Hang on to car or sell? (pay, rates, vehicle, Oregon)

[k374]

I may plan a brief hiatus overseas (18-24 months) late next year (2024). I have a pristine/mint condition 2017 Hatchback with just 30K miles on it. Current KBB value is $17.5K trade in and $18.6K private party.

By the time I am ready to sell it in late 2024 the car will be almost 8 years old and probably have 32K miles or so on it.

Wondering if it makes financial sense to hang on to the car when I am gone OR to sell it and then get something later when I return.

Arguments against keeping the car:
- I will have to pay monthly for a parking garage spot - estimated $75-80 at least/month - I am in Texas, there is heat/hail etc. so I would need a covered spot
- Have to pay insurance full coverage, currently I pay $100/month
- Even if just parked car will deteriorate from not being used, battery, animals, elements etc.
- Car could be subject to vandalism
- Car will depreciate a little but being 8 years old already should be minimal

Arguments towards keeping the car:

Just a single argument really, the used car market is a circus right now and when I did some research the asking prices are truly shocking! Most of the listings are from dealerships who are marking up prices like mad since it looks like private individuals are hanging onto their vehicles for dear life and not selling. I hardly see any private party listings. Concern is that later if I want to buy something again it will be substantially more expensive for a far worse vehicle than what I currently have.

Costs to retain over 24 months:
Parking - $1800
Insurance - $2400
Depreciation - $1500

Total - $5700 plus all the other risks I mentioned about deterioration and vandalism

So I came to the conclusion that hanging onto the car may not make much sense at all. Am I missing anything in my arguments? Thoughts?

[hikernut]

I'd sell it. Seems like a good time to sell a car today. It's anyone's guess what the car market will look like in two years... could be a seller's market, or a buyer's market.

There are also the issues of prepping a car for long term storage, and then reviving it for use again. I've read a bit about on this online. Here's one such discussion. There's a huge range of opinions in there, haha! I have a good mechanic I trust. When I wanted to drive the car again I'd just have it towed to his shop and let him handle it.

https://arstechnica.com/civis/thread...3-years.77905/

[esas]

Put your license plate # into Carvana and see what they'll give you - simplest program out there. My son did this with a car a few years ago, input the data, scheduled appointment - they came and picked up and handed him a check. Was literally a 15 minute process and price was on par with local dealers without dealing with the humans in the loop.

[k374]

Originally Posted by esas

Put your license plate # into Carvana and see what they'll give you - simplest program out there.

Yeah, that is actually a great idea for a pretty simple process. However, not quite sure if Carvana is still doing it as I know they were in a lot of financial trouble recently. I'll check it out though!!

[evening sun]

The insurance seems high for a parked vehicle. I would ask the agent what discounts you get for not driving it.

[oneasterisk]

I'd sell and just park the money in HYSA or similar. It'll make a few thousand interest at 5%. Maybe in 2 years interest rates are lower and inventory can get you a better car for less. Why pay for a liability when you don't even use it?

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Have you looked into shipping the car with you? If by overseas you mean Europe, cars are really expensive there and you will likely need a car while you are there.

I've shipped a car to Britain and back again and the cost wasn't horrible compared to buying a car there, then buying another car when I got back to America,

Also something to look into , Volvo used to have a program where they would transport you to Sweden, sell you a car, let you stay and drive it around for a week so you took it back home as a used car and not a new one so greatly reduced import duties. I don't know if they still do it, but its worth looking into.

[djplourd]

Originally Posted by esas

Put your license plate # into Carvana and see what they'll give you - simplest program out there. My son did this with a car a few years ago, input the data, scheduled appointment - they came and picked up and handed him a check. Was literally a 15 minute process and price was on par with local dealers without dealing with the humans in the loop.

A local dealer offered me $2,000 more than Carvana did. You could also try CarMax if there's one close.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Have you looked into shipping the car with you? If by overseas you mean Europe, cars are really expensive there and you will likely need a car while you are there.

I've shipped a car to Britain and back again and the cost wasn't horrible compared to buying a car there, then buying another car when I got back to America,

Also something to look into , Volvo used to have a program where they would transport you to Sweden, sell you a car, let you stay and drive it around for a week so you took it back home as a used car and not a new one so greatly reduced import duties. I don't know if they still do it, but its worth looking into.

Volvo, BMW, Mercedes, ... all have the buy and drive programs but not in what seems to be OP's price range nor time frame.

Import laws have changed over the years. About the only quick - ship and drive is now Armed Forces with duty station.

[hken]

I wouldn't keep the car. Two years is a long time and life changes. Maybe you stay longer overseas, maybe you decide to move somewhere else where your car is not a good fit...heck let's say the garage gets sold and then you get a notice to move your car in 90 days or lose it...point is not worth the hassle. The only reason to keep it is some peace of mind that you don't have to shop for a new car in the future...I think that's not worth the $4K+ in cash you need to spend to keep it.