Car rental economics

[Brat]

The more fuel you have on board the heavier the vehicle, the lower the mileage.

Fuel in Cali and on the Oregon coast is more expensive than the OR I-5 corridor. If you are headed even further north to WA get what you need before crossing the Columbia.

[TromboneAl]

Quote:

Is there that much media influence on consumers that they are making foolish decisions like this?

You're forgetting that normal people are not like us. They never sit down and calculate the numbers. They go by gut feeling.

Just talked with good friends who are selling their wonderful house and moving into town "because they are spending too much on gas." I calculated (but didn't share it) that they will save at most $1,000 per year. It will cost them 30K to move. $2K just to refinance their HELOC.

And today, they said that they plan to move again in three years, because they want to downsize. I had to bite my tongue. This retired couple is painting houses to make ends meet.

[boont]

After a recent flight to New York (mentioned in another thread) we decided to cancel our commercial flight reservations (home to California) and make it a road trip.

We hadn't done this cross country, take your time drive, since just after college. Listened to Walter Cronkite, back then, describe men walking on the moon from a radio balanced on the roof of my 1963 VW Bug.

This time, I wandered into a Manhattan garage (where parking cost $40 an hour) and said, "Give me something with four cylinders and I want to leave it in San Francisco."

They came up with a Pontiac "Vibe" which is a cross between a small SUV and a station wagon.

My brother, who knows about cars, said, "That's a Toyota made in Fremont Calif. with a Pontiac badge."

Whatever the hell it was, it got 36 honest to goodness miles per gallon ( I checked it about 6 times) and was a perfect car for this type of trip.

We drove it 4500 miles in about three weeks. This road trip was the second half of the best trip of my life.

Like the Ford Escape, the Vibe, has no cornering ability what-so-ever. You feel like you are going to fall across the car at any sharp turn. But, aside from that, it was great. Just back up to your motel or hotel and unload/load. We really got that down to a seamless routine.

I don't know how many people do this kind of trip anymore, but I saw our country and had a fantastic time.

No motor homes for me. We either did a cheap motel, to crash after the best restaurant meal Zagats Guide could find us, or a first rate hotel with the same meal, if the town was worth it.

I've always believed I could travel 1st class across the United States staying in the best hotels and eating in the best restaurants and still beat the motor home costs by a wide margin.

Having said this, I also understand the fun and social benefits that some people get with the motor home trip. Just not for me.

boont

[Patrick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 Heck, its easy to save fuel with a MoHo. Park it. Do so at a park if you like, but its not like you'll starve or lose your job by doing so.

It's gotten cheaper for me to fly or drive my car and get a hotel room than pay for fuel for my motorhome (80 cents per mile at today's diesel prices), so it's parked next to my house waiting for the next hurricane evacuation announcement.

[brewer12345]

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Originally Posted by boont I don't know how many people do this kind of trip anymore, but I saw our country and had a fantastic time.

If I suddenly find myself with a lot of t ime on my hands, this is exactly what I plan on doing.

[nphx]

Wether or not I fly Southwest - I use their website for car rentals. Pretty painless to reserve, racchet to a better deal and cancel old reservation. Also the page accepts promo codes if you can locate one. You can put any city code in even if not a southwest destination.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick It's gotten cheaper for me to fly or drive my car and get a hotel room than pay for fuel for my motorhome (80 cents per mile at today's diesel prices), so it's parked next to my house waiting for the next hurricane evacuation announcement.

Depends on how far you're going and how long you plan to stay. We're in our moho on our way to a destination 1,000 miles from home and will stay a total of 3 weeks. Including fuel and RV park fees, works out to about $85 a day. No way flying and hotels would be cheaper.

[Walt34]

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Originally Posted by boont I don't know how many people do this kind of trip anymore, but I saw our country and had a fantastic time.

I've never done it and I'd sure like to. Trying to talk DW into it, but she has to um, make a lot of "stops", which was what made me think of a travel trailer. She rejected the idea of a marine potty in the back of the pickup. Well, it does have a cap over the bed and we could put curtains on that.

Women are so impractical sometimes.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick It's gotten cheaper for me to fly or drive my car and get a hotel room than pay for fuel for my motorhome (80 cents per mile at today's diesel prices), so it's parked next to my house waiting for the next hurricane evacuation announcement.

80 cents per mile! At $4.75/gal for diesel it costs us 59 cents per mile to move. But it used to be more like 28 cents per mile.

You can do some very enjoyable traveling and only move 100 miles or so at a time - depends on how far away you live from the nice locations. Your motorhome is depreciating anyway - better to use it or sell it.

Audrey

[Patrick]

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Originally Posted by audreyh1 80 cents per mile!

Yup. 6 mpg with the towd, 7 mpg without the towd.

[audreyh1]

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Originally Posted by Patrick Yup. 6 mpg with the towd, 7 mpg without the towd.

Wow - our long term average is 8.1 mpg (always with toad). We often do better especially cross country, but occasionally do worse (high 7s) - like this Oregon coast trip with short distances, lots of tight curves and ups and downs, and prevailing north winds!

Audrey

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73ss454 Not to mention Motor Homes.

Zap! Bull's eye!

[REWahoo]

I'm averaging numbers very close to yours, Audrey. Last trip (with toad) we got 8.0. Our first leg today - 325 miles, with toad - 7.7. Hills and winds...

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo I'm averaging numbers very close to yours, Audrey. Last trip (with toad) we got 8.0. Our first leg today - 325 miles, with toad - 7.7. Hills and winds...

Yeah, that's what I'm seeing a lot this trip - 7.7, 7.8. We've been doing only 25 to 70 miles per leg, and that cuts into the fuel efficiency. But it sure is nice not driving far between camps!

When we travel long distances cross country, we usually average around 8.5 mpg.

I don't know how old your engine is, but we've noticed fuel efficiency improving with each 10K miles. We were told to expect that.

Audrey

[RockOn]

Rental cars..I've done this a few times and saved. Go to Priceline, name your price. Start low and work up until your price is accepted. It takes a little fiddling to make it work but I usually get 1/2 off the retail or more.

Good luck if you try it......