USA road trip in the summer: Buy or rent a car?

[kurple]

Planning this with a couple friends. And we've heard that the best option is to buy a used car on craigslist or at a dealership

[KevinNYC]

how long is your road trip?
Do you want to own a car?

What will you do if the car you now own breaks down.

[BrooklynZoo]

you mean cross country? I would think that a cheap used car (assuming that's what you'd go for) would be risky to take cross country (or anywhere far), but just my thoughts as I have no experience with either

[D-FENS]

Yeah, it depends on risk. Do you have the money to fix the cheap car you buy? It's quite cheap to get rentals from places like Dollar. I rented a Dodge Charger convertible for less than $80 a day last time I was in LAV for about 5 days. It gets cheaper the longer you have it.

[DuMa]

rental.

[kurple]

you mean cross country? I would think that a cheap used car (assuming that's what you'd go for) would be risky to take cross country (or anywhere far), but just my thoughts as I have no experience with either
only west coast most likely. dont wanna spend too much time in a car

[Levity]

from my experience, my friends and I bought a used school bus (entirely different than a used car) to do a cross country road trip. the fvcker broke down about 6 or so times. and by the time we hit the first leg, florida( we were doing the 4 corners from ca to fl, to maine to wash and back down) the bus was litterally going 50 miles MAX(and that would be downhill)..... imagine driving across the country at the speed for a month and a half (came to realization that montana is one of the most boring places ever)

so renting a decent car may be an option, as long as its affordable and you get insurance on it.

[kurple]

how long is your road trip?
Do you want to own a car?

What will you do if the car you now own breaks down.
a month or so.

pluss side to buying is that i could sell it cheaper and get some money back

[D-FENS]

from my experience, my friends and I bought a used school bus (entirely different than a used car) to do a cross country road trip. the fvcker broke down about 6 or so times. and by the time we hit the first leg, florida( we were doing the 4 corners from ca to fl, to maine to wash and back down) the bus was litterally going 50 miles MAX(and that would be downhill)..... imagine driving across the country at the speed for a month and a half (came to realization that montana is one of the most boring places ever)

so renting a decent car may be an option, as long as its affordable and you get insurance on it.

Good advice. It's always nice to know a worst case scenario.

[kurple]

getting good weed on the west coast shouldnt be a problem, right?

and i would easily be down with playing ball or having a beer with some of ya'll crazy ****ers

[BrooklynZoo]

from my experience, my friends and I bought a used school bus (entirely different than a used car) to do a cross country road trip. the fvcker broke down about 6 or so times. and by the time we hit the first leg, florida( we were doing the 4 corners from ca to fl, to maine to wash and back down) the bus was litterally going 50 miles MAX(and that would be downhill)..... imagine driving across the country at the speed for a month and a half (came to realization that montana is one of the most boring places ever)

so renting a decent car may be an option, as long as its affordable and you get insurance on it.


oh shit broke down 6 times, that musta been a nightmare. but back to the OP, none of you guys have a car to use? maybe "rent" a friends car?

[Levity]

getting good weed on the west coast shouldnt be a problem, right?


i cant attest to the quality in seattle, but i have no doubt its good. weed in southern california is amazingly accessible(and even more so if you know someone with a rec ). you can get a good quality top shelf 8ths for 40-50 pretty much everywhere you look. cheaper 8ths from 30-40, but quality is always trash

Portland has good bud too. as does all of nor cal.

[kurple]

oh shit broke down 6 times, that musta been a nightmare. but back to the OP, none of you guys have a car to use? maybe "rent" a friends car?
i live in norway bro

[Godzuki]

Rent a Uhaul truck. one of those 17 fters and put beds and poker table in the back and whatever else. They're as cheap a rental car as you can get, and they're rented out mainly for long distances.

thing is you're allowed to change them in at far away locations so they aren't going to say anything about you going far away and trading for another one for whatever reason.

they got road side trading if it breaks down but i've hard some nightmares where it took them a long time to get to you.

you can even feed it with shitty gas, i know a lot of people used to put in the lowest octane cheap crap and turn them back in just so the gas gauge was full and they aren't charged.

If i remember right i think it was either $16.95, or 29..95/day for the 17fter? Its been awhile. I know people rent these to tailgate too and they put all kinds of stuff to hang out in the back or even grill back there.

regular rental small car will run you at least like $40~/day and thats with them checking milage and all that unless you go with some budget rental place. even then not much cheaper since they get raped on commercial insurance.

