What has happened in the past two days . My son and DIL are down from Canada . He is now duel citizenship . He was informed that his vehicle MUST be exported Canada in order to enter by vehicle . We did the number crunching over the past 4 hrs . For him to import the 4 Runner into Canada was $6000 . Tough pill to swallow eh ? Ain't no friggin way . So we talk about having cash on hand that doesn't pay a yearly % ? So the family discussions have been heated , but I believe we have come to a pretty good conclusion .
#1 - I co-signed the loan on the 4 runner which makes me the owner
#2 - I have my 2003 Ford Escape which has brand new engine and trans .
#3- My son lives in the Stadium ( Blues Jays ) district and drives 4 miles a week .
#4 - He worked hard for the truck , still loves it , but the payment is $500 a month . Payoff amount is $18K and change .
#5- My son has not worked in Canada because of the different laws regarding OP lincesing . He has passed the test up there but is still awaiting some kind of card .
#6- My plan . I gift the Escape to my son . KBB value is $1400 . Total Canadian Import fees would be $900 tops . Once again , new engine and new trans , ready to go .
#7- I take my available play money , pay the loan off in full . Clear title .
#8- My son says he would sell the Runner for 31K which is well below the private party selling price . The truck would stay in the states while I did this .
#9- I have 2 Honda CRVs . My wife has never been ecstatic over them as she says she like a higher ride . She was always driving the K5 Blazers way back then .
#10- Numbers crunching . Cash . I pay the $18K loan off in cash . I give my son $13K in cash . I gift the Escape to him and import it to Canada . He would be done .
#11- I own the 4 Runner outright . I sell one of the CRXs and keep the 4 Runner in the family . I think my son would love the chance to inherit it back some day . My wife and I don't drive 5000 miles yearly to work and back , and we'll both be retired next year .
#12- If the 4 Runner would fit the wifes needs , this is the plan . I have my beater Civic which goes to work , and I have the Deisel F250 for my towing trips to the Adirondacks . And I have to downsize in all areas .
Comments welcome from all . These challenging questions seem to pop up daily now that age is creeping up . It's hard to think about it all because everyone's situations are different .