Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options
Comments
Stumbled onto a Road Trip video. If you like older Corvettes and can put up with a bunch of babbling, you'll enjoy tolerate this road trip by Roadkill--I'd never heard of them. But they traveled to the National Corvette Museum, a place I've always wanted to stop but was always in a hurry driving past or my wife wouldn't let me.
The goal of the trip adds new meaning to the ad theme "Chevy Runs Deep."
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
It is all about priorities. Yours is obviously traveling and seeing things and people. I did that back in the 1960s and 70s. Now it is less risk taking in my adventures. I have not set off on a road trip for 20 years in a vehicle that was not still under warranty. Don't like taking the chance of being ripped off in some little podunk town in an old vehicle that gives out. You still see the old hippies traveling the byways in VW Microbuses blowing smoke all the way. In a way I envy them.
$6,600! That was a pretty penny back then, and it is still not an amount at which I would scoff. I don't think I have ever done a road trip that did not involve a fair amount of saving and planning. I'm sure our most cost-effective trip was the 1999 "meet the folks" trip that my now-wife and I took in my 1969 Chevrolet C20 pickup. That was our first "triangle" drive from Alaska to Oregon to Pennsylvania to Alaska. We drove 11,000 miles, spent just over $1,500 on fuel, and I think the whole trip cost less than $2,500. Since then, we have done some variant of that trip another four times.
The 2013 trip cost us $5,500.
That number surprised me too (it's probably my math, lol). We just camped and did a lot of National Parks in the US and Canada. Only "unusual" expenses were buying some Sask. pottery (still using the bowls), a quilt in TN, paid for a ducky trip on the Nolichucky, had the brakes adjusted in Flagstaff, saw the Monterrey Aquarium, and rented a sailboard at Hood River. Everything else was eating and driving (that was a great summer; 5 days in Marin staying with friends, hit Hyder and took the Inuvik sidetrip after the hike on the Chilcoot got rained out).
Short trip today - a few deer, but the highlight was 5 trumpeter swans passing overhead.
@gagrice, those VW drivers probably have blowing smoke coming from the engines too.
We did not spend $6600 on our two road trips last year together. Both were 3 weeks always staying in Best Western or Hampton level motels. May trip in Sequoia was $3548 which included the 30k mile Toyota service at $169 in Indiana. Gas $1077 for the gas hog.
Last October we made basically the same trip in Motels every night for a total of $2491. Better hotel prices on that route back to Indiana and only $679 for diesel. Looking forward to getting on the road soon now. Have another route picked out. I want to see a couple areas in Arkansas for possible move from CA.
Knowing my cryptic notes, my number probably included the mortgage and utilities for the house.
Let's see, last month's two week trip to VA and TN came in around $1500, plus another $800 on the VISA for the car troubles and towing. So that would be close to your October trip. I guess we blow our "motel" budget on eating out. That appears to be around $630. No wonder I gained 5 pounds last month.
.
Yes, you pass us up on the eating. Spring trip was $368 and Fall trip $322. We take advantage of the free breakfast at most of the motels. Some Drury hotels include a decent dinner with wine or cocktails. That included taking the kids and family out for dinner. We almost always carry stuff to make a sandwich in the ice chest. Only drink bottled water so no over priced drinks. My coffee is always part of the hotel price. We averaged less than $75 per night. We stay in a one BR suite in Evansville for a very low $60 per night for 10-12 nights. We have stayed there every trip over the last 5 years. So I call the owner direct and get the same suite deal. Excellent location and above average service.
$600 for 10 nights. I could buy two or three nice tents for that.
We think we're going to Iowa in early May. Maybe I'll track expenses and drive my wife crazy. Otherwise, we've shifted gears again and have put the future NM road trip on the back burner. Summers are nice here and there are a few more spots we'd like to check out before we move. And we have to get rid of a few thousand pounds of crap before the move.
Is that the Outback or the Quest?
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and let us know! Post a pic of your new purchase or lease!
MODERATOR
2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
LOL, both of them actually. My wife is howling.
Is this your last winter in the UP? I don't want to see any snow on the ground that does not melt by noon. I am also looking at the Florida panhandle. Some great buys with good sized lots, 20 acres and more. Lots of Repo property. One really nice place that had been kind of trashed. People paid $1.3 million in 2006. Now it can be had for $300k. Amazing. No income tax and low prop tax in some areas. I need to take a road trip and check it out.
Yeah, we're heading for the southwest, for a while at least. And yeah, always liked the panhandle, especially around Destin. Guess it's changed a lot from when we'd go there when I was a kid or teen. There's some nice areas around Mobile Bay too.