[kurple]

Rent a Uhaul truck. one of those 17 fters and put beds and poker table in the back and whatever else. They're as cheap a rental car as you can get, and they're rented out mainly for long distances.

thing is you're allowed to change them in at far away locations so they aren't going to say anything about you going far away and trading for another one for whatever reason.

they got road side trading if it breaks down but i've hard some nightmares where it took them a long time to get to you.

you can even feed it with shitty gas, i know a lot of people used to put in the lowest octane cheap crap and turn them back in just so the gas gauge was full and they aren't charged.

If i remember right i think it was either $16.95, or 29..95/day for the 17fter? Its been awhile. I know people rent these to tailgate too and they put all kinds of stuff to hang out in the back or even grill back there.

regular rental small car will run you at least like $40~/day and thats with them checking milage and all that unless you go with some budget rental place. even then not much cheaper since they get raped on commercial insurance.
how many people are allowed in one of those when driving?

and how is it to drive those? None have experience driving a truck

[Godzuki]

how many people are allowed in one of those when driving?


i have no idea if there is even a limit. you could easily fit 3 in the front and who knows how many in the back.

[kurple]

i have no idea if there is even a limit. you could easily fit 3 in the front and who knows how many in the back.
doesnt have to be seatbelts for everyone? it's like that in norway

and how is it to drive those? None have experience driving trucks

[Godzuki]

doesnt have to be seatbelts for everyone? it's like that in norway

and how is it to drive those? None have experience driving trucks


17 fters aren't that big and i'm almost positive you don't. i could be thinking of the smaller one but i can't remember right now the exact length of their most common truck. you might need a trucker licence if you go for a 29ft or whatever that big size one is but i've seen all kinds of people rent the smaller truck.

seat belt laws depend on the state, even then worst they'll get you for is a fine and its very unlikely youll get pulled over for a seat belt unless you're doing something else.

call a Uhaul lot. one tip i got is try to reserve one way ahead of time and see if they'll try to save you a good truck. they have all kinds of beat down ones but every once in awhile a lot will get a newer, nice truck.

[niko]

doesnt have to be seatbelts for everyone? it's like that in norway

and how is it to drive those? None have experience driving trucks
You need seatbelts. You don't want to pull out foreign drivers license getting stopped for stupid shit. It's not a big fine, but some cops are dickwads, and tend to be bigger dickwads for out of state. Plus you want to buy weed, do you really want to get stopped for a seat belt violation or having too many people in the car and while they are warning you get caught on something else?

And rent. Then if it breaks down, etc. they take care of it.

[KevinNYC]

If you have to go back to Norway, you would want to sell your car quick.
That seems like it would introduce complications.

Are you driving back to the same location to drop off the car if it's a rental? You save a lot of money that way.

Here's one example of what it would cost from (https://www.budget.com/budgetWeb/reservation/getrate.ex?rateCode=GA&carGroupCode=E&selectedBcd=&page=2&prePayReservationFlag=true&position=1;) one of our bigger chains.
SEATTLE-TACOMA INTL AIRPORT - SEA
SEATTLE , WA
Sun, 13 Apr 2014 12:00 PM
Tue, 13 May 2014 12:00 PM


rate ( $ USD )
car 1,255.50
options 0.00
fees & taxes 596.37
coupon discount -50.00
MUFZ006 -50.00
$ 1,801.87 TOTAL (USD)

returning the vehicle in LA added like a grand to the cost.

Definitely go check out the Redwoods

[Maniak]

i'm going to be doing something similar awhile from now and I've been mulling over the same thing.

Personally I'm leaning towards the rental car route. From what I understand you get a better deal the longer you use it. I think Hertz would be a company worth checking out. That's the one I've (barely) read up on and heard of other travelers using.

The uhaul truck sounds pretty stupid in my opinion. How many of you are there? You'd be inexperienced drivers (with that size vehicle) & cramped, that doesn't sound very enjoyable for hours and hours of driving.

I think a used car would be fun in its own way, however I would wager you'd run into at least 1 breakdown/failure. Plus you'd have to get rid of it somehow at the end.

[KevinNYC]

I think Hertz would be a company worth checking out.

Hertz is the biggest, but if you are renting at an airport and returning to that airport, the big chains are all pretty much the same.

If you have a particular car you want, you should research which chain has what.

Avis, Alamo, Budget, National, and Enterprise are probably the biggest chains.

[Maniak]

Do you work for one of these companies Kevin?

[DukeDelonte13]

how many people are allowed in one of those when driving?

and how is it to drive those? None have experience driving a truck

they are easy to drive but I'm fairly certain it's illegal to be driving around with a bunch of people in the back of a truck in most US states.

i'm pretty sure you should be able to rent a car with unlimited miles for 2 weeks for 500 or so bucks. Much cheaper and less risky than buying a used beater.

