Ok, that headline might be a bit confusing. According to bankrate.com, Oregon is the cheapest state in the US to operate a vehicle, with an average cost of $2,204 per year (the highest is Georgia, with an annual cost of $4,233). So what’s the connection to there being so many older cars on the streets here?
First, there are a couple of reasons why Oregon is cheap. There is no sales tax, nor any kind of recurring automobile property tax. License/registration fees are dirt cheap: $86 for two years ($19/year more in Multnomah County/Portland). Bankrate says that “Kelley Blue Book estimates the combined vehicle fees in the state amount to just $157 per year”. I’m assuming that includes the state gasoline sales tax, otherwise it doesn’t compute.
Insurance averages $724 per year, on the low side. I pay just a bit over $200/yr insurance for Liability/Uninsured Motorist coverage for each of my cars, but skip the Collision/Comprehensive coverage. If I break it, I pay for it.
Gasoline runs on the high side here on the West Coast, but we just don’t use as much of it ($942/year avg.), because we drive less in Oregon than just about any other state; 16% less than the national average. Why? Oregon is hardly a compact or densely populated state. But our urban areas have profoundly less urban sprawl, thanks to the first comprehensive Land-Use Law in the country, enacted in 1973 (Oregon SB 100 & 101). That established Urban Growth Boundaries, and all development must occur inside of them, until the available land is used up. This has led to more compact urban development, as well as unspoiled countryside just minutes away, instead of patchwork development spreading far and wide.
This has also fostered much better than average transit systems, like Portland’s pioneering Metro light rail, and Eugene’s EMX Bus Rapid Transit system. Eugene is the smallest city in the country to have a BRT system. And of course, bicycle use is very high too.
So there’s just less need to commute by car, and the old Volvos can be spared the grind of a long daily commute. And why not have several of them, when registration fees are so cheap? Between effective urban planning, a laid-back attitude, and the lack of rust, Oregon has all the ingredients to be Curbside Classic Heaven.
I am also guessing that there is no annual inspection. Strident inspections systems will certainly drive old cars off the road if costly repairs must be made.
The lack of an environment for body rust is huge. Mechanical stuff (particularly on simpler, older stuff) can be kept going almost forever with enough care. Structural rust, however, is what kills most older cars in the midwest and northeast.
A very interesting grouping of factors – no wonder your area is old daily-driver heaven.
Yes, I forgot about inspections. None, except for the Portland area, which requires smog inspections. But no “safety” inspections, obviously 🙂
That’s probably a big reason for so little in Massachusetts. I even see cars only 10 years old with big “Reject” inspection stickers, indicating they likely have failed emissions testing.
Don’t dis’ inspecdtions. I grew up in NJ and it was nice to know that every car around you had had the brakes, lights and alignment checked every year. You at least knew that the other cars had at least a chance of avoiding hitting you.
Now, due to “budget cuts” NJ only tests emissions. Heck, I’d rather have them check brakes than emissions.
I live in MA where the inspection is a little bit, but not much more rigorous than NJ’s emissions-only policy.
How many accidents are caused by someone having bad brakes? As opposed to texting and not noticing the car in front of them has slowed?
Really I could care less if half the cars around me are due for a brake job, as long as the driver is paying attention and not doing stuff he isn’t supposed to be doing. Mechanical failure of other people’s cars is the absolute least of my worries.
I remember (1960s) when NJ state run inspection stations would lift the front of the car so they could check for looseness by pushing and pulling on the front tires. The lift mechanism came out of the floor and I always wondered how many cars they damaged. At the end of the line you hoped that they didn’t put a red sticker on your windshield (failed inspection).
Originally the state motor vehicle inspection was every 6 months!
I remember those ‘inspections’ too. You always failed the first time and the old fat slob told you to go down the road a bit and visit his cousin Vinney. A mafia rip off if ever seen.
In the Portland and Rogue Valley areas we have emissions inspections every two years. Otherwise no inspections. You’re right, rust makes all the difference. I lived a short time in hilly Ithaca, NY, where they mine the salt, and owned a “flexible flyer” – the front and back halves of the car took different lines through the curves.
