Best way to get a car - kid is in Cali

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in LA. I agree with your kid that he needs a car in San Diego.

First, you should buy the car in CA, because CA enacted a law that if you buy and bring a car into CA within (a year of purchase, probably) then CA will tax you on your car, CA taxes! So you'll be taxed twice.

This is because taxes are so high in CA, people were buying from OOS. But the beast must be fed, so this is the state's work-around for the citizens' work-around.

Second, look at autotrader.com and do a search. What you want is a three-year old vehicle with one owner and no history of damage. These are usually new vehicles that one owner leased, and the lease period ends in three years. So there are a lot of those cars on the market. I bought mine in Cerritos, which is a little over an hour south of me, and probably about 1.5 hours north of San Diego, your kid can just drive it back to his college.

Third, in case you don't know what kind of car...I bought my DD a RAV4 and it is awesome--ZERO complaints and a great car. Safe (don't let him talk you into a jeep). Holds surfboards either inside, or on top. It's just a great car.

Good luck, OP! What school is he going to?

Very helpful. Thank you. He’s at UCSD med school.

[Anonymous]

How do all of you perfect parents know that OP isn't just doing her own research to add to her CHILD's (yes, as an adult he is still her child) own research? Maybe she's just curious as to what others have done and came to a forum to ASK A QUESTION, not be attacked. FFS no matter what, you all have something negative to say. Maybe, just maybe, she wants to HELP her son who is in MED SCHOOL. God, give it a rest.

[Anonymous]

DCUM crowd is tough. If your kid is older than 3rd grade they should be doing their own laundry, cooking one meal per week, and advocating for themselves, even if they are at the police station. You are a good mom. My kid went to medical school too and I gave him a car, but he was in my state. Try to find some people who live in California (maybe a work colleague) to calculate all additional fees.

[Anonymous]

Everyone ripping on OPs kid. He’s at UCSD medical school.... I think he’s doing just fine as an adult!

[Anonymous]

If you have a car he can use already, I wouldn't buy a new one out there. I'd just ship it out. $1,000 seems like a steal to me vs. driving for 4-5 days.

[Anonymous]

I am fairly certain there is a network of flat surfaces that connects all inhabited parts of the US - perhaps that woudl be suitable for getting a car to California? What are they called again? Oh, yeah - roads.

Kid flies back to DC, drives car out himself. Why is this even a question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you go visit, please don’t call it Cali.

+1. Former CA resident

Lol +1. Like nails on a chalkboard.

+3 Native Californian here. “Cali” is not a thing.

Then where am I going back to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you go visit, please don’t call it Cali.

+1. Former CA resident

Lol +1. Like nails on a chalkboard.

+3 Native Californian here. “Cali” is not a thing.

Then where am I going back to?

What's wrong with use of "Cali"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you go visit, please don’t call it Cali.

+1. Former CA resident

Lol +1. Like nails on a chalkboard.

+3 Native Californian here. “Cali” is not a thing.

Then where am I going back to?

Strong to quite strong.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in SD and went to UCSD. Yes, he needs a car. Have him buy a used one in San Diego - cars there stay in better condition longer because there's no snow and little rain to corrode the exterior.

[Anonymous]

Why not a Jeep? That’s what we got our college student and we have heard no complaints.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not a Jeep? That’s what we got our college student and we have heard no complaints.

I'm the PP who recommended against the jeep.

I did this based on the Consumer Reports crash safety tests.

To other PPs, I didn't mention the "Cali" thing, but as long as it's being discussed here, I agree with PPs that say "Cali" is not a phrase here. Sort of like "Frisco" is not used for San Francisco, though I'm not sure why. "SoCal" is often referred to for Southern California.

as a brief tangent, out here we put "the" in front of freeways. So for example, OP's kid will be near the 405 freeway. When I lived in NoVA it was a hard habit to break.

Finally, 5:40 is hilarious, yes, DCUM seems to have more than its share of parents with tiny compliant adults rather than kids.

Back to OP....congrats to your son! This is such an achievement. FWIW, the UCSD campus is huge, so I'm glad you are helping to figure out the car situation.