[KevinNYC]

Do you work for one of these companies Kevin?
you're kidding right?

[MJ(Mean John)]

where in the west coast are you going to visit?

[Maniak]

you're kidding right?
Am I supposed to know the answer?

[flipogb]

you will need good air conditioning for a summer trip (assuming you mean US summer) and a car that won't overheat. id go for a rental for this reason.

but if one of your friends is a mechanic or something then maybe you can go used car

[DCL]

i've done a cross-country road trip before, coast to coast from pacific to the atlantic. my recommendation is to rent a car. if you rent it for at least 28 days, it's actually a lot cheaper than you think (on a daily average basis). among all the national rental agencies, i think budget-rent-a-car probably has the best rates by far. their cars are generally pretty new too (like 2012 or 2013). very unlikely you will get too much troublesome mechanical problems with a new car. when you rent a car from a national agency, you can also pretty much drop it off anywhere. there's a drop-off charge, but i'd rather pay that than drive all the way back. if you intend to buy a car just for the trip, you might waste extra days (or perhaps weeks) on just trying to sell it when you're done. well, you can just sell it to those 2nd-hand car lots, but expect the car to be discounted by at least 30% or more. but anyway, you can avoid all that bullshit if you just rent a car. the second question is do you have sufficient funds for the trip? gas is cheaper per gallon (or liter) in the states compared to europe, but it is not cheap if you calculate the total distance that you'll be driving. gas might take up a chunk of your budget.

[sundizz]

How many of you will there be? Rentals are quite expensive I'd say. However, as a foreigner it'll be your best bet. I don't think it'd be very easy to just legally buy a car as a foreigner on some tourist visa.

Alternatively, you could give this company a call to see if you are eligible. Basically, people need someone to drive their car to a new location/state. It's awesome and a nice free/cheap way to travel across the country.

http://www.autodriveaway.com/view_car_list

[iamgine]

Rent a car

Don't buy

Don't rent u-haul

Don't go all cheap and rent the smallest car



There's some of the recipe for a successful trip.

[Balla_Status]

If you buy a car, you'll have to get insurance as well. Rental companies take care of that.

Don't forget your health insurance as well.

****ing foreigners. They just love the roads trips across the states. Pretty awesome. That's like a vacation every foreigner just HAS to take.

[Brunch@Five]

I was on a road trip in summer 2012. Rented a car at Alamo, drove from Detroit via Yellowstone to Salt Lake City, Canyons, Denver, back to Detroit.
We were 3 people and started out renting a Toyota Corolla, one of the cheapest options. If you go for several thousand miles, don't go for the cheapest option. We switched to a Toyota Siena (minivan/7-seater) in Salt Lake City and it definitely improved the experience. We didn't even have to pay for the upgrade - with the big chains, just go to another office and complain about the car/engine making noises, steering not being comfortable etc. Car rental agencies are big in customer satisfaction and will oftentimes (especially at airports with big lots) just upgrade you.

[DCL]

either way, the trip won't be cheap. if you drive fast and don't stop anywhere, then expect to pay for at least a full tank of gas every single day.

if you take it slow and hang out around some places, then you still have to pay up for accommodations... unless you go ghetto and sleep in the car.

[Balla_Status]

either way, the trip won't be cheap. if you drive fast and don't stop anywhere, then expect to pay for at least a full tank of gas every single day.

if you take it slow and hang out around some places, then you still have to pay up for accommodations... unless you go ghetto and sleep in the car.

Funny thing is...it will probably be the cheapest road trip they could possibly do without having to sacrifice ease of travel and infrastructure.

USA is cheap as in comparison to other countries. ****ing miss decently priced microbrews.

[niko]

I find it funny OP wanted to travel in a UHaul. It's like you are sneaking illegals across the border or something. You'd get stopped, have people sitting hidden in the back of the truck, with weed.

Enjoy jail.

[boozehound]

It depends on what kind of car you can get. The last thing you need is some 2k junker that will leave you stranded in the middle of the west. What are you guys trying to do/see? Cities? National Parks?

I would think the rental is a safer way to go, newer car, no need for registration or insurance or title costs, if there is a problem you have a support network, etc.

Of course, I have done some massive trips (3k roundtrip) in all sorts of crappy old cars.

[kurple]

I was entertaining the idea, could do a lot of fun stuff with that space. And hiding weed is one of the easier parts of life lol

But it looks like we'll rent

[niko]

I was entertaining the idea, could do a lot of fun stuff with that space. And hiding weed is one of the easier parts of life lol

But it looks like we'll rent
It's too hot back there too. You might be able to get a van if that's your thinking...