Is the panhandle a little more hilly? My wife does not think she would like any place without good sized hills.
You'll have to head for N. Georgia at least before finding much in the way of hills. I remember doing a weekend hike near Ocala and the elevation would never change more than a foot. Amazing the difference that little bit in elevation made in the vegetation though.
Check out Chattanooga after Arkansas if you want to put some more miles on. My brother is out toward Cleveland but there's some nice spots on Raccoon Mountain and the Georgia part of Lookout Mountain if you want to be out of town a bit.
There's some nice places along the Buffalo or White River in Arkansas. Mountain Home for example. You could get a part time job as a shuttle driver for all the canoers. Fayetteville would be good, if you want a college town. Hot Springs is pretty too, and wasn't really overrun with tourists last time we were there in the off-season. Or buy a lake house on Bull Shoals.
It's the eating out that kills our travel budget.. Even with free breakfast and coffee at the hotel, we are usually looking at $60-$80 per day, for the two of us...
Now that I think about it, that's what kills our budget the rest of the time, too...
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
Okay, so looking back at my report on the subject, here's how we spent the $5,079.85 for that five-week Sept 2013 trip that saw 12,6xx miles (yes, I record all the expenses. blushes):
That's five weeks for four people, so I think that a little over $800 on food was pretty decent, especially considering that we ate pretty darn well (quality, not quantity!) the whole time! The restaurant outings represent twelve separate meals and two instances of ice cream stops (one of which was Wall Drug.... couldn't miss that!).
Regarding the educational stuff, we "homeschool" our children, so the district here allows for some reimbursement of out-of-pocket educational expenses. The kids had three hours of study time (while in the car) daily, along with various daily stops we did for hikes, water sampling, and other educational activities.
Sadly, I think my wife only submitted about $300 or less for reimbursement because she wasn't confident that she had all the required backup for the expenses. My take is to submit everything and let them deny what they want, but she's not wired that way. sigh
Over all, we tend to travel rather frugal. The added bonus is that this method of traveling really enhances the quality of the experience as opposed to diminishing it! I think that, as we get older, we will probably come closer to adopting the methods of both Steve and Gary (depending on the time of year), which will still keep us in a frugal state without always being quite so.... raw... about it.
Hate those fees; wound up getting a Capital One card for travel in Canada. No international transaction fees.
Your list is a lesson in itself!
I thought I kept good records. I do on fuel and have a pouch of hotel reciepts for the tax man when I get back. Food bought with cash does not always get accounted for. If I take people out for a nice meal it goes on AMEX to get the 2% same with fuel for 3%. I am with you on expenses being reimbursed. Nothing vouchered nothing gained. I once had a supervisor go after me for the quarters I used to do my laundry while on company business. I saved him a lot of money over giving it to the hotel to clean and add to the bill. He still would not pay me. That was the last time I did my own laundry.
Just doing my usual justification for driving vs flying.
diesel for 6000 miles at $4 per gallon under $1000
8 extra nights in hotel on the road $600
Extra food driving cross country less than $200.
If we go by air RT $886 cheapest if bought now.
Economy SUV like Escape $1016 for two weeks in Indiana.
If time is an issue I guess you better bite the bullet and torture yourself flying.
If you have a few extra days take the roads less traveled and see the USA in your own luxury vehicle. I don't see us flying anyplace we can drive to. Hate what the Feds have done to flying. I would rather drive a 1000 miles on muddy roads than go through the worthless TSA crap.
I hear you, Gary. I'm heading to California in a couple of weeks to visit family. I'd love to drive, but it's a day and a half from Denver and I can't afford to take that much time off from the job(s).
So, my flight is just over $200 r/t, and my rental car is another $200. If I drove, it would be 6 tanks of gas r/t at about $35 per tank, plus a couple nights in a hotel (let's say $75 per). That's $350, and I'm still looking at 17 hours in the car each way. Door to door by airplane will be maybe 7 or 8 hours.
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and let us know! Post a pic of your new purchase or lease!
MODERATOR
2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Those with time restraints do not have the luxury of driving. And it is only a luxury if you can take the time to smell the roses along the way. My worst trip back to the Midwest was crossing TX on I20. I will NEVER take that route again. Driving 85 MPH with bumper to bumper semi traffic can be more stressful than dealing with the TSA. Another issue is where you are flying to and from. I live in a destination city San Diego. I would be flying into a small city in Indiana. No real deals on Airfare like flying from one hub to another. Same for rental cars. Though I never rent anything smaller than a Camry if possible. I prefer an SUV if I can swing a deal. I prefer driving my own vehicle.
The last time I drove to CA was 2 summers ago, for my 30th HS reunion. I drove instead of flew because I had two sets of golf clubs I brought with me.
