Lease, Rent, etc.... New Car? Whats cheapest (luxury, vehicles, 2014)
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No way I would tolerate Houston's heat either myself.
When I had a similarly long commute I had a Toyota Celica. Fit me comfortably(as noted, most important), got 40mpg on the highway, and was still fun to drive. Took it to 200,000 miles problem free, just regular maintenance.
I would advise something similar. Whatever sub $20k fuel efficient, reliable, little hatchback tickles your fancy and fits you comfortably.
My current commuter is a Kia Forte5 SX. Top trim with the fun to drive turbo. 100k warranty. $17,900 brand new. If willing to compromise more on the fun to drive aspect you can get a more basic Forte sedan LX, Rio, or a Soul around $13k new. They all fit my 6'7 self remarkably well. Throw some winter tires on there and you're set for a bargain.
But really anything in that market would do you well. Corolla iM would eat that commute for breakfast and likely still be worth a good chunk after you racked up 200k miles on it because it's a Toyota.
Those are good cars. I would also suggest a Subaru. But no way would I lease. Mileage alone would be prohibitive. If costs are a concern, secure a low-rate loan via your bank or credit union, and buy one that's a year old or so.
I will be going from 125k a year in Houston to about 130k a year regular job (mechanical Engineer).
however I will be opening a side business (Recreational Marijuana licensed cultivation center) in Maine with good friend who is already up there which will add an additional 200-500k per year income.
Is long term rental from a rental company an option? are there deals out there for such things?
Since income won't be a problem I'd get something mid-sized, maybe larger. At this income level I'd be tempted to get a mid to upper trim level Camry or similar, and drive to 70k or so, and then trade in. Cheapest? Nope. Least amount of issues? Yup. Do all your service at the dealer and they'll flip it over as a CPO.
Otherwise, I'd still go mid-sized. Lots of driving, and I think you'll find mid sized is simply more comfortable.
Either case: Throw decent all seasons onto it, and snows on the truck. Undercoat both, or at least wash on a regular basis, to keep the salt off. Drive truck in the snow if you have to, otherwise wait for the plows to do their thing and drive the car. If you have to drive in the snow, then get snows for the sedan.
Personally I hate driving my Tundra in the snow, it's easily the worst vehicle I've driven in snow; but for my setup I decided my sedan would get all seasons and the lightly-driven truck snows.
It needs to be cheap this first year or so. all my income and savings will be tied up in this business venture and buying a house up there.
i think the best option may be to buy a 6-7k used commuter car here in Houston. My wife says to just daily drive the truck and she doesnt need a vehicle the first year or so at the new place.... this means I have to take her grocery shopping and run errands when I get home from work or on the weekends because she will be stuck at the house without a car.
Yeah, if you want a cheap car then buy it down there. Anything cheap up here will be rotted. You'll have to carefully inspect anything under $10k--everything will have some rust, but some will be vastly worse than others. If you can, definitely buy down there.
That said, a year of commuting won't kill the Tundra. Perhaps wait a year, fly back to TX (meet up with old friends for a week?) and buy something down there to motor back in.
Buy a Subaru. Hands down. They were made for the NE and PNW. My parents are on their second since 1998 and live in NH.
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