[Real Men Wear Green]

What you should do depends partially on how many of you are road-tripping. I know I can rent a truck from Hertz for 30/day that comfortably seats 5 so long as none of you are fat. That may have something to do with my insurance company and policy (Progressive) but it's not like I'm a millionaire with special connections, I imagine at least one of you should be able to get something similar. So for the rental you'd be around $900 plus gas and if something went wrong with the rental you should be able to get a replacement easy. Buying a car sounds like a bad idea as anything you got cheap could have problems and then the group of you have to figure out what to do with it afterwards. If you want to bring more than 5 you may want to look up what it costs to rent a passenger van.

To address the asinine: Don't rent a ****ing moving truck for a road trip. Driving them wouldn't be that bad once you got used to it but you can only seat three (uncomfortably), you can't put people in the cargo area by law, there is a limit to how long they will let you keep it (you will have to return and re-rent repeatedly) and if you want to go out at night to clubs and restaurants...do you really want to be rolling up and trying to meet girls in a ****ing moving van?

[Levity]

Driving up and down PCH(assuming your drive up the west coast)in a u-haul wouldnt be all that great, in my opinion.

[KevinNYC]

Am I supposed to know the answer?

Usually if some asks a question like that, it implies bias, like there would some benefit to me if he didn't rent from Hertz. But even if I worked for one of those companies why would i recommend the other four?

[Maniak]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought Godzuki's idea was ****ing retarded.

[KevinNYC]

UHaul doesn't cost much per day, if you don't drive it far.

They charge per mile and you would also pay a lot more in gas.

[Real Men Wear Green]

UHaul doesn't cost much per day, if you don't drive it far.

They charge per mile and you would also pay a lot more in gas.
It would have to be a series of one-way rentals. Not even worth it to do the math.

[KevinNYC]

It would have to be a series of one-way rentals. Not even worth it to do the math.

What do you mean? You can rent uHauls long term.

Also they should plan on returning to the same city or else, it will be several hundred dollars more.

[Real Men Wear Green]

What do you mean? You can rent uHauls long term.No, you can't. Check uhaul.com. A same-place rental maxes out at 24 hours. A one-way terminates at the estimate they make for how long it will take for you to arrive.

[niko]

Driving up and down PCH(assuming your drive up the west coast)in a u-haul wouldnt be all that great, in my opinion.
Unless you are planning on murdering people and need the time and space to do it I'm not sure who the **** would want to drive around in a U-Haul on a vacation.

[KevinNYC]

No, you can't. Check uhaul.com. A same-place rental maxes out at 24 hours. A one-way terminates at the estimate they make for how long it will take for you to arrive.

Maybe not for the larger trucks, but you can rent a cargo van for a month.

U-Haul of Sea Tac

Cargo van
for 28 days
4/05/14 9:00 AM

$999.59 Estimated miles included

[Real Men Wear Green]

Maybe not for the larger trucks, but you can rent a cargo van for a month.

U-Haul of Sea Tac

Cargo van
for 28 days
4/05/14 9:00 AM

$999.59 Estimated miles included
It's completely unimportant, but just so I can say I won the argument: Godzuki's original awful idea specifies a 17 ft truck with beds so that you can be the envy of homeless people everywhere. Nyah-nyah.

[niko]

It's completely unimportant, but just so I can say I won the argument: Godzuki's original awful idea specifies a 17 ft truck with beds so that you can be the envy of homeless people everywhere. Nyah-nyah.
i find it weird that as Budadii he's a total wiseass, saying funny things, and as Godzuki he ask questions about if his cable bill is too much and recommend driving around in a UHaul to save money.

[Maniak]

i find it weird that as Budadii he's a total wiseass, saying funny things, and as Godzuki he ask questions about if his cable bill is too much and recommend driving around in a UHaul to save money.
It's a 1 man dumb and dumber.

[niko]

It's a 1 man dumb and dumber.
Nah, neither poster is bad but he has different personalities on different accounts which strikes me as either nuts or just not really worth the time.

[Real Men Wear Green]

i find it weird that as Budadii he's a total wiseass, saying funny things, and as Godzuki he ask questions about if his cable bill is too much and recommend driving around in a UHaul to save money.
I intentionally do not keep track of the dumb personalities people assume in their various alts.

[niko]

I intentionally do not keep track of the dumb personalities people assume in their various alts.
He was Goduzki for forever then Budadi for forever before he said he's the same person. So it's pretty easy to figure out. LIke if you admit you are Euroleague (what a twist that would be...)

