Another car buying thread... but involve shipping car between states

nisryus · Jan 15, 2025

After reading through the ordeal purbeast0 has gone through, my kiddo who is studying in Virgina just text me that he might be needing a car...

Well, great timing son, after we sold our old Corolla tow months ago to neighbor for cheap!

He just joined the local Fire/EMS and completed his EMT cert. Problem is the station is pretty far from his campus. To get there part of the route he has to walk along the highway for 15 to 20 minutes. With all the snow, it is not that safe. His friends might not be able to always provide a ride, and biking is out of the question.

I am thinking of buying a car here in Round Rock, TX, then ship it to him. Another option is to buy used there, but there isn't a dealership close by and i doubt he can negotiate a car himself. So buying a used car and ship over. Checking price and saw used car price is not exactly cheap.. dang it.

I could buy a new car for myself, and drive the old car there, and then fly back to TX. But wife is afraid since a close friend got robbed along the way to see his kiddo in NC, and my son's school mate also got rob while driving back to school from TX just a week ago.

Has anyone ever ship a car between states before? We don't want it to be stolen along the way.

Yep, wife is angry and nervous because we asked him many times if he needs a car, and he had said no every single time..

Chaotic42 · Jan 15, 2025

She's worried you'll get robbed at like a gas station on the way there? That's radically unlikely. No real advice, other than if he's fire/EMS and it snows a lot, he might want 4WD or AWD.

repoman0 · Jan 15, 2025

I’ve done it multiple times buying cool cars from out of state private sellers. Get a quote from Montway and use them. You can also put out a job for bid on uship.com but Montway will probably have the best bid anyway.

lxskllr · Jan 15, 2025

The buy yourself a new car and drive is the most appealing option to me. People really don't get robbed that often. Anything can happen, including getting hit by a meteor, or abducted by aliens. If it doesn't violate physics, it's on the table. It isn't productive to plan around unlikely events.

Sukhoi · Jan 15, 2025

Robbery isn't on the top 10 of things I'd worry about driving between TX and VA. None of them are very high, so I'd just buy the car, drive it there, and fly back.

nisryus · Jan 15, 2025

So I was looking at Hertz sales. They have this rent 2 buy to test a car for 3 days (discounted rental), before you can decided to buy or not.

Has anyone bought their cars this way? Only concern is mechanic issue that cannot be seen.

My first car was a Chevy bought through Hertz, but that was 40+ years ago and there was no rent to buy back then.

nisryus · Jan 16, 2025

Another thought is to buy it through Carmax that is an hour from his campus.

The only difference is cars from Hertz are all 2024, while Carmax were pre-own and were between 2015 and 2019 for similar price point. Also Hertz warranty is 12 months, comparing to 90 days of Carmax i think.

But Carmax would be more convenient for him.. Oh wait, can he legally buy a car now that he is 18?

manly · Jan 16, 2025

Eating new car depreciation because your kid might need a car is easily the worst financial option. But if you have some reason to get a new car (i.e. mid-life crisis), then it is what it is.

Last time I glanced at BaT, shipping a car seemed quite expensive. Several times worse than I'd imagined.

If he can learn how to be an EMT, then he can learn how to buy a used car. The challenging part can be outsourced: a pre-purchase inspection. If he's really in bumfuck nowhere, then perhaps a car broker can find options in the nearest city.

If for some crazy reason I was considering buying a car from Hertz, it would have to get a PPI.

nakedfrog · Jan 16, 2025

I had cars shipped twice in 2020, one from WI to NE, IIRC that one was about $700, then another from NE to WA, for $1300.
Yes, at 18 he can buy a car in TX.

purbeast0 · Jan 16, 2025

If your main reason for not buying one in TX and driving it to VA is because you are scared of being robbed, then you should really not worry about that because that is not a common occurrence lol. My brother drove back from TX to MD in October with his car full of stuff because he moved back to MD, and he did not get robbed lol.

Lost_in_the_HTTP · Jan 16, 2025

"Yep, wife is angry and nervous because we asked him many times if he needs a car, and he had said no every single time"

Then why bother?

nisryus · Jan 16, 2025

Kid being kid, he didn't think it through, and kept assuring us that everything will be walking distance...

