Car Needed in Breckenridge? (Denver, Colorado Springs: landscaping, transfer, buy)

[matt82]

Hi All,
I've been following this forum for the past few months and you guys have all been a tremendous resource... I only saw one post when I searche don this topic so I'm hoping to get some more info... I have a couple questions about getting a car for Breckenridge:

Quick background, I'm a 27yr old guy moving from NYC to Breckenridge in November...

1) Will I really need a car or am I better off flying out there, shipping whatever I need, and finding an apt centrally located on the bus route. Assuming I live in town, is a car necessary or would it be a pretty big hassle without one. I know I'd be limited in exploring and getting to other ski-towns (vail, aspen, a-basin) but i'd more than likely meet someone who has a car to ride with.

It seems like the free bus service is pretty good and goes to supermarkets, malls etc. I live in NYC now so I'm used to getting around without a car but not sure if that's a good idea up in the mountains.

2) If I do get a car, should I really take the winters into consideration... One person told me that the car wont look the same in April as it did in November... I've been looking into 2003-2005 Nissan Xterras but maybe I'm better off saving a few thousand dollars and going a little older?

Thanks in advance everyone!
Matt

[Mike from back east]

I'll let people with experience in Breck advise you on the town. Regarding the car, the consensus of the same people is that a Subaru is THE car for snow country. Search on the word SUBARU and you'll get the key threads on "which" car is the choice for winter driving. I hope you don't need one, would be cool to save that much money.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by matt82

1) Will I really need a car or am I better off flying out there, shipping whatever I need, and finding an apt centrally located on the bus route. Assuming I live in town, is a car necessary or would it be a pretty big hassle without one. I know I'd be limited in exploring and getting to other ski-towns (vail, aspen, a-basin) but i'd more than likely meet someone who has a car to ride with.

Yes, we do have a free county-wide bus service, Summit Stage, but it is not like bus service in a large city like NYC, where buses come every 5 minutes and serve almost every block. Buses are only 30 or 60 minutes and serve widely-spaced stops/routes (check the schedule at the website link above). So if you want to get to a friend's place, you may have quite a walk from the nearest stop. On top of that, to get to many places, you have to transfer. For instance, to get from Breck to Keystone, you have to take the bus from Breck to Frisco, transfer at Frisco and go to Silverthorne; transfer at Silverthorne to the Keystone bus. It can up to an hour to make a 15-mile trip. It can be quite a hassle. Plus, the bus simply doesn't go many places you would want to go if you live here, e.g. Loveland/Loveland Pass, Vail, Denver (almost everyone who lives here has to go to Denver every now and then for something), and most hiking trails.

Could you live without a car? Sure, but it would be hard and would limit your activities. And don't always depend on finding someone to get a ride from. People work all kinds of jobs with all kinds of hours. You may not always find someone whose schedule matches yours.

2) If I do get a car, should I really take the winters into consideration... One person told me that the car wont look the same in April as it did in November... I've been looking into 2003-2005 Nissan Xterras but maybe I'm better off saving a few thousand dollars and going a little older?

Not sure what the person means by the car not looking the same -- that it'll get dirty from the snow? That happens anywhere with snow. Nothing a quick wash won't take care of. People drive all sorts of vehicles here. FWD, AWD, 4WD. The roads are plowed very well, so high-clearance or even 4WD is not a necessity, contrary to popular belief. Getting winter tires is pretty much a requirement for surviving the winter here. If you will be driving rough 4WD/forest roads to access remote areas, then high-clearance 4WD will obviously be needed. Otherwise a regular sedan will do fine. Subarus are very popular here. This is just my personal observation: most people who live here actually drive sedans and not SUVs or trucks (except for those who need trucks for their work, e.g. landscaping, snow removal).

You could always get here without a car. If you then find that you really want one, check out the classifieds in Summit Daily News.

[COflower]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Not sure what the person means by the car not looking the same -- that it'll get dirty from the snow? That happens anywhere with snow. Nothing a quick wash won't take care of. People drive all sorts of vehicles here. FWD, AWD, 4WD. The roads are plowed very well, so high-clearance or even 4WD is not a necessity, contrary to popular belief. Getting winter tires is pretty much a requirement for surviving the winter here. If you will be driving rough 4WD/forest roads to access remote areas, then high-clearance 4WD will obviously be needed. Otherwise a regular sedan will do fine. Subarus are very popular here. This is just my personal observation: most people who live here actually drive sedans and not SUVs or trucks (except for those who need trucks for their work, e.g. landscaping, snow removal).

My best childhood friend lives up there as well as my family used to have property up there too. I dated one of her friends (a short but long distance relationship) and he had a pretty beat up Honda Accord hatchback. He tooled around Summit County and other places just fine.

As stated above, the majority aren't big honkin' vehicles up there for full-time residents. You don't need them.

