Interesting and funny story! They also resold the car for more than they bought it for and gave some money back to the original seller, and Southwest Airlines refunded them for the purchase of the car.
Actually that would be on my plan b list. I’d try to rent a car first but buying is always an option if you can find a lot or seller. Probably could have gotten a couple riders to share expenses. John candy
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Huh, you bring up a good point. I wonder why they didn’t just rent the car? Buying doesn’t seem bad, it seems like when people buy a house to live in and see later right xD
If that couple had spent a few more dollars on a better airline rather than the cheap prices of the “greyhound of the skies”, they probably would have gotten home without having to drive.
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Heard of people renting a uhaul because no rental cars available!
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One of the people i follow on Twitter spent over $500/day on a Kia Sportage to get to California from Missouri, Budget was the only one with any Rental’s left and at least they made a road trip out of a bad situation.
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I don’t think airport car rental agencies would have thousands of cars on standby that would cover the number of cancelled flights that weekend.
Not everyone is afraid to buy a used car. A pre-purchase inspection on a used car of that age will be quite discouraging, usually result in at least $5,000 in needed repairs; tires, struts and suspension repairs, brake repairs, oil leaks, replacing all fluids etc. I usually buy the car, drive it and perform the repairs next year.
The travelers in the story weren’t particular about the old car issues since they only needed the car for a short time.
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I didn’t watch the video, but the article doesn’t mention their cost for temporary tags and insurance. I hope they did get the proper insurance, as driving without liability coverage would be stupid.
The fact that they chose this option instead of simply buying a ticket on another airline already tells me they arent the sharpest knives in the drawer.
Maybe they were required to be back at work, and if not, lost their job. If so, that could justify the big time, $, & inconvenience expense. Me, I’d find nearest hotel room and wait there enjoying hotel stay until a plane-ride available.
Years ago stranded in Belgium, ony hotel available was $500 per night. No hesitation, I ponied up, really enjoyed it … lol …
When you buy a car your insurance covers it for 30 days. They would like you to inform them and provide the vin, but still covered.
Just walking up to the counter and getting a ticket from another flyer is usually what people do, but when everything is booked anyway, and one company burps, easy to say but hard to get. If there were no rental cars, and even the bus booked up, whaddaya think, just waltz up a buy a ticket because you go5 a gold card?
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Not really an unusual story. During the airline crises a lot of people did things they wouldn’t ordinarily do to get from “point A” to “point B”
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During that travel meltdown there were often NO other tickets available. Every seat booked for several days. So they were pretty smart, it seems.
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A similar ancient story; In 1945 my dad was rushed from Europe to San Francisco preparing to go across the Pacific for the planned D-Day that was cancelled resulting in hundreds of thousands of men waiting for train rides home. He and 2 others who lived within 100 miles of each other bought a worn out Studebaker and headed home to the Memphis area. They eventually made it home and became best friends. Details of their journey would make a long novel
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