Seattle Forum: Temp Visitor buying a used car?

also you must pay a use tax which is around 9.5% plus license fees so the chances of selling it at the end of a few months and breaking even is slight to nill. Good idea but harder to implement than it sounds.

Hi,

Since it is, as ibgardyloo and david correctly note, buying a car for short-term use isn't the simplest of things to do--perhaps it should be, but in the end, it's not.. might I suggest that you look at one of these two options-- again, just options..

A) Car sharing... Seattle is one of the cities where there are car-share services available.. One of the bigger(est) of them is Zipcar.. I've used them for about a year now, as I lives overseas and no longer maintain a US car.. but I still maintain a drivers license from one of the states.. and I find it very convenient to reserve my car for where I want and for how long I want.. down to the partial day..

http://www.zipcar.com

This may not the the cheapest option, but it does allow you to "buy" only as much time (and mileage) as you need.. Plus, the cost includes gas and insurance.. so it's pretty much a 'turn-key' operation so-to-speak..

B) The other option to consider is contacting one the the major as well as second-tier traditional car rental firms-- Dollar, Avis, Hertz, etc-- and ask about a longer-term rentals.. While the vast majority of their business is the classic short-term rentals, I do know that they have monthly- or longer- rental periods.. Plus, don't forget about Enterprise-- they do a brisk business in mid and longer term rentals (classically for when your primary car in "in the shop" for repairs)..

Again, be sure that you look at the *total* cost of the rental and what is or is not included at that price-- things like mandatory insurances and the like-- plus any driver licensing requirements that they may have.

Best of luck.

Travel Safe,

I got the idea of "purchasing used car, can save heaps" from a friend. Well, now it looks like unfeasible to be done to meet that purpose.

Thank you very much Guys.

Kenny

Renting a car is definitely too costly. :)

Thx

Kenny

Hi Kenny,

I was curious too, as car rentals are expensive, but car buying has plenty of pitfalls as others have so well defined. I came across this page from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to help families who need to be in Seattle for medical treatments for extended periods and rent a car. I hope some of the information can help you.

http://www.seattlecca.org/car-rentals.cfm

IslandGrl,

I looked into their website, but we r not a patient of SCCA nor family member, so i don't think we r eigible to rent one with that special rate. :)

Anyway, thank you very much.

Kenny

Aero Rent aCar sure has attractive rates.

Thx IslandGrl

Yeah, but I would still try. It's info you have as the consumer. What's the downside?

I would try something like..."I know you have special rates and discounts, I want to rent for XXX what's the best rate you can provide?" If they don't budge, add "you were recommended on the web for...can you offer a similar discount for me?"

Hang in there Kenny, every penny counts!

IslandGrl,

Sure, I'll give a shot. :)

Thank you very much for the tips.

Kenny