DEAR CAR TALK: My husband always talks about how taking a long vacation by car puts too much wear and tear on a car. He thinks renting a car (at least $25 per day in our area) makes better financial sense. I think that is crazy. What are cars for if not to drive and enjoy? The type of trip I am talking about is from Dallas all the way up the coast of California and back, over about three weeks. Who is right here?
-- Jan
DEAR JAN: I know this is hard to believe, but your husband may be right.
Take a look at the math. The first thing you need to do is figure out the "cost" of taking your own car. The best estimate comes from our pals at the Internal Revenue Service, who have determined that the use of a personal car for a business purpose is worth 57.5 cents per mile. That factors in things like gas, oil, tires, wear and tear, the money it costs you to "own" the car for that mile, insurance and depreciation.
So if we map out a trip from Dallas to San Francisco, that's about 1,700 miles each way, or 3,400 miles round trip. At the IRS rate, the cost to use your own car for that trip would be $1,955.
Let's compare the rental option. Assuming you can rent a car with unlimited mileage for $25 a day, your three-week rental will cost you $525. Of course, the advertised price of a rental car doesn't include a bunch of fees they always charge, so let's say it's $35 a day. Then your cost for 21 days is $735. Maybe you can do better, but let's use that number.
Now, that's not your only cost in renting the car. While you don't have to pay for maintenance, repairs or insurance (if you have comprehensive insurance on your personal vehicle, it almost always covers a rental car), you do have to pay for your own gasoline.
So if we assume that you get a combined 20 miles per gallon in your rental car, you'll need 170 gallons of gas for that trip, and at 3 bucks a gallon, that's another $510.
So you can see that, based on our simple calculation, the total cost of your rental car is $1,245, and the cost of driving your own car is $1,955.
Now, I say "simple" because, while you're out running Hertz's newest Mustang into the ground, you'll still be paying your car loan while your car rests comfortably in your garage. So you may want to add three weeks of your monthly payment -- since you'll have to pay it, even if your car is at home. But I think the rental still will come out ahead.
And here's the real advantage of a rental car: It'll be a newer car, so it'll be unlikely to break down. But if for some reason it does sputter off the road on a highway near Fresno, you just call the rental car company, and they'll give you another car. No triptus interruptus. No trying to figure out if Rocko from Roadside Rocko's Repair Refuge is right that you really do need a new $4,000 transmission while you're wasting your vacation at the Bates Motel next door.
But more importantly, when you're on a road trip for three weeks, you're often eating and drinking in the car. And if you're going to spill something with steamed milk onto an absorbent car seat, you'll want it to be someone else's. It'll be a great feeling to be pulling into that "rental car return" lane before it really starts to stink. Good luck, Jan. Have a great trip.
DEAR CAR TALK: I have a 2009 GMC Envoy with 53,000 easy miles. All recommended services have been done at the appropriate time/mileage. Twice recently, I have experienced what I think is sticking brakes. This has occurred in traffic situations, like when I stop at a light, and lasts about 100 feet, and then releases. I brake with my left foot, which I know is not recommended, but this is a long (over 60 years) habit. I think it could be the anti-lock brake system working, but it remains "locked" after I remove my left foot and try to accelerate. I have not gone to the dealer yet (it's still under extended warranty). As I stated, this has only recently occurred. I'm guessing it's brakes and not transmission or transfer. Any thoughts? Thanks.
-- Howard
DEAR HOWARD: It could be an ABS problem. Could be a sticking caliper. It could be a transmission issue -- if there's a delay in getting power to the wheels, that can feel like a brake problem. But my first guess would be a faulty power-brake booster.
The booster takes the force of your foot on the brake pedal and "boosts" or multiplies it, sending much more force to the brakes themselves.
That's the "power" in "power brakes." It's what allows you to use a modest amount of force with one haven't-been-to-the-gym-in-30-years foot, and stop a 5,000-pound rolling hulk of steel (or steel and rust, as was always the case with my brother). But if the booster is getting stuck in its boost mode, it will continue to apply force to the brakes, even after you release the pedal.
And it's not unusual for a faulty booster to stay on after a full stop, and then release itself. So the symptoms make sense.
The booster is easy to test. If you want to do it yourself, have your dealer show you where the vacuum hose goes into the booster. Then, the next time your brakes lock up, pull over and disconnect that vacuum hose. If the brakes free up, bingo -- you need a booster.
But it could be a master cylinder, too. Or any of those other things I mentioned. So since you're under warranty, why not let your dealer crawl under the truck and get his shirt dirty? You paid for the extended warranty. Go ahead and use it.
Ray Magliozzi dispenses advice about cars in Car Talk every Saturday. Email him by visiting
cartalk.com
HomeStyle on 03/14/2015