As a first termer, you’re more than likely going to be living on campus but what about living off campus later on? Most people do end up moving off campus at one point or another and it’s either because SGU doesn’t offer enough contracts or by personal preference. Once you do, getting to classes and exams on time become quite important.
Living along a bus route is fine but depending on where along the route you live, getting on one becomes more difficult. Then you have to account for the rain. OH THE RAIN. Long story short, getting a vehicle is definitely the way to go if it’s in your budget.
Lucky for you, I have owned and rented both car and scooter for some period of time on the island so I’m pretty familiar with how this all works.
Perhaps this will do better in a table
In general, you’ll need US license to get a temporary GND license (I’ve seen these ranging from 50-100 USD, they keep changing it). With either you also get access to on campus parking for free, you just need to register it at the security office with you student ID, US license, GND license and proof of insurance (active for at least a week after registration).
Renting in general is SUPER expensive. I tried renting at first and I thought, hey, if I split this with someone it’ll be cheaper and I don’t have to worry about fixing cars ( which yes, these island things break down all the time but only if you’re not careful who you buy/rent from). Average rental on a car is $500 US usually with a deposit upfront for the same amount. That being said, some things you don’t need to worry about with renting is fixing costs if it breaks down, and insurance.
When you buy your own car, you own it so it’s a fixed cost and you know what to expect. You can also sell it for pretty close to what you bought it for so you’ll end up only paying for costs of repair assuming your entire engine or essential parts don’t break down, and gas which depending on your car can be anywhere from 50-100 USD a tank. I know, gas was about $4-5 and some cars especially big SUVs are running probably 10mpg. Anyways, those big ones are good for day trips off road but not for daily commutes. You will also have to buy insurance although that’s only about 100-200 depending on what plan you use for a year.
On the scooter side, same principles apply except you need to account for your comfort of riding one, potholes, and rain. They cost significantly less, between 1-2k USD and gas is about $10USD a tank which lasts about 2 weeks commuting in my experience. The roads are semi dangerous for scooters but they are definitely common among students, just make sure you have a good helmet and know how to ride one. Renting a scooter for 1 month is about the same as buying a very crappy scooter so DEFINITELY buy a scooter if you plan on anything long term.
For reference, at the time, renting the white pajero was $500USD/month and rending the blue scooter was $250/month. Notice that splitting a car with someone gets you the same price with a roof and 2 extra wheels (ignoring gas costs as mentioned above).
Costs of vehicles over 2 years.
My rental history: Pajero 1 month (-$250), Hussar scooter 1 month (-$250), Escudo 3 months (-$700).
My owner history: Hussar scooter: 6 months ($100).
