Quote:
Originally Posted by brightdoglover
I would be thinking of spending summers in SW Colorado, ...
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Having car is important there !! (gotta get over to Moab and back in the woods / mtns)
I would lease from dealer for your first couple seasons to see if your summer plan will work. THEN I would get a dependable and CHEAP beater / econo car and store it in CO during the winters. (preferably inside). Rental storage units are really quite cheap, and you can negotiate a low rate including a few months free if you book a yr at a time (probably average $35 > $50 / mo if you diligently 'shop'). I would find a farmer with a barn... but then there are MICE and they like to nest in cars (especially the heater box ... very stinky, very hard to clean)
. (moth balls are a decent deterent) If you are leaving it for 8mo, I would change the oil BEFORE leaving, and add some fuel stabilizer, & be sure coolant is fresh and adequate. Fill tires ~ 10 psi extra, MAYBE add some blocks under axles IN CASE one went flat. Disconnect battery terminal. (if you have power, you can use a very small battery charger / sustainer, BUT a good battery will stay up). You could have a $10 flea market battery charger there when you return.
A an older diesel is a great vehicle to store for a long time. (if fuel tank is at least 3/4 full). I have rescued some that have been parked for over 10 yrs in the wet PNW brier bushes (and drove them home WITHOUT fresh fuel).
My purr'fect SW CO vehicle would be a Suzuki Sidekick (Chevy tracker) or Mitsu Montero. Either can be had used for under $3k. (Of course I would do a VW diesel swap to make it the ultimate 35 mpg 'explorer' for Canyonlands, Rockies and similar.) I would buy my 'used' summer car in central / west TX (no rust, cheap used cars).
Have a blast.
(BTW: FYI current shipping rates are ~ $1000 - $1200). Thus, I would take a CHEAP SWA flight to Dallas / San Antonio / Midland and buy an econo car. One day drive to SW CO from there. You could buy something popular in CO winter and probably sell at end of summer (any Jeep product might make you enough profit to pay for your tickets
)
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