Which Car Options in a Transient Life?

While we are still contemplating whether owning a dog is financially feasible, another significant financial decision we are facing in the future is our transportation situation. My fiancé is planning on coming with me next baseball season. The problem with minor league baseball is…I have no idea where I am going to be. This is the biggest barrier to a number of things in our lives, and the transient life we will live is molding our financial decisions now and will continue to do so into the future.

Right now we both own cars, but how will we get them where we need them? Is shipping a car a good option? What about selling/buying? We will continue to explore our options in the coming months.

When my fiancé and I are married in October, we will continue to live in the Midwest until we plan to move in the first few months of next year. This move will take us to Florida, about a day’s drive away from our home.

We will be in Florida for two months with my assignment for the season coming after Spring Training. This assignment may keep us in Florida or send us to any number of locations throughout the United States.

As my fiancé plans to work in Florida for at least the first two months, we will need two cars. How will we get them there? What are our options pre and post season?

While we plan to drive my fiancé’s car to Florida early in the year, my car will remain in our home up north. We have a few options:

Wait until someone can drive my car to Florida and fly homeShip my carBuy a new car

It seems as though waiting until someone (possibly my parents) can drive my car to Florida and getting them home on a one way flight may be our best option. Shipping a car usually costs between $750 and $1000, which is roughly half of what my car is worth. Paying for gas for a ride to Florida would cost half of that. Buying a new car is an option, but this decision leaves us with an extra car when the season ends, a problem we don’t need.

If I am assigned somewhere other than Florida, we will need to decide if we need two cars in our next location. We also need to consider the post season. Having two cars will leave us with the option of selling my car and driving my fiancé’s car home or driving separately all the way home.

This is a unique situation that requires a lot of thought. Have you ever had to make a similar decision? Have you moved and had to ship or drive a number of cars to your new home? How did you handle the situation?

Tagged as: Lifestyle, Money Management, Money Stories