait, don't answer that... I'm aware of those who experience bodily cavity searches at airports)


The structure in place with regard to rental cars makes renting the only sensible option in this scenario.

What the OP would better allocate his time toward, is potentially reducing his over all rental bill perhaps by knowing multiple vehicle rentals vs. just one, and not having to pay for parking in places where he may not need the vehicle much if at all.

And rental car prices fluctuate WILDLY... and should be investigated every couple of weeks prior to a Sept. 2021 departure date, just in case the price is slashed for some odd reason.


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