You're overseas for an extended period of time. What the hell do you do with your car?
I often get asked what I do with my car whenever I leave the country for a significant period of time. Most winters I’m gone for about 3 months. But this past year, I was (sorta unexpectedly) gone for almost 7 months. So yeah, some planning is definitely required for your bigger ticket items if you don’t have a home to store them at.
Unless you can find a friend or family member who will store your car at their place, the downside to this, is that it’ll likely cost you a decent chunk of change, so this is another reason to plan for this situation if it applies to you.
Long-term economy airport parking seems like the most obvious option, but it will likely be the most expensive, and least safe option. Most long-term airport parking companies charge by the day, and don’t give weekly or monthly discounts. So even a rate of $10/day, which is a great deal if you’re just going away for a week or so, adds up real quick when you’re gone for a month or more. $10 x 30, you’re already $300 in the hole for just one month. Still not terrible, but let’s say you want to go away for 3 months, now we’re looking at just shy of $1,000 to welcome you back. I’d rather spend that on something more fun on my trip than my car sitting in a lot.
Not to mention that these are uncovered lot prices. So now add on the risk of storm damage. Covered lots exist, but those are going to double your price at the very minimum.
And you have to be sure that you are returning to the same place you left, so you can get your car. Sometimes that can be an impedance to the lifestyle.
So here’s a peek into a few things I’ve done with my car over the years, as I’ve escaped the cold bite of winter:
Rent a storage space. Much like the above, you’ll have to be sure that you are returning to the same place to pick up your car. But there tend to be many storage space companies not far from the airport, and your car will be locked up securely, out of the elements. You can even find some storage spaces that are climate controlled and have power outlets so your battery doesn’t die. The climate controlled or power-rigged ones tend to be a bit more expensive, but they’re still pretty affordable in comparison to airport economy parking lots.
The upside to this option is that most storage spaces will allow you to rent month to month, so you can go with the flow if your plans change (like mine did this year!)
Pro tip: If you can, pay for all the months you are certain you’ll be away upfront. Most storage space companies will quote you a super low rate to get you in the door, and then double the cost about 2-3 months in if you’re paying them on a monthly basis. This past year, I knew I would be away for 4 months definitely. So I paid for those months in advance. But then sure as shit, once I decided to extend my space, the cost went up. I wasn’t sure exactly how long I’d be gone either, so I was at the mercy of their whims. They were nice enough, however, to lower the price a little bit once I called them up and asked nicely. Worth a try anytime!
If you know that you need to return to a different place than where you were when you left, shipping your car is a great option, if there is someone that can receive the car for you. I often catsit for some folks in Texas in the summer when I return to the country. But most years I leave the country from Denver. So instead of leaving my car in Denver, coming back to get it, and then going down to Texas, that whole effort is already complete, and I can fly directly to Texas from where ever I am.
Now to be clear, I know them well enough to trust them, and they are certainly generous to offer me space in their driveway while I am away and their time to receive the car when it arrives. So that could be limiting in this option, if you don’t have awesome folks to help you out here.
That said, the shipping industry is really annoying to work with, because you can never really count on a specific date and time to have your car picked up or dropped off. It’s all based on how the truck driver is doing on his/her schedule. So you’ll want to plan with a least a week’s cushion for it to be picked up before you scoot away for the next few months.
It’s also a fairly expensive option upfront. Cost is typically based on distance, the condition of your car, and whether you want a covered or uncovered ride for your car. But with this option, you don’t have to pay for parking/storage for the time you’re away, and THEN pay for either shipping or driving it yourself to your next location.
Selling your car or having the lease bought out. I lease my cars, and while I often get told I’m just throwing away my money on a car lease, there are a few reasons that it works well for me:
I take a LOT of cross country road trips. I want to know that my car is fresh and new and gonna hold up for the long distances without breaking down.
As a corollary to the above, I also don’t know much about the mechanics of cars. So if something randomly goes wrong with the car, it’s not my problem. The company I am leasing from will take care of the repairs/issues and the costs to have them fixed, assuming it wasn’t anything I did intentionally to the car.
The monthly payments are much cheaper than a financed car, and I get a brand new one every 3 years!
Mileage on leases can be a concern, but when I’m not driving my car for 3 months or more per year, I’ve never really had to worry about going over the contracted mileage. And even if you do, you can typically negotiate this charge off your bill if you are leasing through the same folks for your next car.
But back to the topic at hand. This year I will be selling my lease to a lease broker before I leave for my winter travels at the end of December. My lease is up in April this upcoming year, which is about the time I plan to return to the country. So instead of paying my monthly lease for 4 months, I can have this bought out for a lower fee than my monthly payments. Add in not paying for wear and tear, which is built in to the broker offer, and not having to worry about your car from afar, and it’s a winner!
And then I can start fresh with a new lease when I return to the country. Most lease brokers will also help you secure a new lease as well, so all I have to do is find what I want, do a little negotiating, and have it shipped to where I will land when I return. Another plus for the lease broker business is that they can be super flexible when it comes to the complications of nomadlife. For instance, this year I will have my car picked up from Denver, arrange to have a car leased and delivered to Texas, and to make it more complicated, all with a Florida driver’s license and registration.
I also feel like I’m getting ripped off less when I work directly with a lease broker than I do with a dealership.
But funny enough, one year I did have a lease that turned out to be a lemon. I was driving from Denver to Miami on a pretty tight timeline to catch a flight out of the country. This was a brand new car, leased only 4 months earlier. On Christmas Day (in 2020, of all years!), I pulled over to get gas in the middle of nowhere panhandle Texas. Get back in my car and my car won’t start. The electronic malfunction light came on, which was preventing the ignition to turn over and start. Finally after about 2 hours (and waiting for a tow truck), it started up. I assumed it was a random glitch and kept on. A day later, also in the middle of nowhere Mississippi, I stopped at a red light and the same thing happened. Luckily a cop was there and he tailed me at the intersection so no one would rear-end me, given that this was an intersection on a state highway! Tow truck came, it started up again, argh! But then another stop light a couple hours later and a third time of this bullshit, and I was definitely putting it on the truck, regardless of whether it started again or not. Tow truck came and took us to the nearest dealership, which was in Mobile, Alabama. And of course it happened to be closed because it was Sunday! So now I had to stay the night in Mobile unexpectedly, thus reducing my time to get to Miami for my flight to Ecuador.
I spent the whole next day at the dealership, where they couldn’t replicate the problem. I told them about my situation, having to catch a flight in 2 days from Miami, so I needed to get down there, but wasn’t gonna risk what happened to me for a fourth time! Especially under such a time crunch. So I told them it was their job to figure it out. That I was gonna be away for a couple months, so they had plenty of time to figure out and replicate the problem. And guess what? Them keeping the car for the time I was away saved me on parking expenses, and I got reimbursed for the rest of my expenses down to Miami. And I made my flight on time! And they even delivered it to me free of charge in Florida, where I had returned to after my trip.
Turns out the problem was a bad starter on my ignition. And the problem could only be replicated by driving it for over an hour. So someone got to have a few fun joyrides out of the office in my car!