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I'm looking at a similar issue. I need to move my cats and stuff from Chicago to ABQ (roughly enough to fill a studio apartment), but I also need to pass through Houston to pick up some things at my dad's house. With as little stuff as I have to move, the cheapest price I've seen (through Budget) was $1300 for their smallest truck. I really only need a cargo van, but no one rents those for interstate moves, for some reason.
My rather ugly solution: buy a cheap cargo van in Chicago (I've seen them as low as $800 on craigslist), move my stuff to ABQ, and then use the van as a trade-in when I buy a car, either in ABQ or somewhere nearby. Even with title, taxes, and insurance, I'll still come out ahead. *
I'm looking at a similar issue. I need to move my cats and stuff from Chicago to ABQ (roughly enough to fill a studio apartment), but I also need to pass through Houston to pick up some things at my dad's house. With as little stuff as I have to move, the cheapest price I've seen (through Budget) was $1300 for their smallest truck. I really only need a cargo van, but no one rents those for interstate moves, for some reason.
My rather ugly solution: buy a cheap cargo van in Chicago (I've seen them as low as $800 on craigslist), move my stuff to ABQ, and then use the van as a trade-in when I buy a car, either in ABQ or somewhere nearby. Even with title, taxes, and insurance, I'll still come out ahead. *
I am in a similar situation, I am trying to move from Chicago to ABQ but I already have a car that I like and don't want to get rid of. I would buy a cheap van and drive down there but then I would have to ship my car. The cheapest option I have seen is going through U-Haul for about $500 for a trailer. It would be cheaper to just move all my stuff I have now instead of buying all new stuff.
Be careful with the car on a trailer... I had a neighbor drive tow their car across a few states and they said that the suspension was shot after the drive. The car was, however, a Daewoo.. but I would check to see if other people had suspension damage when towing.
I've towed trailers behind vans for tens of thousands of miles and I can tell you
now that the chances of you ever reaching your destination while towing something
behind a disposable, El Cheapo van are pretty close to zero.
I'm not sure if I correctly read the previous comment about suspension damage
towing but if properly balanced, the "tongue weight" of the trailer being placed
on the towing car or van is very, very low. Basically just enough to add a bit
of stability. A couple bags of fertilizer in the trunk would place more weight on
the rear of the towing vehicle than a properly balanced tow hitch should.
Which, of course, requires a bit of thought in how you actually load stuff in a trailer
or how you secure a car on a trailer to be towed.
The damaged car in question was on the trailer... no damage to the towing vehicle (U-Haul). Somehow the suspension of the trailer and that of the car itself did not get along. Maybe they secured it wrong, but hopefully someone with the know how at U-Haul would show you what to do.
The damaged car in question was on the trailer... no damage to the towing vehicle (U-Haul). Somehow the suspension of the trailer and that of the car itself did not get along. Maybe they secured it wrong, but hopefully someone with the know how at U-Haul would show you what to do.
Probably tightened it DOWN rather than fore and aft. Also, it's very fashionable
to cross tie down straps so that the one on the right tow point is secured on trailer's
left, etc.... don't. That works well with rigid cargo, but not something on a suspension.
Use four tie downs with each one running directly fore and aft. If one comes loose,
the car will not shift, but if a crossed one comes loose, the car will tend to "walk"
toward the remaining strap and that will then loosen allowing it to move a bit fore
and aft. Eventually it can come completely loose or, more likely, bend the tow
hooks or possibly snap one of the straps.
If it makes it easier on you I would buy it in DC. Personally if it was me I would buy it in NM, simply because of the registrations. Having to pay registrations twice in a short time span would be very expensive. I see someone says you will not pay sales tax in NM if you purchase in DC. If that is the case consider yourself lucky. There are several states that collect sales tax when transferring the registration to another state such as your DC to NM move. It is usually done when the person moves within a year of purchasing the vehicle. I know Washington State does it or at least has in the past.
Let me preface by saying that I used to sell new cars years ago and worked as a sales consultant for the local Credit Union Auto Buying Service for a couple of years, as well. So I'm familiar with dealer cost, hold-backs, incentives, and how to bargain down to the lowest price (I hope!).
Before I purchased a new Toyota last summer, I shopped online quite a bit and visited the edmunds.com auto forums where people posted their purchase price for the same kind of car I wanted. I shopped around here at the dealers, the credit union buying service, and other car buying services like Costco and AAA.
The prices were significantly cheaper (almost 2K lower) in your area than here. There was one dealership in particular who had rock bottom prices. I sent them a request for a quote on a new car I saw their website. They sent back a quote that was good for one week. I printed out that price and took it to a local Toyota dealer here, but they could not touch the price with a ten-foot pole. They said the dealers back east are much more high volume than out here in the desert. Therefore, they get bigger kickbacks from the car manufacturers based on how many units they can sell per month. The more the units, the higher the incentives to the dealer (so they can sell for less), which is different than the incentives you and I get.
My problem was that it would have been costly for me to fly to Maryland that week to pick up the car and then drive it back. So, we ended up buying locally.
Here's a suggestion. If you will have a forwarding address that you'll be living at here, then buy the car right before you move, but don't register it in MD, so the dealer won't charge you tax, title, or license fees in your state. Your temporary sticker will be good for 30 days. Once you get here, you can go to MVD, get your new driver's license and then pay the TT&L here in NM. Your tax amount will be much lower here which is currently 3% on vehicles. It is going up I believe in July, but should still be significantly lower than what you would pay in Maryland. Also, the registration fee will only be about $50 or so, which is probably also a lot less than what you pay out there.
I have no idea what make/model you are interested in, but here's the link to the Fitzgerald dealer that I shopped at. They sell several makes and have dealerships in MA, PA, DC and VA. They put their lowest internet prices online. I had read about them on the edmunds.com forum as having some of the best prices around. Just choose the make & model you are interested in.
I am in a similar situation, I am trying to move from Chicago to ABQ but I already have a car that I like and don't want to get rid of. I would buy a cheap van and drive down there but then I would have to ship my car. The cheapest option I have seen is going through U-Haul for about $500 for a trailer. It would be cheaper to just move all my stuff I have now instead of buying all new stuff.
So....I too am moving from Chicago to Albuquerque this summer, but I do not have a car and will likely have to buy one when I get there. Perhaps us Chicago people should go in on a truck together, depending on when we're moving? I'll drive..... (This is partially a joke, but partially not....)
Just out of curiosity, what is the exception with Subarus? Is that specific to New Mexico? I saw a TON of them on the road when I was out there. Good cars.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcos
I just moved here from upstate NY. Movers shifted my entire 3 bedroom house (6000 lbs of stuff) for $4000. And these were reputable, not the cheapest options. I packed all my stuff and they carried it out of my old house and into the new one. A Penske rental truck would have cost me $2000 (a 26 foot trailer.) You can probably get a van for like $1300, not $13,000. You either need to do more homework or you are being taken for a ride.
If you are buying a new car, do your research. Maybe even try to do some bargaining over the phone before you go to the dealer. You should be able to get at least 5-8% off the MSRP, before you even get to the hard bargaining. It's a buyer's market (unless you want a Subaru...sigh).
Don't buy a car in a hurry. You want to get the right car for you, not just a good price. Look at gas mileage, 5 star safety, resale value etc. (ABQ is a busy place to drive, as is DC, chances of getting in an accident may be higher).
Good luck!
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