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Originally Posted by roflwaffle
I think the first example is fairly disingenuous, since buying a newer used vehicle is quite expensive, so I'll just start with this one.
-There's no reason to pay for insurance every month for a year when someone could just pay for the month they use the vehicle.
-Those insurance rates are quite high IME. On an older vehicle, there is, financially speaking, little need for collision, and a year's worth worth of insurance is ~$600, or about $50/month.
-Reg for vehicles of that vintage IME, is roughly $25-45/year.
So, taking an example from experience, a small uhaul pickup was $20, plus gas and mileage. Gas wasn't too bad since it was a Toyota V6 and unleaded was ~$2/gallon, but it was still about $25 bucks. The mileage charge though, was killer at something like 60-70 cents/mile, and that alone resulted in an extra $100+. Companies that don't have a mileage charge tend to be far more expensive up front IME. (edit) I mention uhaul because I know I can be a bit rough with their vehicles, can I dent or scratch one of the $70-80 enterprise trucks w/o worrying about having to get nailed for it?
Otoh, I can insure something much larger, equivalent to one of their larger trucks, for a month, for the same initial price of their larger trucks. If I factor in the current 80 cent/mile charge, it wipes out any difference in insurance and the yearly registration fee, as well as cutting into the gas. So, my beater truck could get worse mileage and still be cost neutral. That being said, since it's my vehicle, it would be silly not to modify it such that fuel consumption and costs are minimized. In the case of a VO conversion, that's any easy win. But even with keeping a small truck gas and doubling the efficiency, there's a good $50-100+ difference, depending on miles driven, per use.
That being said, something like this isn't for everyone. It requires the facility and desire to wrench, being o.k. with an older vehicle, etc... But, there are lower floors for older vehicle use than there are for rental use. Obviously, this is YMMV, but based on my research and experience going through rental (or tow) companies and not having backup vehicles can cost as much as having additional vehicles. If someone can point me in the direction of a company that offers vehicles in the range of ~$60-80/rental truck with 30 days, or even 3-5 days/unlimited mileage, or maybe less considering a vehicle I use would likely be setup for better efficiency, I'm game, since that would be roughly equivalent in terms of cost.
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I don't think it was disingenuous - which is why I put an old and a car equivalent to the age of my current car. 8 years is well past the major depreciation hit in the first 36 months. That, and I actually got real quotes - putting my SS# and information in.... I did NOT include collision
But lets take your example
$20 for UHual Pickup rental plus mileage. That's $19.95 + $0.49 per mile. Lets say we'll do 40 mile average per rental (a cross town move). That's $39.60 plus any taxes. This is a situation where say you have to move a crap ton of foam and don't have a truck...
I'm still going by my registration costs - ~$65 It's great that yours is less, but I'm not you
Sounds like you pay more per mile at UHaul than I do anyway...
So I'll go by your insurance rate of $600 a year. So I'll pay $665 for insurance and registration a year. Using a UHaul pickup - that's 16.8 rentals. So, after taxes and crap - Lets call it 15 rentals/year. I'm going with the pickup to continue comparing the same vehicle. Insurance rates for those moving trucks absolutely suck (and why we go rid of it...)
Okay, so lets say more miles are done - in your case - 125 miles per rental. That's $81.20 per pickup truck rental. Still 8.2 rentals per year - So ~7 rentals after taxes and crap.
Plus, you can beat the crap out of a UHaul more so than you would your own car - and UHaul has roadside assistance should their equipment fail on you (if it does, your rental is comp.'ed)
Even using your insurance rates - and your mileage - and using the rates from UHaul.com this statement is still valid
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My philosophy -- if you need anything bigger than a small car or wagon, it's cheaper to rent it for a day or so, than to finance it, insure it, fuel it, maintain it, etc, etc...
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The problem is.... People buying trucks/large vehicles in order to avoid a $30 delivery charge a couple times per year...
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That being said, something like this isn't for everyone.
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It's probably less than most which is why mechanics are busy