Oppopinions wanted

"smobgirl" (smobgirl) 04/13/2019 at 13:09 • Filed to: What would oppo do

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I travel a lot for work and that often means driving. I’ve been renting because I don’t want to put the miles on the Fiat (or risk breaking down in NE New Mexico and not having cell service). I’ve been thinking about adding a second vehicle, but I’m a little torn about what.

On the one hand, renting something strictly for highway driving is pretty cheap ($30/day plus gas) so it’s not a huge expense. On the other hand, I’ve sometimes needed vehicles that can deal with some relatively sketchy unpaved stuff which isn’t really ok with Enterprise. (I’m not talking Moab here, but loose soil/poor clearance/scrapey vegetation).

My boss has an ‘05ish Civic and an Xterra, so he just uses whatever is appropriate for the site.

Do I get something like a RAV4 and occasionally rent something cheap for long boring highway drives when I want better mileage? Or do I get something like a Matrix and take risks with rental SUVs/trucks?

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 13:29

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I’d say a 3rd gen CRV would be my choice (the one with the tire on the back) or a SG Forester. Both can be had for sub 7k ish and are very reliable.  I was on some seriously sketchy NM “roads” with a SH Forester and never had trouble, even in sand.

Side note, I once broke down about twenty miles south of Raton and got towed back to Santa Fe. The local AAA affiliate was very nice and bought me an iced tea. I had a VW at the time, what was I thinking...

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 13:32

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IMO for business rental is always better even if you are taking some small risks driving on bad roads. It’s not your insurance, or your money paying for the wear and tear on the car. When I need an SUV or 4WD I just rent it and drive it, I’m probably nicer on these cars than 90% of the drivers. If you have options other than enterprise, like National the benefits are pretty great and the vehicle selection is a bit more varied.

Deltyn drives a meh car > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 13:34

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The last of the matrices was produced in 2013, so i assume you mean arav4 of around the same vintage. The highway mpg between the rav4 and matrix are 33 and 32 respectively, so I say if you need something for occasional off pavement use just go with the rav4 and get the bes t of both worlds.

WilliamsSW > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 13:34

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Unless you can make money by driving your own car ( ie reimbursement >> total operating cost including depreciation) I would just rent, and keep the Abarth.

smobgirl > WilliamsSW 04/13/2019 at 13:57

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I can deduct expenses for mileage at 58.5 cents/mile. So for a 1600 mile round trip it adds up.

(Edited to add, I’m keeping the Abarth anyway, but right now it only gets driven to the airport or local sites)

smobgirl > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/13/2019 at 13:58

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So, it IS my insurance, if that makes a difference. And my money. I’m freelance, essentially, so it all comes out of my expenses one way or another.

smobgirl > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 04/13/2019 at 14:03

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Forester isn’t a bad idea. Not sure how I forgot about them :) 

TheRealBicycleBuck > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 14:03

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If it’s for business, stick with a rental.

Story time! I had teams doing environmental analyses in the Sonoran desert. We reserved full size, 4wd SUVs and ended up with Escalades. Over the course of the project, we put lots of desert pinstripes on all three of them. One of the team members had the great idea to take them to a detailer and have the stripes buffed out. They looked brand new and Enterprise  never said a thing about any damage, so I guess it all worked out. 

gettingoldercarguy > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 14:06

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Pretty sure you're looking at a Miata with a lift kit.

smobgirl > Deltyn drives a meh car 04/13/2019 at 14:06

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I don’t really care about years so much as price. An older Matrix is about the same as what my boss paid for his Civic, but with enough room for my dog, camping gear, and a mountain bike on the roof. That was the only rationale there (there aren’t a ton of small reliable hatchbacks/small SUVs from that era and Elements are still too expensive).

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 14:07

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If you are freelance/contractor and you drove your own car you can then deduct that expense from your taxes if you itemize, that is an advantage. My rentals are covered by my employer and if we drive our own car we get the federal rate for business auto mileage. 

smobgirl > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/13/2019 at 14:08

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I need something to go camping in anyway, I’m just trying to help the work side of things too.

And damage is one thing, but I’d much rather get my own car stuck than a rental!

smobgirl > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/13/2019 at 14:10

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Exactly. I could deduct nearly the entire fee for some of these trips if I was driving my own vehicle...

WilliamsSW > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 14:11

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You’d have to crunch the numbers, but even buying used, you probably have to drive at least 10-15k miles per year or get a really cheap car to justify it.

It’s one thing if you want a second car for your own reasons ( if so just doooooo eeeeeeet!) But strictly for business, I don’t recommend it unless you really will drive it 15k miles on business. 

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 14:15

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LastFirstMI is my name > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 04/13/2019 at 14:20

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I can understand- I had a blow-out on a back “road” between Clayton and Folsom in the days before cell phones. I just drove on the rim....

smobgirl > WilliamsSW 04/13/2019 at 14:22

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I’ve probably already put 8000 on various rentals! I was actually wondering about the local Enterprise’s tolerance for 36 hour rentals coming back with another 1500 miles on the clock.

smobgirl > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 04/13/2019 at 14:22

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?

WilliamsSW > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 14:24

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8000? This year??

You can totally make money driving your own car then.  

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 14:25

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Do you stay overnight on any of these trips? If so get a 4x4 Sprinter van or a Tacoma with a camper bed and it’s also your hotel. That could offset the higher vehicle cost pretty quickly. And we have so much public land here in Northern NM you can basically just park it and camp wherever. The dirt roads surrounding my town are littered with Sprinters, pickups with camper tops, VW buses  and old JDM 4x4 vans spending a few nights before they move on. 