Car ownership is GA is more expensive than CA or HI? Really? I don’t know about that….
Something doesn’t jive here, they list fuel cost for GA at $1,129 per year, when, according to AAA, GA has and average of $3.53/gallon, where CA is a $4.40 something, even if you drive more I GA, as they claim, the fuel prices are still fair amount less than CA. oh well, I live in neither state so……
Taxes and fees are highest in GA, averaging $1952/yr. Also, they drive more due to urban sprawl, so annual fuel cost is $200/yr higher.
WRONG. Per year? No. The initial tax charge is higher in GA because vehicles sold are more expensive (usually maxes out towards 7%). If you go to other states like AZ, tax is upwards near 11%. Vehicles sold in AZ are less expensive. So no, please re-read the CNN article you failed to quote. It’s not an annual fee!
What CNN article? This info is from a study by bankrate.com, as linked to in the opening paragraph.
How elso do you explain GA having the highest average annual costs? And what sources do you have about what the average new vehicle price in GA being substantially higher than other states?
Actually always heard VA was about the highest taxed states for cars. They are considered personal property like houses.
I suspect Atlanta heavily skews the average for Georgia. We used to joke that it takes a minimum of a half hour to go anywhere, even around the corner to Wal*mart. My commute (about 32 miles one way) typically ran an hour or more, most of that sitting in B2B traffic.
Thug life in (Atlanta) Georgia increases insurance premiums. Thefts galore (“HOT”lanta)! Couldn’t pay me to live in that ghetto city!
This is….a bit too much. I’m sure the average Atlanta resident has a markedly different opinion of their city than your “colorful” description.
That, and the weather, which doesn’t encourage rust like the weather out here in the great Middle West.
And I’m jealous of Oregon’s land-use law. I so despise the patchwork development that spreads far and wide here. I mean, holy crap, I know of two cornfields within the Indianapolis city limits, when they keep building more vinyl villages way the hell out in the middle of nowhere with a wicked commute to town.
Yes and the laws, though sold as eco-friendly and otherwise high-minded were most likely drafted and support funded by the “old money” vested interests which owned the close-in land, leading to higher profits, higher rents and higher property prices. You’d need to earn about 1/3 more in Portland to support the same lifestyle as in Indiana.
Fascinating! As a card-carrying 30-year resident of Portlandia, I knew all that of course, except Oregon being the cheapest state to have a car. That’s good, Lily and I own and use three cars (’10 Prius, ’04 Mini, ’93 Miata). Your analysis of why adds up exactly.
Funny thing, the urban growth boundary and mass transit that makes trips shorter and lowers insurance, have been bitterly fought by a few as being anti-car!
Yes, Portland traffic can be pretty bad. I experience it every day. But the growth boundary means I can live in a leafy eastside urban neighborhood (Hollywood) that’s just 10 minutes from downtown, work out in the westside suburbs (Hillsboro) where the high-tech jobs are, and spend an average of one hour each day on my 40 mile round trip commute. I’ve been doing that for 25 years, it’s a sweet life. I know more than a few people who live on acreage out in the country and work these same jobs.
Here’s a Landsat map that shows the land use around metro Portland. Red colors are city and suburb, which pretty much match the urban growth boundary. Yellows and browns are farming, and greens are forest.
I travel to Portland for work a lot, and generally look forward to my trips–living now in LA, the contrast in both size and sprawl is jarring (although I get the sense that Portland is finding a way to sprawl anyway, even with the UGBs in place). I grew up in Nashville, which is slightly smaller and not as easy to get around, and Portland to me is what Nashville would be had it taken a more rational development path. It’s more walkable, public transportation is excellent, and it’s actually more driveable, because not everyone is driving simultaneously. And it’s cheap! My co-workers and I will put off some purchases until we have a trip to PDX coming up, so we can shop tax-free (don’t tell the Franchise Tax Board). 😉
The office I usually visit is in Hollywood–great neighborhood. And much easier to get around than its California namesake.
