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Well, I will be moving from Southern California to Central Massachusetts. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out the cost to drive there. I am trying to see if it would just be less expensive to ship my truck (Lincoln Aviator), rather than drive.
I get about 17mpg, and it usually costs me about $65-$75 to fill up depending on gas prices. I am guessing it will cost about $1000.00 in just gas alone to get the MA. Then I guess $500.00 in hotels and about $300.00 in food. Total trip approx. $1800.00..Do you agree? disagree?
I also got a few quotes from car transport companies and i have been quoted $1200.00. Which yes it is cheaper, but now I have to buy a plane ticket for myself and my dog. ($300.00?) I also have to mail a computer/clothes and i have no idea what that would cost.
I'm basically looking for some opinions and or ideas. Or any general help. I hope this isn't to much.
you have an interesting dilemma. The trip can be made in 4 nights- your $500 for lodging may be on the high side- these days bargains can be found in quality establishments for about 55-70 dollars a night- so you could shave off about $225.00 or so for a nights rest.
Your food costs also seem high- those could be cut to about $23.00 a day- for 4-5 days travel $150 or less-saving another $150-175 dollars.
So I feel you are 'overcharging' your needs by about $400.
I am not following the calculations either. I guess it depends on how much time and money you have to spare, and how much driving you can handle. I drove from Boston to LA twice. The first time I took my time and saw as much of the country as I could, and that was about 17 days worth of meandering. But the second time I had to get there pretty fast, and it wound up being something along the lines of 4 11-hour driving days, which I didn't think was too bad. If you're only spending 3 nights in hotels, there are a lot of serviceable motels that are quite cheap out there in the middle of the country. I stayed in Toledo, near Omaha, and in Grand Junction, Colorado and I don't think it was more than about $175 for hotels total.
As for gas, it's about a 3000 mile trip. At 17 mpg that's about 175 gallons. Even at $3.50 a gallon (which is higher than many of the states in the heartland are getting), you'd only pay 650 bucks. Factor in a little for getting on and off highways for food and hotels, and it's still about $700. A lot of miles will be fast easy highway miles and more fuel-efficient. You should google "average gas price by state" and see if there are states you should target to fill up in.
If you did it in 4 days you could probably eat for less than $300 also. I think you could probably do the whole thing for not much more than $1200 if you drove through like that. It seems cheaper that shipping the car, but the question is if you're up for plowing through like that. If you add another day I still think you're only adding another $100 or so (motel plus food, the mileage won't change much).
Well, I will be moving from Southern California to Central Massachusetts. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out the cost to drive there. I am trying to see if it would just be less expensive to ship my truck (Lincoln Aviator), rather than drive.
I get about 17mpg, and it usually costs me about $65-$75 to fill up depending on gas prices. I am guessing it will cost about $1000.00 in just gas alone to get the MA. Then I guess $500.00 in hotels and about $300.00 in food. Total trip approx. $1800.00..Do you agree? disagree?
I also got a few quotes from car transport companies and i have been quoted $1200.00. Which yes it is cheaper, but now I have to buy a plane ticket for myself and my dog. ($300.00?) I also have to mail a computer/clothes and i have no idea what that would cost.
I'm basically looking for some opinions and or ideas. Or any general help. I hope this isn't to much.
Thanks in advance!!
Hi there. Did this trip twice! Most recently Nov. 2007. Drove a Jeep and stayed for under $80 or less a night, ate at a lot of Wendy's or any other drive thru and had four dogs with us. That being said, if you drive you won't have to rent a car once you get here which adds up depending when your car would arrive. Gas is cheaper now. Cost for the three of us was about $1000 and took four days driving about 12 hours a day. If I had it to do again I would fly and ship the car. Some people love the "adventure" of driving cross country....I just wanted to get there!!!
Thank you all so so much for your responces!!! I really appreciate it. Yes, my estimates were high, but I guess, i just want to be on the safe side, haha..so in my head i tell myself it will be more than it really is, so that when I get to MA, i can excited about how much money I save and then I can go SHOPPPING!! haha, jk.
Anyway, yeah i was really clueless and a bit bervous about making sure i had enough money. I feel alot better now!
When we moved back here our budget was very tight. We got cheap flights home and for our car shipping we connected with a car service that has students who agree to drive your car for you. It was through some company that insures your car for this journey. It was a lot less expensive than having it put on a trailer (although it does eat up those miles on your car). I was a bit leery but the car arrived back just fine, except they did make a few marks on the interior of the car. We were allowed to store some things in the trunk as long as we left enough room for the students to put a suitcase in there. I think at the time it only cost a few hundred dollars and we didn't have to pay for gas. I'm not sure what it costs to fly from S. Cal. but I often find really reasonable fares on JetBlue round trip SF/Boston for less than $300. I don't know if the numbers would work out for you but thought I'd mention this option. We also shipped a bunch of stuff with Amtrak because it was inexpensive but I believe they only take nonbreakable items.
Don't forget you can pack a cooler and fill it will food before you leave to save on your food bill and cut down on stopping as well! Good luck on your journey.
I won't even take a shot at the math, but I would say that any chance to drive cross country (especially with a dog) should not be missed, even if it costs a bit. If you have the time for such an adventure right now, don't pass it up! What about offerring to drive somebody else out here with you? Just a suggestion...however I agree with what somebody else posted....pack a cooler.
kk, another consideration is to pack along several gallon jugs of the water that your dog is used to drinking, and enough food for several weeks. Food formulations *might* be different east of the Mississippi, and you don't want to take a chance of stomach upset.
When my family moved from MA to Missouri, we knew ahead of time that our east coast dog food (made locally in Lowell, MA) wouldn't be available, so we brought a 6-month supply of dry food, and were able to change food gradually well after we arrived and got settled in. Just one less thing to worry about...
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