I've made the drive between Denver and LA a handful of times over the past 20 years, with other trips to Vegas and St George, UT thrown in as well. The drive has some spectacular scenery along I-70 in both Colorado and Utah, and I-15 is OK until you get to St George - then it becomes a boring desert drive with lots of traffic.
Years ago, I did a cross country drive from CA to MI and back with a friend of mine. 3 weeks on the road in total. Would love to do that again at some point.
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and let us know! Post a pic of your new purchase or lease!
MODERATOR
2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
You forgot that small slice of Arizona off I-15 between Utah and Nevada. I drove that route a few years ago and loved it. I actually don't mind some time in the desert either and liked the Cajon Pass. Returned to Denver via Palm Springs and then AZ and NM where I cut up from Albuquerque through Santa Fe and Taos. The worst part of the whole drive was the Denver Airport. I miss Stapleton even if I fully understand why it had to be replaced.
That's definitely an example of penny-wise, pound foolish! The sad thing is, I doubt that supervisor ever recognized the folly of that decision.
Yeah, I-15 is about 25 miles long in AZ.
While I've not done the southern route from Denver to LA, we have gone to Sedona, AZ a couple of times - I-25 to I-40 to I-17. And, we're heading to Santa Fe at the end of next month.
Ah, Stapleton. I traveled a couple of times a month when I moved to Denver. While Stapleton was close, the runway layout was a complete disaster, especially when there was bad weather. I was so glad when DIA opened. It actually opened while I was away, so I flew out of Stapleton and flew home to DIA. Now that they've built some more roads, getting to the airport is a bit easier, even if it does involve a toll.
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and let us know! Post a pic of your new purchase or lease!
MODERATOR
2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
I haven't really been in the southern US (excepting California). I definitely want to hit those areas some day.
When I've flown into DIA on a cloudy day I've sometimes wondered if I messed up and was landing in western Kansas or Nebraska
There were two things I always liked about Stapleton, the view of the Rockies and the many neat local eating joints. I think the new DIA is really O'Hare on the cheap while missing any local flavor in the food choices. But it is a very efficient operation at the new Denver Airport and you're not likely to run out of runway!
I don't use the airport much lately, but I've read that they are making a determined effort to improve the quality of food choices there. There is a branch operation of Elway's (steak house) that I know of. They are also working on attaching a hotel to the main terminal that will also have some eating options associated with it.
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and let us know! Post a pic of your new purchase or lease!
MODERATOR
2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Funny you should mention Destin. I am looking at a place for an aquaponics farm. My son and daughter in law want to sell the two homes he has remodeled and move further South. This place is bank owned and right across the bay from Destin peninsula. Notice the giant greenhouse with builtin Tilapia pond? It was a vineyard and the property behind was the winery. Both victims of the crash.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10092-State-Highway-20-W-Freeport-FL-32439/48118640_zpid/
That's big enough for a family compound. Don't sell your Kubota!
I think the panhandle has some of the nicest beaches in the Continental US. But it ain't Hawaii.
I was going to ship my Kubota back, now I am in a holding pattern. Kids, you never know what they will want to do. It is big enough for all of us to live if and when we get old and need help. Not sure about being that close to the coast. This place would probably suit me better.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/17521-Hwy-331-Paxton-FL-32538/2107506908_zpid/
And Berri you are right. There is NO PLACE like Hawaii. I prefer it to anywhere I was at in the Caribbean.
Wow. Both of those places are a lot of property for the price! Crazy stuff. I think my preference would be the second property as well. More land, better house.
I'm always leery of anything built in the 1980s. It was the modern dark ages.
Inland Florida...I hope you like heat, humidity, bugs, gators, sinkholes
I agree, second house looks better.
No hills at either one. Unless climbing out of a sinkhole counts as a hill.
I hate using the Interstate highways and we may have more reason to avoid them if Obama gets his way.
With pressure mounting to avert a transportation funding crisis this summer, the Obama administration Tuesday opened the door for states to collect tolls on interstate highways to raise revenue for roadway repairs.
The proposal, contained in a four-year, $302 billion White House transportation bill, would reverse a long-standing federal prohibition on most interstate tolling.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/white-house-opens-door-to-tolls-on-interstate-highways-removing-long-standing-prohibition/2014/04/29/5d2b9f30-cfac-11e3-b812-0c92213941f4_story.html
Well, my road trips just got a whole lot more complicated!
I would not expect all the states to get in on the rip-off. What really gets me mad is we pay a big portion of our gas price as tax. And in states like CA they steal it for the general treasury. Less than 15% goes for road and bridge maintenance. What are the Feds doing with our gas tax? Sure not fixing our interstate highways.