Hertz Sales have 2024 Mirage with 10k mileage for $11k, and a 2024 Kicks with 1800ish mileage for $16k. But they were rentals. But most people said (internet) these were the top tier the rental company had left that they sell on their own, while most other vehicles would go to auction and end up in dealership as used.

So that's tempting

nisryus · Jan 16, 2025

Update: Wife had decided to give the kid the forester, while we go get a new car.. maybe another Forester but a 2025 model. Either that or a Mazda CX-5. She just doesn't likes Toyota (after going through two Corollas she had enough)

I didn't realize new car is so expensive now.. a base trim is $30k after promotional discount?!

Anyway, if we do get a new car, kid will get the 2014 Forester we have now, which only has 47k mileages, as it is mainly in garage and in almost new condition. I am thinking maybe he and I can drive back to Lexington, and I fly back. This way it will definitely save more money. Montway quoted $1054 if pay by cash to ship it.

Has anyone tried the Costco Auto program?

NutBucket · Jan 16, 2025

Costco auto is just a fixed price. If you don't like the price you don't have to take it.

nisryus · Jan 16, 2025

I putted my info into Costco Auto site to check on the prices for CX-5 and Forester and if there are any local dealers working with Costco.. now i got text from five different dealerships of different makers .. I didn't asked for a GMC or Ford...

NutBucket · Jan 16, 2025

Interesting. That wasn't my experience when I used it back in '21

Lost_in_the_HTTP · Jan 16, 2025

I had my 98 Tahoe shipped from Spokane, WA to me not near there by quite some number of miles. $1,400 and hauled by a couple of Russian guys in a Ford pickup with a car hauler trailer carrying three other vehicles. They made the trip in about 4 days, probably picking up and dropping off along the way.

nisryus · Jan 16, 2025

NutBucket said:
Interesting. That wasn't my experience when I used it back in '21

thankfully i used my goggle voice number, instead of my cell number, so i could screen them.. but i was surprised.

Brainonska511 · Jan 16, 2025

nisryus said:
Update: Wife had decided to give the kid the forester, while we go get a new car.. maybe another Forester but a 2025 model. Either that or a Mazda CX-5. She just doesn't likes Toyota (after going through two Corollas she had enough)

I didn't realize new car is so expensive now.. a base trim is $30k after promotional discount?!

Anyway, if we do get a new car, kid will get the 2014 Forester we have now, which only has 47k mileages, as it is mainly in garage and in almost new condition. I am thinking maybe he and I can drive back to Lexington, and I fly back. This way it will definitely save more money. Montway quoted $1054 if pay by cash to ship it.

Has anyone tried the Costco Auto program?

There are cars under $30k, but that means accepting some tradeoffs that may or may not actually matter for everyday use.

nOOky · Jan 16, 2025

I'm still stuck at the point where a grown man can't get his own car. Plus he says he doesn't want one. I'd offer a decent ebike and let him have fun.

nisryus · Jan 17, 2025

He is too young and needs to learn a lot. We just come back from test drive the new 2025 Kicks. It was a lot bigger than I thought, since my neighbor has a 2024 Kicks. But it was still a bit under power, so we will go check out a CX-5 tomorrow. I was actually eyeing the Honda Ridgeline.. but it was too much and the wife dislikes truck...

Kid will be paying for the shipping of the old Forester with the money he earned from working at school and the Y.

Lost_in_the_HTTP · Jan 17, 2025

"But it was still a bit under power, "

Longer than six seconds from the tree to the chutes?

nOOky · Jan 17, 2025

The CX-5 is a great vehicle! I'm not even sure what else I'd buy in that segment except the Mazda or a Toyota.

nisryus · Jan 17, 2025

Lost_in_the_HTTP said:
"But it was still a bit under power, "

Longer than six seconds from the tree to the chutes?

It just not as smooth or peppy. Like there was a delay on acceleration. It is a CVT but my Forester's CVT, even 10 years old, still much more smooth and responsive.

nisryus · Jan 17, 2025

nOOky said:
The CX-5 is a great vehicle! I'm not even sure what else I'd buy in that segment except the Mazda or a Toyota.

A family friend has a 2023 CX-5 and he came over and let us drive it a bit. I like the handling and the interior, much much better than the Kicks. Wife likes it too so she is looking forward to check out a 2025 tomorrow.

Another car buying thread... but involve shipping car between states

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