I've driven up to our property up there in different Hondas, a VW Jetta, two trucks and a Suburban through my driving years. My trucks and Suburban were for work (sold windows and doors in Grand Junction headquarters in Colorado Springs) but a decent running front wheel drive car is just fine. Roads in the area are well taken care of, even in towns like Blue River and such - wish the cities of Denver and Colorado Springs would learn a thing or two about snow removal...also, once people actually learn to drive in the snow because they have no choice, they have the skills.

BTW, I think having a vehicle is a good idea. The shuttles up there are awesome but having the freedom to cruise around the back country on a whim, making a run to Denver or Colorado Springs for items you can't get cheap up there (this will happen, my friend makes trips to Denver), as well as not being tied to a bus system is a good sense of self reliance. I mean, it doesn't mean you have to drive it all the time so you can use the buses up there for your regular work/shopping but it's there. Guess I am a car/truck girl at heart.

Oh yeah, if you are in shape, another reason to have a car is to get yourself a mountain bike to mount on...summer riding up there is nothing short of spectacular though I prefer hiking. :-)

[80skeys]

I would think it would be a hassle without a car. Especially in the winter when it's cold and snowy. In the summer you could get by on a bike and use the bus for your shopping. But you're not going to want to do that in the winter.

As for cars working differently in winter vs. summer ... no, this isn't Alaska.

[wanneroo]

I've known hundreds of people that survived up there without a car, but I never went without. Makes life a lot easier for sure.

Good winter tires are more important then what wheel is being driven. People make a big stink about 4x4 or AWD, but if the tires are crap into the wall you go(as I saw last week up near the Eisenhower tunnel). That said Subaru with AWD is a good choice. Certainly AWD or 4x4 is nice, but get winter tires first before considering that.

[Idunn]

I lived and worked in Summit County one winter without a vehicle and did reasonably well without one. It is possible, depending on your location and circumstances. Breckenridge is a fairly compact town and most venues would be a close or somewhat long walk for you. It does get cold, though. The Summit Stage bus service is excellent free public transportation, but, as mentioned elsewhere, using the bus for groceries, etc. always means working around their schedule. There may be another, but the large City Market grocery is on the north edge of town, probably not someplace you'll be walking to. If determined, or the necessity, you can make this work.

If a vehicle, Subarus are an excellent choice. One reason is their full-time 4-wheel drive, another is a relatively low center of gravity. Something not shared by most huge trucks and SUVs, by the way. I've seen more than a few of those of the side of the road in a snow bank because their owner felt invincible, until the law of physics took over. Really, all you need is a decent car with front wheel drive (four wheel preferable, if you can swing it). But not all are created equal, and it pays to apprise the particular model and make for aptitude. Whatever the vehicle, you will need good 4 season tires on it. Dedicated snow tires are better, but you'll often be using them on bare pavement. Decent M&S tires are more than sufficient, but, again, not all tires are created equal. Do a little research. Oh, and if you haven't, learn how to drive in the snow, preferably not on a public road. Basically just slowing down and being careful will get you most anywhere, with safety then only an issue of all the other idiots on the road.

By the way, Breckenridge is a lovely town.

[sgltrak]

Plan ahead, use the bus system, and you can get by without a vehicle, but it is inconvenient. Buy something cheap and park it, only driving it if you need it. My wife and I lived in the area for several years, and got around just fine in a 1984 Honda Accord and a 1985 Ford Escort, both with good tires. We rode our bikes quite a bit, even in winter, and took the bus, also.
Have fun

[matt82]

Hey everyone - Thanks for all the info and replies!! I really appreciate it.

I decided to definitely go with the car, I'm a very independent person and exploring is one of the main things I'm looking forward to doing. I guess I started to wonder after reading a bunch of roommate wanted posts and noticed a bunch would say they "preferred a person with no car" or that they were centrally located so a car wasn't necessary. But after looking at the town a bit more and where the stores are located and where I may wind up working - the freedom of a car would make things much nicer.

Also - a very good family friend heard of my trip and offered to basically give me a Jeep (albeit it's a 1994 with 121k miles...haha). But they just put a ton of work into the car 4 years ago (new trans, radiator, exhaust system) and new brakes and tires last year.... 4x4 is said to work fine. Just the a/c doesn't work but I think that shouldn't be an issue for at least 7 months.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by matt82

Also - a very good family friend heard of my trip and offered to basically give me a Jeep (albeit it's a 1994 with 121k miles...haha). But they just put a ton of work into the car 4 years ago (new trans, radiator, exhaust system) and new brakes and tires last year.... 4x4 is said to work fine. Just the a/c doesn't work but I think that shouldn't be an issue for at least 7 months.

Don't knock it. Believe it or not, old jeeps (and I'm talking 60s and 70s) with more miles sell for $3,000+ here in Junction.