[Rake2204]

I've been contemplating a trip of this nature as well. My car is over ten years though, and I worry a little of breaking down. I've read a few folks here have gone coast to coast in non-great cars. Anyone want to share specifics? From Michigan, in theory, I'd like to hit California and back. In that case, would rental still be the best bet? Would it be much more expensive than driving myself?

Off the top of my head, I have friends or acquaintances posted up in Chicago, Minnesota, South Dakota, Washington, San Diego, and Denver. I feel like that's not quite enough locations in terms of housing (particularly along the north) but it seems like a start. How expensive do these trips usually cost folks, just in driving (gas and/or rental)?


Alternatively, you could give this company a call to see if you are eligible. Basically, people need someone to drive their car to a new location/state. It's awesome and a nice free/cheap way to travel across the country.

http://www.autodriveaway.com/view_car_listThat's actually pretty awesome. How does one go about being eligible to partake?

[Godzuki]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought Godzuki's idea was ****ing retarded.


actually the used car idea is by far the most retarded. well, unless you're willing to spend over $3-4k for a used car. Any car under $2-3k is going to be a big crapshoot to get you thru 2 states. mechanic work is expensive and takes down time, cutting into your trip. you're in it for that amount bottom line too, and even if you plan to sell it afterward you're losing value putting that mileage on it. you lose in just about every way playing the slim odds it'll take you cross country, more than likely it'll turn into a nightmare.

I didn't know he planned to do illegal stuff he's got to worry about, but even then its not a bad idea to get a Uhaul. it breaks down they give you another one. Get pulled over, say you're moving shit across state and guys in back are helping you. now if you are smoking weed and doing whatever else then i get why its not a smart idea since cops are shady with Uhaul trucks and what they're carrying more than average cars. otherwise its by far the most affordable and possibility of the most enjoyable with that space,. big downside i guess is cold/hot but for now at least its somewhat cold across most of the country.

i don't know about Avis, Enterprise, etc. multi week prices but i do know they charge a lot per day. Their rental car taxes in itself is like another $15/day, its ridiculous what they get you with. for some reason Uhaul doesn't charge the stuff they do to jack it up. Rental companies are also real tight on any damage you do to the car where as Uhauls don't give a crap unless its extremely obvious. you'll probably have to buy accident insurance thru the enterprise, avis, etc(since i doubt you guys have collision in America) which i think is another $15-25/day. but yeah going the expensive, common way will be the most straight forward and sure thing.

lol just saw your last reply taking shots at me, i was thinking you sounded real bitter at me from your first reply. its alright man, i know i hurt your sensitivities awhile back. hopefully some day you'll come to grips with that and forgive me.

[Godzuki]

UHaul doesn't cost much per day, if you don't drive it far.

They charge per mile and you would also pay a lot more in gas.


ah i forgot about that, you're right. they do charge per mile...i knew there was somethign i forgot.

as for gas they just want you to bring it back at the same level you took it out at, but thats all rentals.

[Godzuki]

i find it weird that as Budadii he's a total wiseass, saying funny things, and as Godzuki he ask questions about if his cable bill is too much and recommend driving around in a UHaul to save money.


its funny to me how bitter you and others still are at me, i swear i can feel the bitterness thru the screen still coming from a few of you LOL

and you seem to refuse to reply to me even if your answer is directed at what i said or am saying lol.

i'm not budadii either, guess he got you with pretending, then again i played along at one point too so maybe that got u...

some of u here are some extremely bitter, petty people but whatever, i'm not trying to get into those battles u want to bring me back into anymore. just posting/visiting very casually here :pimp: you're still weak bitches tho :cheers:

[kurple]

It's too hot back there too. You might be able to get a van if that's your thinking...
we're to many for a U-Haul anyway. and didnt even think of the heat in there

one of my friends are gonna go ho-bo style and sleep in the car. but he can sleep anywhere so a bigger car or van wouldnt be a problem :lol

heard from someone that renting from hertz' site in norway is much cheaper. i find it hard to believe, but will check it out

[kurple]

Funny thing is...it will probably be the cheapest road trip they could possibly do without having to sacrifice ease of travel and infrastructure.

USA is cheap as in comparison to other countries. ****ing miss decently priced microbrews.
USA will be like Thailand compared to norway

a 20 pack of smokes cost 17 dollar (cheapest). A beer in a pub costs 10-11 (cheapest), a gram of weed costs 25 and a freaking big mac menu costs 15

[Levity]

USA will be like Thailand compared to norway

a 20 pack of smokes cost 17 dollar (cheapest). A beer in a pub costs 10-11 (cheapest), a gram of weed costs 25 and a freaking big mac menu costs 15

welcome to heaven, bro. dont fill up too much on big macs!!!

[Rake2204]

Bump.

Any other USA road trip stories out there?