Portland has wonderful public transit too. Doing the same commute (South Tabor to Hillsboro) I keep on thinking that if I had a sane way to get from the MAX to work, commuting could be car-free. Sadly it’s either walking 3 miles, riding a bike on a 45-55 mph speed limit road with limited bike lane, or wait for a bus that would add another 30 minutes to the commute. So, the hour per day for the round-trip is excellent as long as I avoid driving between 7:30-9am and 5-6:30pm when it’s an hour each way.
I guess over the years, I suck it up (suck ’em up, brah?) the high cost of vehicle ownership in the Aloha State as the “price of paradise.” Safety checks are yearly and can run as low as $14.00 (if you know the right place). No smog checks, and each county (not the State) regulates their own vehicle registration/taxes. City & County of Honolulu bases theirs on vehicle weight. Prices have gone up. Each of my cars is $270.00 to $290.00 per year to register. You can’t register a car in this county without a current safety inspection and insurance.
We went to HI for the first time earlier this year on our 25th anniversary. First time I’ve ever seen cars rusting from the top down.
They can rust from the top down and the bottom up. Rust resistance on most cars have improved by leaps and bounds over the last fifteen years. The worst? Any Japanese car made prior to about 1986 and old Mopars. The trick with the latter was to have the Mopars undercoated 2x over and heavily Quaker State or Ziebarted. That’s the reason you’ll see Valiants, Darts, Satellites still plugging along without looking like Swiss Cheese or having the roofs flapping in the wind . . . .
The first time I witnessed the rusting from the top down phenomenom was when I moved to FL. Throw in the traditional salt belt cars brought in by the Yankees and it was very hard to find a “classic” worth buying. In another 10 years when I’m in the mood to buy another 25 YO domestic classic that state will be the first place I’ll start my search. Forget the southwest. Cars are still mostly plastic on the inside and I’ll take high humidity over dry humidity any day of the year, as far as cars are concerned.
Cheap costs I’ll grant you our classics that is cars over 40 years get registration for $110 per anum one fifth of what it costs for my diesel daily drive gas is $2.20 per L. Safety inspections every 6 months puts cars into early retirement in NZ and keeps the recycling system running.
I would have guessed that the northeast car insurance rates alone would have driven that region to the top, aside from gas/inspection/fees… Hard to insure a car here for less than $2000/year.
I believe GA is like us up here in SC. Statistically bad drivers with high insurance rates and high property taxes on automobiles. I paid $ 1100+ in property taxes this year on a 1 and 2 year old base model Ford Edge and Nissan Maxima respectively. If one has expensive cars, it’s much worse. A professional with a highend vehicle could easily pay $2k to $3k a year in property taxes. The skinflints on internet boards who pay cash for their used Kia’s that they drive for 700,000 miles pay quite a bit less as the taxes are value based.
My insurance is a tick under $500 a year with collision and uninsured driver coverage, the cost of registration is $180 for a two year sticker and inspection is $20 for a two year sticker. And the cost of gas here is $1.35/ litre for regular and $1.48/litre. I believe that I spend $2000/ year everything in which I guess aint so bad for (eastern) Canada. Now what we pay in property tax and electricity is highway robbery
I’m feeling very uncomfortable with the overtly political nature of this post and the subsequent discussion… 😉
In all seriousness, it’s very easy to take Oregon’s rich car-viewing bounty for granted and I’m always amazed by the diversity when I return from traveling in different parts of the country. The fact that it’s a product of a weird mix of “right” and “left” policies (low vehicle taxes & insurance, but UGBs and decent public trans) is also very Oregonian. It’s nice to know that two of my favorite things about Oregon (the diverse cars and the pragmatic politics) are not unrelated!
I’ll be stone cold in my grave before I agree with Oregon’s pathetic No Self Service gas law. And the speed limits.
Other than that I mostly love it here.
MG: Stephanie wants to have a word with you. Why do you think she wanted to move to Oregon?
There’s always New Jersey. 😀
First time I was in Oregon in ’95, I stopped at a station and starting pumping my own gas. You would have thought I was robbing the place; they didn’t know it just some bumpkin from out of state.
