As a systems guy, you always start with the business case and the requirements. The business case was pretty simple. Becky (my daughter) is turning 16 and is going to start learning to drive. She'll have her license in 4 months, and at that point, we'll be ending the Edwards Taxi Service for her. In fact, in short order, she'll be able to run her own taxi service for her younger sister!
If this is going to work, then we'll need a vehicle for her to drive. I already covered this to some extent... two years ago I bought a new PT Cruiser Convertible that I've been driving for the last couple of years. It came with a lifetime powertrain warranty, and I plan on running this car until Chrysler has to give me a new engine and/or a new transmission. Anyway, my intent was to drive a trouble free car for a couple of years, and then give this to Becky to drive. Late model car, 30k miles, drop top - just right for a teenage girl.
I HAD planned to buy a new Chevy Volt as my daily driver. However, they priced it like a Cadillac, and the availability isn't going to work anymore. See, I had another car in reserve - our old Kia Sedona. I was planning on driving that through the winter and then buying the Volt, however, the pricing of the Volt, combined with the fact that the Sedona's engine died meant that I had to do something sooner.
This brings me to the requirements. Originally, I had planned on driving the Volt, and keep the Sedona as the family hauler in part time use. But with it's untimely demise, I was left with the quandry - how to go camping?
Now my family used to be flush with minivans. My sister had one, my dad had one, and I had one. Now, my sister traded up to a Jaguar, my dad traded his in during the clunker program, and now mine is dead. So no more vans.
Now, I need a car, and the family needs a hauler. So I guess I have to bite the bullet and get a minivan.
So, what to get? Well, I need to be able to carry at least 6 people, preferably 7, and I need to be able to tow a trailer. I want the towing option to be as high as possible - 3500lbs if possible. And I can't break the bank. So again, what to get?
Well I started with Consumer Reports (http://www.consumerreports.org). They basically said, "Get a Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, or if 6 passengers is okay, a Mazda5. So I started with the Mazda5. Cool little car. Inexpensive. Problem is that it isn't rated to tow ANYTHING... I came to the conclusion after doing the research, that towing is something that requires RESPECT. Don't overload the vehicle. In fact, don't even load it to the limit... at most, do about 75% of the rated hauling capacity. Since the Mazda5 has no rated towing capacity, I scratched it off the list.
Next look was the Honda Odyssey. EXPENSIVE. I guess you get what you pay for, but the resale values are really high on these cars. That makes buying used hard. Worse still, is I was looking at close to $27 large for a new one. (I figured, well, if you can't buy a used one cheap, buy a new one at least)... Well, even at that price, towing is limited. You need to add an Accessory Towing Package to get 3500lbs. Even more cash.
The Sienna was better used on prices, but even more expensive new. Both have good resale values, forcing me into the north of $20 large range.
So then I started looking at the next step down. For that, you're looking at a Kia Sedona, or a Chrysler product (Dodge Grand Caravan or Chrysler Town and Country). Resale on these are much better, so you can get a cheaper used vehicle. And new, you could get one in the low 20's... The Kia was scratched, mostly because my wife told me she'd divorce me if I bought another Kia...
There was another option, which I'll save for the moment, but I want to get back to the rental car thing.
In the olden days (like when I was in my late teens, early 20's) you could buy a used rental car at a rental car lot. My family did this on at least two occasions. First, my Dad bought a V6 Mustang there. He drove that car for years. It did ultimately die due to engine failure, but not before many years of service. The other car, my sister bought after graduating from Med school. It was a Dodge Shadow... again, reliable transportation at a price that couldn't be beat.
Alas, the rental car lots simply disappeared after that. I had heard that the dealerships were unhappy with the rental outlets undercutting their used car prices, and had cut a deal to have them auctioned back to the dealerships. In the days before CarFax, my guess is that a lot of people bought a used rental car without knowing it.
However, the rental car lots have popped back up. Enterprise has one locally, but I found their prices to be more like CarMax than a rental agency. And Hertz created a Rent2Buy program which intrigued me. I'll write all about that experience (the good, the bad, and the ugly) in another post. But why would someone consider a rental car anyway - don't they get beat to hell?
Well, here is a quick list of rental car pros and cons:
PRO
- Rental cars can be purchased for VERY low prices because, well, they're rental cars
- Rental cars are well maintained by the rental agencies
- Most people drive them on business - from the airport to the hotel, to work, and back
- Beating up a rental car and getting caught means paying damage claims
- Late model cars (1-2 years old) with 15-40k miles
- People may beat up rental cars
- Resale value lower because, well, they're rental cars
- Cosmetic damage
- No accurate maintenance records/CarFax
Since I don't plan on reselling the car, the resale con goes out the window. People may beat up rental cars, but I see this more as myth than fact. I don't care about cosmetic damage, as my wife will drive the car from time to time, so it's only a matter of time anyway.
I decided to try out the Hertz Rent2Buy program. I'll save that saga for another post... actually it will take several I think, and the story isn't over yet. I have the car, but haven't purchased it yet. It's an interesting story, and I hope that anyone looking to use the program gets some valuable tips from me on it.
TTFN
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