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > LastFirstMI is my name 04/13/2019 at 14:27

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Good lord, I wouldn’t know what to do without a phone in some of those super remote areas. At least I was on I25, I just told the AAA call site person to tell the driver to find the only silver VW stopped on the side of the road. Some of those backroads might not see more than one or two cars a day...

Wacko > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 14:30

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that Means I must post more about my new to me Forester. But maybe you forgot about them cause the bad rep the 2.5 have with oil consumption and that they are CVT only now....

I so wanted an XT but they are more expensive than WRXs of the same years that have less miles on them.  

smobgirl > Wacko 04/13/2019 at 14:38

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My old boss had a manual Forester for forever. I just forgot Subies weren’t always as humongous as they are now.

oldmxer > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 14:40

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tacoma

Under_Score > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 14:42

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No problems at all on mine after 83,500 miles (except for car accidents and the backup camera). 2006-2008 models had some oil leak issues.   https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/761298560/overview?aff=share_other

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 14:42

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I was in the exact same position as you (wanted to preserve my ST). I totally advocate the cheap POS car you don’t care about route.

I can write the interest, depreciation and milage off.

I say buy a matrix

smobgirl > LastFirstMI is my name 04/13/2019 at 14:42

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We keep joking that we need to go through Clayton to get to everything we inspect. I learned after one trip to pack snacks and a cooler but not to drink too much because there’s like 150 miles with no bathrooms and no vegetation  to hide behind.

smobgirl > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 04/13/2019 at 14:45

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Ah, you’re the only person advocating “car” and renting for off-road, ok :)

I was like, yeah, it’s snowing in Denver too, that’s why my ass is still on the couch and on Oppo...?

smobgirl > oldmxer 04/13/2019 at 14:49

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I’ll put Zoidberg on the hunt.

Shift24 > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 15:41

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Fi rst gen or sec gen CRV, decent gas mileage, cheap to fix, high enough and ok for offroady bits. Just watch for oil consumption on second gen. Normally just the pcv, but 08 and later had ring issues

Rav4s are hard to find and overpriced most of the time. It's also a good option just hard to find a decent one.

Future Heap Owner > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 16:49

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I think it does make sense to get your own so you can deduct that mileage. I ’d go for a proto- crossover, like an Outback from the aughts or a Volvo XC70, and maybe give it a mild lift.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 17:17

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I’d probably be tempted to just keep going the rental car route, but if not I would imagine any AWD CUV or car based SUV would be plenty for a forest service or county road that hasn’t been graded in awhile on a rainy day.   

punkgoose17 > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 20:00

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I don't know how much is off road, but I recommend SX4 or whatever has the best economy and meets the off road needs.

smobgirl > punkgoose17 04/13/2019 at 20:28

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Yeah, I’m leaning that route. I think I need something a bit more competent/more clearance than the SX4 though. I had to abandon a Ford Edge at one site and head out on foot, though if I owned the car and was less worried about cosmetics it might’ve been fine . The rental Dodge Ram 1500 I had last week was doing great driving over stuff but nearly didn’t get up a couple steep loose hills. To be fair, that site would’ve been better traversed with an ATV and that’s never going to be a real  option, and defining where I draw that line is what’s making this a tough choice!

nermal > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 21:08

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Get a Subaru Crosstrek. 

smobgirl > nermal 04/13/2019 at 21:21

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No.

Jordan > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 22:13

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Everyone beats on rentals. Just rent a base F150 and drive it like its a Raptor.

LastFirstMI is my name > smobgirl 04/13/2019 at 23:47

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Heading West from Clayton you need a 90 mile bladder, minimum. 

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > smobgirl 04/14/2019 at 23:42

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I don’t know if anyone suggested it, but there is the AWD Matrix/Vibe. Just put a mild off-road tire on it and call it a day

smobgirl > dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford 04/14/2019 at 23:56

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Yeah, I like that idea in theory and it would obviously be more useful than a Fiat but the off-road situations I’m in for work need more clearance and a bit more grunt than that could handle, I think.

I just can’t decide if I risk getting caught by the rental company taking stuff off-road (not sure if they GPS people here yet, plus damage possibilities) or cover that with a personal vehicle and keep renting Versas for the strictly highway drives.

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > smobgirl 04/14/2019 at 23:59

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I’d probably err on the side of caution and get a cheap offroader, nothing crazy just with AWD/4WD and hope for decent fuel economy. I’d love to see a first gen Acura RDX with a mild lift and off road tires, but I have a feeling that’s beyond your budget

smobgirl > dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford 04/15/2019 at 00:10

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Well there are two options there too :)

I get an older beat to shit Forester or Xterra or something (if only that Isuzu earlier  had 4wd!) for as little as possible and drive it to death, or...

I buy something new and nice (and 4-door)   enough for Uber/Lyft and offset payments by driving for them when work is slower.

I’m not bothered by fuel economy as much as general maintenance costs in the long run. (I mean...within reason).

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > smobgirl 04/15/2019 at 00:14

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I’d say get what you can afford, but don’t get stuck with another car loan unless you don’t have many other expenses. I vote something older that you wouldn’t mind using and abusing

smobgirl > dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford 04/15/2019 at 16:03

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I don’t know how I missed this obvious choice.

I need a Vehicross.

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > smobgirl 04/15/2019 at 23:17

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Vehicross is surprisingly pricey 

smobgirl > dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford 04/15/2019 at 23:37

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They’re all over the map, but then again, so am I (bad joke). I’m not making a decision overnight so I have some time to keep my eyes open and see what comes my way. I would love to own one though.