I asked what the fuss was about and the teenaged girl told me pumping gas is bad for your health. My response was to ask why she was doing it since it was so bad. The conversation deteriorated from there.
What is the rationale behind Oregon’s gas pumping law?
It’s irrationale behind the law.
From the Oregonian:
“Oregon can be a silly place. Self-serve suicide (with a physician’s assistance) is legal, but you still face a $500 fine for filling your own tank. But its residents get stubborn about tradition. Live here long enough, and you’ll find your own reasons to buy into what once seemed crazy.
That’s the simplest answer.”
— Joseph Rose
I’ll NEVER buy it. heh
From my quite limited experience there, I do tend to favor your argument. Last time I was there, in ’08, I pulled up to the pump. Pumper asks if it’s cash or credit. I told him debit. Okay.
He pumps gas, I then have to walk through mega-station in Bend to go see cashier to swipe debit card. I’m scratching my head as I haven’t avoided the smell of fumes at any point from opening the window to walking in.
While I can understand the attraction, it should be a choice, like 87 or 89 octane. 🙂
We’re keeping Oregon weird.
We’re keeping Oregon weird.
I almost put my Keep Portland Weird T-shirt today.
Well, it rains here from late October straight through April. Standing in the rain pumping gas is no fun. Better to sit snug in the car and pay some kid to do it.
(Cartoon swiped from here.)
It’ll be interesting to see where Washington State fits in there, though I pay $105/Mo for both comprehensive everything, almost insurance (per the loan), and my renter’s insurance, combined, and that’s with USAA though on a 10 YO Mazda.
That said, people here do travel, and it’s not because of sprawl per se as Seattle, Tacoma, Everett etc are largely compact, mostly due to the topography, and land use as well, but because just about everything in between them, up through at least Marysville/Mount Vernon (both north of Everett), south to Tacoma is almost solid development of various smaller communities, such as Burien, Renton, Kent, Auburn, Federal Way, Puyallup, Fife, and then Tacoma.
To get to Tacoma is 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic (sometimes much more). I live 10 miles or so from Bellevue as I live in Seattle, and that on a good day is about 30 minutes, much more than that if traffic is bad, you get the picture.
I put on average about 9K or so per year due to the fact that I can’t afford to just go anywhere, just because a lot of the time. Gas here in Seattle hovers around $4/Gal for 87 octane.
I also should say that like Eugene/all of Oregon, cars here don’t rust so 30 YO cars can exist relatively rust free.
I lived in Seattle a little while 30 years ago, and was very sad to leave, it’s a fabulous city. Traffic back then was free and easy, believe it or not. That’s when people said to be a true Seattleite you had to have worked either at Boeing or on a fishing boat.
I’d heard of a couple of guys doing something called Micro-Soft, but it didn’t sound very interesting. As for Amazon, well my 1 MHz home computer had a 0.3 kilobit acoustic modem.
I take it Portland’s bendy bus works OK and doesn’t catch fire like the UK ones.I never drove a bendy bus when I was a London bus driver,they withdrew them for a while to sort them out.
You mean “articulated” buses like this Portland Tri-Met bus? We had them for awhile, Wikipedia says they bought 87 of them in 1982. I never heard of any fires, but by 1999 they were all gone, the paper said they were “lemons”.
Update: Wikipedia says they were Crown-Ikarus 286s (link), Portland had more than anyone else, and after a few years they sued. 45 different breakdowns, including frame cracks, and the maintenance diagrams were “written mostly in Hungarian”.
Our streets are nothing like London’s, I can’t imagine one of these over there.
PS: Pretty funny this bus has a big ad for a body shop on the front. Tri-Met drivers have a reputation, justifiably in my experience.
That green bus is in Eugene, on the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) line that uses dedicated bus-ways (where possible), and has train-type stops with raised platforms. They’re hybrids, too, using a fairly modest-sized Cummins diesel to augment the electric motor/generator. The system has become very popular; there are now two lines, and a third is on the way, and a fourth in early plannign stages.
