I'm a little scared

Unless you really like dealing with mechanical trouble as you travel, I would never advise purchasing a used beater for a cross country road trip. It will be an adventure -- but is it really the adventure you are seeking?

Some people do make it work, purchase a beater, perform all of the sheduled and unplanned maintenance that can arise on a several thousand mile roadtrip, and sell it at the end of the trip for something close to break-even. If you do this, be sure to consider purchasing a car in the West and sell in the East, (salt-damaged cars -- Eastcoast don't sell well in the West).

Thank you both for your advice - I can see both viewpoints make sense. I hope this roadtrip to be an adventure and pretty much spontaneous day in day out, and the idea of buying and then selling on appears attractive as the more money I have to spend along the way the better....BUT I do fear the worst happening and ending up buying a piece of junk which falls apart before I have even started!!
So, to lease or not to lease that is the question!
Thanks again for all your help, I'm sure I'll figure out what to do even if it means tossing a coin!

Or then you could do an Alvin Straight and buy a lawn mower.. Cheap, reliable and quite comfy im told!

Well,

I must admit I bought my camaro for 3000 with 82K miles on it and knock on wood but at 127K it is running like a dream. Mechanics aren't bad ppl, ya just gotta talk to one or two and get them on a day off. Offer to buy them a case of beer or lunch if they'll come look at a car with you.

Most cars built within the last 8 year can easily handle 150K miles or more if some young kid didn't own it. Buy from an adult over 35 if possible.

Here's your option buy a car for 2500 and drive it, half way through the trip the engine or tranny goes that the worst and most expensive repair stuff(other than accident) Now have a tranny or engine Removed, rebuilt and reinstalled for 1400.00 You still were less than leasing a car for 5 to 7K Plus on your car you wont have to pay out the butt for full coverage ins like ya do on a rental or lease.

The only thing is it will cost you maybe a week of your time. still better than an extra 1200.00 for higher insurance and the extra 3k to lease.

Option 1: Buying your car
car: 2500.00
major repair: 1500.00
Min insurance: 1200.00
reg and plates: 75.00
tax: around 120.00
Car resell -1500.00

Total 3700.00


Option 2: Leasing one
lease agree 6500.00
Max cover Insura(required) 2500.00
Taxes Unknown

Total 9000.00

Plus 1)you have to limit your mileage or be charged extra
2) Must carry FULL insurance at all times
3) you have to be approved (require almost perfect credit)and some places limit age
4) you can be charge for damage done to car.Ie: small rock dents scratches and stuff. Or pay insurance pre to fix stuff 500.00

Heres the kicker... I have bought my last 3 cars (prior to camaro) all for under 2000.00 each. All have lasted 2 or more years. With limit maintance work. I think making friends with a mechanic for a few days and buying a lunch may save you thousands.

Brandon,
Your numbers sound convincing, and seem reasonable, but I don't believe you were on holiday when you purchased those cars. There is a different mind set when on vacation -- many people don't see the adventure of it when they break down in a foreign land. For folks ill at ease with things mechanical, the extra $2500 to $4000 or so just purchases "peace of mind." But we really appreciate your sharing the "facts" with all us.

There are many people who did leases on their car instead of purchases for whatever time period (3 years? 5?)

People occasionally need to get out of their lease; perhaps they want to buy/lease a newer model, or they can no longer afford the lease.

How about picking up one of those? As I recall, the manufacturer handles maintenance, and it would be much cheaper than trying to rent a car from an agency.

My point was Editor Mark,

That if James where to purchase a car for between 2500 and 4000 he would still save money and be able to resell and regain money. Plus he wont put a huge dent in his buget prior to even getting off the ground with the road trip.

As for the point Lurker made, not a bad idea but thet are tough to come by and James will still have to be approve for the loan, they wont sell the car for nothin ya know. And with the loan comes the added expenses of higher insurance rate.

Although Steve, thanks to your help, not criticism. You have come across an idea. James can hit a wholesale place. Pay slightly more for the car but usally the car will come with a 90 day/ mileage warranty or something. That will at least give him time to see if the car is reliable.

How handy are you with mechanical things? I think that should make your decision a little easier? Have you ever worked on a car, and would you know what to do if one broke down, or can you at least spot trouble when you see it? If you're somewhat handy, I think getting a used car would be the most economical choice by far. And I wouldn't stress too much over this, if something does go wrong and the car breaks down, you can sell the car for whatever you can get and at least have enough for a plane flight to wherever you need to go. You might lose a little money, but then it's a lot less stress. So don't worry and have fun.

Anyway, on a side note, I'm planning on going to England pretty soon, and was thinking about taking a road trip to scotland. I've never been to either of the places, can anyone recommend what to do? This is kind of a last minute trip, so I haven't done much planning (actually, none) so I'm frantically searching for places to go and things to do. I guess my main questions are, for a 1 week trip

1)What's there to do in London? What are some of the places I need to see? And what are some of the places I should see that wouldn't be listed in a guide book?

2) Same question about Scotland

3) How's the drive from London to Scotland? I heard it's about 8 hours, would I be better off flying?

Even though this forum is mainly about road trips in America, I can't think of a better place to ask people these kinds of questions.

Thanks for the advice. I've sorted it all out now - I'm really bad with cars and don't have a clue about them so I'm leasing a vehicle from AutoteamUSA - they are really good - for $3900 I'm leasing either a GMC Safari or a Chevy Astro for 5 months - pick up San Francisco and drop off Miami 5 months later - they both look pretty cool - I hope they are reliable - any advice anyone???

So your coming over to England hey? England's a cool place, but everything we have is alot smaller than what you guys have, for example, the tallest building in London is Canary Wharf(I think), and that's probably just over half the size of the Empire State. Anyway, to answer your questions:
What to do in London:- lots, for a start you could go and see David Blaine hanging in a perspex box next to Tower Bridge starving himself for 44 days(I guess you have TV footage over there). Other cool things in London are the shops, Buckingham Palace and Tower of London - I only go to London now and again so can't provide much more advice I'm afraid.
As for Scotland, again I don't know a great deal but both Edinburgh and Glasgow are cool cities with a good nightlife.
The drive from London to England/Scotland border is not far off 8 hours if you go by motorway all the way. Unless you have a 2/3 weeks I'd fly because the journey otherwise can be dull at times, plus petrol costs LOADS over here. I'd recommend Dublin over in Ireland if you have the chance, that is one of the most fun cities I've been to.

Sorry I can't provide more help - your question has made me realise that perhaps I need to do a roadtrip around my country as I don't know that much about it!!!

Ps I would advise you to go and watch a football (soccer) match - even if you don't like football, the English are VERY passionate and the atmosphere alone in the stadiums is worth it!

James,

We would really like to receive some feedback after your roadtrip in regards to your experiences with AutoTeamUSA and in a general way to the whole adventure. Personally, I would go with the GMC (although functionally they are the same company).

Have fun!

M