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6 month roadtrip - Buy or lease? Help!
Hello everyone,
Me and my partner have planned a 6 month roadtrip across America starting on the west and finishing on the east.
We shopped around for quotes to lease a car for this period of time - the best offer has been $3,000.
Please could any of you guys let me know if you think it would be cheaper (and easier) to simply buy a car and insure it ourselves? If we did this would us being english be a problem???
Any help would be really helpful!
Thank you!
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Of course it depends, but $3K is a lot to spend on a rental. If you got an older, reliable car and most of the added miles were highway, you could sell the car for almost what you paid for it. The price of insurance will vary depending but it won't be that much.
If you have the money upfront to buy a decent car, knowing you could sell it six months later and get that money back, I'd buy.
I'd check out Consumer Reports, they rate used car reliability and you can find a car that is in your budget and will have a high resale value when you are done.
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lease or buy?
Thanks for the advice, I think we will buy a car because it will work out better in the long run. Could you recommend where to look to buy cars (should we buy before we arrive in America or buy whilst still here in England?). Would $3,000 be enough or too much for a reliable car? And as for insurance is it just a case of phoning around (anyone in particular?)or is there another way????
Thanks for your help. It really is a great help because we're pretty clueless!!
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Does anyone know the proccess for a foriegn visitor to buy a car.. I read somewhere it can take a few weeks to go through... proving your address/details in you own country.
I think it may be worth buying before you get there.
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Buy With Buyback
There are a number of US firms that provide specialized services to tourists seeking road trip adventures in the USA. The range of services can include, short-term rentals, leases, auto purchase and what is known as "BWB" Buy with Buyback. A number of posters to this forum have raised questions about these firms, but we have never evaluated any of them. Two that come to mind (and you might wish to check out) would be www.autoteamusa.com and www.wheels9.com.
If you decide to purchase without the services of a company, you will get a better return if you purchase vehicles in the west and sell in the east, (less body damage due to salt and corrosion on cars in the west).
We don't have any good solutions for the insurance issue.
If by "reliable" you are seeking an automobile that will not need considerable maintenance during the six months you use it, I would think that $3000 is too low. If you have $3000 to spend and don't want to spend much of your roadtrip doing maintenance I would still urge you to consider a lease. Leasing companies will deliver vehicles that are ready to go and provide maintenance support as needed.
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