Eugene also has a growing number of articulated city buses, to help cope with the heavy loads, especially students. All University and Community College students, along with High School and Middle school students get a free bus pass, paid by student fees and taxes.
Yes, those first generation articulated buses weren’t all so reliable. I think the German-built ones were mostly ok, but not the Hungarian ones.
Thanks I’d been on them as a passenger in London and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them in Manchester.Never knew they had them anywhere else,I’ve not as much interest in buses as cars
Eugene’s BRT is neat, and apparently popular. I wonder if riding a BRT feels more like a rail car or an ordinary bus? Rail transport is smooth and steady, without surprises. No sudden stops, swerves and potholes to jangle passengers’ nerves like a big city bus. Riding a BRT could be almost as good as riding rails. How’s it feel, Paul?
Something like a hybrid of the two 🙂 There’s fewer stops, special lights to minimize traffic stops, a smooth ride, and very little interaction with traffic, so it keeps rolling along at a train-like clip. Quite impressive, overall. I’d say it feels somewhat more like light rail than a typical city bus. 60/40?
It is strange that OR is so ‘green’, yet drive older cars with fewer to no pollution controls?
I’m as green as they come around here, and obviously I’m delighted with all the old cars. Even being relatively plentiful, CCs are still quite rare in metro Portland, maybe one in several hundred if that. So their emissions are a drop in the bucket. And I never see a CC smoking, just the occasional heavy truck or 20-year-old beater. People are usually proud of their old cars and keep them running pretty well. After all keeping an old car on the road is a great form of recycling.
One has to define “green”, which comes in many shades. Our air quality is generally extremely good, due to a number of factors, one of them being prevailing winds from the Pacific Ocean.
The Portland area and one area in Southern Oregon that is prone to inversions in the winter are required to have smog inspections. But the bigger problem there is with wood burning stoves in the winter, which release a lot of particulates.
Like all areas in the US, we have to comply with the federal Clean Air Act, and if an area doesn’t meet their standards, changes have to be enacted. But it has been shown that emissions from older cars simply are too small a part of any problem to bother with; it’s just not cost effective to go after them, when there are much larger sources more easily reduced.
No state in the US has aggressively gone after old cars; in CA, after 25 years old, cars ere exempt from inspections.
Sadly, Paul, this isn’t the case. CA froze the rolling exemptions – everything 1976 and newer has to be smogged, and that hasn’t changed in years. 🙁
As soon as I wrote that, I suddenly had a huge pang of doubt.
I think I’ll have to take a “Curbside Classic watching tour” of Oregon.
I’d gladly be your tour guide!
May I join the tour too?
The more the merrier. Let me know when you arrive!
More Oregon Fun Facts:
Oregon’s smallest county, Multnomah at 435 sq. miles, is also it’s most populated, with 735,334 residents and a population density of 1,690 people per sq. mile.
Oregon’s largest county, Harney at 10,135 sq. miles, is it’s least densely populated, with 7,422 residents and a population density of 0.73 people per sq. mile.
I have driven US 20 through Harney County and it is quite addictive. Few people and terrific scenery are a great combination.
And it takes forever thanks to the antiquated double nickel.
/end ranting, I hope
You mind the speed limit in Harney County?? Well, maybe on Hwy 20, at +10, but on every other road out there in Eastern Oregon, the cruise control gets turned off, or set way higher! There’s some fantastic open roads out there, and good luck finding a cop if you needed one!
I get quite a kick out of Lane County, which runs from the coast to the crest of the Cascades. I suppose a deputy sheriff there can be stationed up in the snow one week, coastal fog the next.
I’d like to put California, and in particular Northern California as close second in being old car heaven. On the plus side, cars before 1975 need no inspection. Also our temperate climate keeps cars with marginal heating and cooling capabilities on the road. Rain only in the winter and in a very predictable manner so no worry if your weatherstripping is questionable. No rust of course and no market has the depth and breadth of old cars available. Cost might be a bit more than Oregon but really anywhere on the West coast is a great place to own a curbside classic
Speaking of articulateds, Seattle’s Metro has had articulated buses since the late 70’s, though most of them now are hybrids and are at most a decade old now I think.