That's bad for those of us who prefer avoiding the Interstates when we can. More cheapskates will be in my way on the blue highways.
Gotta pay for the endless studies (with generous salaries and benefits that go with) and for the well connected "independent" contractors somehow.
The Federal gas tax hasn't gone up since 1993... Not one penny... Most of that money is sent to the individual states to spend as they see fit (on transportation). If you want to know why the roads are going to H---, that's a good place to start. Try paying your bills with what you made in 1993.
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
Not to mention the erosion in the value of those dollars due to inflation....
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and let us know! Post a pic of your new purchase or lease!
MODERATOR
2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Many of the states have more than made up for the Feds not raising the tax. CA 71 cents on RUG CT 79 cents on diesel are the top taxes. The average tax is more than double the Federal gas tax.
http://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas-overview/industry-economics/~/media/Files/Statistics/state-motor-fuel-taxes-report-summary.pdf
I'm wondering if that's a red herring from the government as an excuse for increase. The trucks and cars have increased in number since 1993. Although the cars get better mileage, the trucks don't. I used to see signs on the back of trailers that "This truck pays $6000 in fuel taxes." I suspect the trucks cover more miles now and there are more of those trucks getting about the same mileage as alwasys.
The problem is the big government just wants more money. They have been spending a large part of what should be there for the Brent Spent Bridge in Cincinnati paying for bike trails, paths through conservation wetlands, city trails, and trolleys and light rail instead of rebuilding the interstates and bridges. Target the money to what it originally was spent for and the problem would have gone away.
Big government: big spenders.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
PA Turnpike already has a toll. One of my kids took a round trip on it, not even the whole thing, and the toll bill was over $50.
To cross from NJ into NYC via the George Washington Bridge or the Lincoln/Holland tunnels for my dually pickup - toll $34 if paying cash (slightly less if using EZPass). Needless to say, if I need to go to NYC, I drive to my hometown which has free public parking, and take the bus from there for $8.50 round trip.
A plain old car is $12 for the Lincoln Tunnel. With EZPass you save a couple of bucks every time. Keep in mind that for months I had to do for quite some time for medical issues frequently - and I live 2 hours from the city so there's Parkway tolls, too. (This is the same Parkway they told us would be free once they paid off the road. At 25 cent tolls they paid it off and always had a surplus that went into the state coffers. The toll is now 75 Cents (generally collected as a one way toll of $1.50) and get a state subsidy. What's wrong with this picture? I'll give them that it's a very well maintained road.
I can remember paying 50 cents to go through the Lincoln Tunnel.
As far as gas taxes you've got to pay for the roads somehow. I'd gladly pay more if every cent of it went into real, solid road infrastructure improvements.
Somewheres about the late 60s we decided that infrastructure improvements didn't matter. As a result dams, water supply tunnels, roads, bridges and tunnels of all sorts are slowly disintegrating. If they are very lucky, the Tappan Zee Bridge which some idiot designed to have a 50 year life span and 60 years later is still going. It's a beautiful bridge in a beautiful setting but it's a sitting invitation to make the Minnesota disaster or the one back in Tampa Bay look like peanuts.
OK, having said all of that, I did do a road trip in March. Have friends in Tallahassee and a nephew and his family near Raleigh, NC. Made a 12 day trip of it and kept Interstate travel to an absolute minimum. Traveled old US highways and farm roads. Couldn't have been better. Just the tonic for this old head.
Will be doing another trip to meet a long time poster that I've gotten very friendly with but have never actually met. So as not to reveal identity I won't say where I'm going other than it's about a 12 hour drive (that I'll probably divide into two sixes or a 7 and a 5) and there's lots of alternatives to the Interstates.
On the FL/NC trip I used the Cape May ferry, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and wasn't on an interstate until almost in North Carolina. Beautiful drive.
Coming from Tallahassee to North Carolina instead of going out to Jacksonville on 10 and up 95 I cut through Georgia on the back roads. Spent an evening in Augusta, GA. Have a golf ball to prove I was on the grounds (but not as far as the grass) of Augusta National. As the guard said, "You can cross that one off your bucket list."
Toll roads are on the verge of becoming a hot potato issue here. (freep.com).
MI DOT says "toll roads have “not been considered economically feasible as Michigan is off the nation’s heavily used east-west corridors,” and “a system of toll-free highways has been viewed as important to commerce, industry, tourism, and general economic development."
29 states have toll roads per that link.
Fezo, the toll over the Mackinac Bridge has gone from $3 to $4 since we moved here 3+ years ago.
The Mackinac Bridge is worth that for entertainment alone! One of the great bridges in the country.