I think I read that they were some of the first to use them too.
Virginia is funny. If you live in NoVa (aka Fairfax), you get emissions. In the rest of the state, it’s just a safety inspection dependent on the whims of who is working at the repair shop that day. My mechanic is understanding about old cars so as long as the brakes seem to work and all the lights come on and the tires have actual tread, I’m ok.
I probably pay about 600 for insurance – it’s more expensive in my mid-size city than many others – and 45 for the tags and 60 a year in car tax. If you have an oldie here it pays to hang onto it.
Duh. That’s Maryland’s gross influence on NoVa. I’ll take my Southern VA–for Lovers!!!!
Looks like a sad place to live. Nobody can afford a nice car. I can smell the hippies through those pictures! Get a job, bums! Like Cuba, you got it; socialist, communist dump! Third-world state! Pew!
Oh joy of joys, it is a troll, wish they would stop polluting this wonderful website. I am not exactly sure what my definition of a nice car is, but I do know it is not necessarily a new car. Some people can afford to buy the world (or at least a new vehicle), but they rather not; fine by me. I try to believe in the saying “your rights stop at my nose.”
Your rights are dependent on where you’re putting that nose… 😉
And if one has enough expendable income, one buys the better option. No rich person chooses an ’89 Corolla over a ’13 G-Class.
And if one has enough expendable income, one buys the better option. No rich person chooses an ’89 Corolla over a ’13 G-Class.
Lots of people like to think that but I know quite a few people who are truly rich, worth millions and some that retired in their 30’s or 40’s, that drive old beaters. They don’t base their self worth on the vehicle they drive, don’t need to prove their social position by what they drive, and aren’t “car people”. For example one of my friends that retired in his late 30’s thinks nothing of setting 20K per year to go play in the WSOP and not care if him comes back without a dime (though he usually doesn’t end up too far off of breaking even, either slightly ahead or slightly behind) and donates 10’s of thousands of dollars per year to a cause he believes in. Yet he drives a 90’s Dakota and early 00’s Town and Country, though both were bought new. He certainly could afford that ’13 G wagon but it doesn’t interest him and would rather spend money on something else. Another friend also worth millions drives a Dodge D50 and a 60’s Suburban that has been fixed up a bit, but nothing that spectacular, while his wife drives an 80’s Accord.
On the other hand many of the people I know that drive BMWs are far from rich.
You speak the truth. Most well off folks I know drive Accords and Camry’s. of course most of them view a car as just wheels to get from one place to another. Then there is the founder of IKEA who drives a 1993 Volvo 240 wagon(Because I own a Volvo 240 wagon also I feel a kinship)
Sam Walton’s truck, sir. Even though worth hundreds of millions or even a billion dollars, the man who founded Wal-Mart still drove his 1979 F-150.
Sit down, STFU.
but if you are into old(classic)imports from all around the world Oregon is the place to be my sister is a nurse in OHSU(Portland)&that is why I go to Portland twice a year to visit and I get to see all kind of cars like Peugeot,citroen,alfa romeo,fiat&…..that do not even exist in NC or atleast I do not see on daily basis.amazing&wierd place.probably tha first place that would be invaded by aliens in future.
Northern NV is not too bad either. Last year my 99 XJ Cherokee cost ~95 to register and about $500 to insure with mid-level coverage. With the dry cool desert climate rust is not an issue; however the sun just hammers on paint and interiors. Salt and other de icers are used sparingly in winter. I have had several friends who have had their car sandblasted windy days.
Outside of the two major urban counties (Clark & Washoe) registration is cheap and there is no smog check or safety inspection. Once a car is 25yrs old you can put in on Classic Plates and it becomes smog exempt and registration gets even cheaper; you are however limted to 5k miles/yr.
Gas is usually the same or slightly higher than urban California, while Diesel is typically $0.15-30 less. When a bay area refinery goes down we don’t have to have CARB blend gasoline and can bring in fuel from Utah via turnpike doubles.
I used to think my birthplace (Berkeley California) and my current hometown. (Santa Cruz) were CC capitals (and 30 years in Silicon Valley in between weren’t bad). But there’s some combination of Paul’s sleuthing and observational skills, and Oregon, that beats Northern California hands-down.
I’m sorry but many of those factors should cause there to be more newer cars since there is no sales tax nor licensing that is tied to the value of the car. Up here in WA you can pay up to 9.6% depending on where the car is sold, including the special .1% sales tax that is added to sales of cars. If you do trade in a car then you only have to pay the sales tax on the difference so can soften the blow, but it can still add thousands to the purchase price.
I corrected the author above. People in GA buy Benz, Rovers, etc., adding an easy $4000 to the price of initial vehicle cost (then insure that puppy!) (and factor in Atlanta’s population being nearly double the entirety of OR). People in OR are stuck with liberal policies preventing them from buying new rides and stuck with turds (1996 Ciera, 1988 Camry, etc.), thus it’s “cheaper” to drive in OR. “Cheaper”=less prosperity=poor. Signed, your Economics professor.
You really do not understand what this website is all about.
Cars and opinions (in this case, facts). Mine is stated above. Don’t like it? Don’t be so intolerant.
Thank you for proving my point.
Economics Professor Shawnay: Let’s talk facts. As per US Census Median Income (2007-2011): http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13000.html
Georgia: $49,736
Oregon: $49,850
Maybe folks in Georgia are more eager and willing to go in hock? Oregon didn’t have anywhere as near as big a problem with real estate price drops and foreclosure as Georgia. Maybe Oregonians are smarter than getting into hock buying Mercedes GLs. Maybe they have better things to do with their money? Maybe that’s why they drive older cars that are long paid off? And who’s stuck??
Paul-
Don’t take the bait – just ignore and move on…
The income/wealth in Oregon may be more evenly distributed, opposite of GA, and I am from the south.
I do own property in Portland, Silicon Valley and SoCal. PDX properties aren’t cheap at all, if one stays on the west side. A condo in Pearl purchased in ’07 can be re-sell today with some profit, not like the Silicon Valley but still nice.
There are lots and lots of Oregonians wintering around Palm Desert, the ones living part time in my country club all drive fancy cars. Interestingly, I noticed that the ones own Bentleys etc (with Oregon plates) normally leave them behind when return to Oregon for summer. The ones that drive Mercedes/Lexus/Bimmer normally drive their cars back to OR.
I noticed that showing off with fancy cars are generally frown upon in PDX, may be just that cultural thingy. I remember a few years ago when I drove my SC430 top down in PDX, I was uncomfortable with the extra attention that I got. Of course in SoCal NO ONE will look at your SC. However, there were Bimmer and Lexus galore in or around Lake Oswego, although for awhile Range Rover seems to be the choice around the Lake.
The southern mentality results in more fancy cars. For me, I enjoy PDX because I don’t have to drive unless I want to, people are layback and nice. Restaurants are plentiful even some fairly authentic Asian food.
I always make stop in Jacksonville, OR when I visit PDX. Somehow I always find some interest cars in the Ashland area.
For this ex-southerner, there ain’t no way I will even consider moving back to the south.
I’m a huge fan of Portland. When my wife and I finished grad school, the only place besides Oakland that we seriously considered was Portland. I love the friendly PNW vibe, vibrant youth/hipster/DYI culture and affordable cost of living. The biggest downside? Growing up in Seattle, I wasn’t ready to live in 9 months of gray again.
California is also a haven for old cars, for some of the same reasons as Oregon, and for very different ones. Sky-high sales tax and an annual property tax on automobiles makes buying or leasing and registering a new car very expensive. A fully depreciated passenger car costs less than $100 a year, still higher than Oregon, but reasonable. The climate means that, except on the very immediate Pacific Coast, rust is non-existant. They dont even salt roads in snow areas, one reason we have to “chain up”. Biennial smog inspections do not apply to 1974 and older model years. There is no “safety” inspection. The insurance market is very competitive, so rates for good drivers are low, even in urban areas. I pay less than $300/yr for 250/500/100 liability.