Heres mine:
Best: Tennessee. Cheap registration, cheap gas, no safety or emissions inspections, rear plate only (I hate front plates), no road salt

Worst: California. Expensive registration, expensive gas, safety and emissions inspections, front and rear plates

36 comments

  2. Why wouldn’t Tennessee have salt trucks they get snow?

    Anyway I would say any state in the Southwest is the best because lack of salt. Probably California is top because of the weather. In Northeast where I live is the worst.

    Everything else is minor

  4. Me, a 29 y/o who has never owned a car bc I’ve only lived in walkable, transit friendly cities: 😮‍💨

    Owning a car generally seems like a hassle.

  5. PA isn’t a bad place to own a car. registration is $41/yr and outside of the major cities, insurance is cheap.

    Salt is a fucking bitch tho.

  7. NJ is worst for insurance costs.

    But it’s great that vehicle inspections are free, and the fact that I never have to pump my own gas while I’m here.

  8. > no safety and emissions inspections

    You can call me a nanny state liberal if you want, but that’s not a benefit.

    Go head over to /r/justrolledintotheshop on any average day for reasons why.

  9. California?

    1. I mean the things you listed aren’t good but, with the exception of maybe the actual city of San Francisco, without a car…life sucks.

    2. There is no “safety” inspection here in California.

    3. Although front plates are required I haven’t put them on the last 3 cars I’ve owned and never been pulled over or cited for it.

    4. There are so many awesome things in California that are easily reached by car. I can be at a concert in Hollywood or the beach or the mountains or the desert in 2 hours. I can be in Vegas or San Diego or the Bay Area in just over 4 hours.

  10. Nashville has a bunch of city trucks that can be converted into snow plows in a night, and they always treat the roads in Nashville. A mixture of brine and beet juice. There is a salt barn for interstate 40 that I drive by everyday between Nashville and Lebanon and there is a salt barn about every 100 miles between Memphis and the NC state line on I 40. You’re thinking of Alabama and Mississippi. All they did was gravel when I lived there.

  11. Best: Washington cause great scenic drives.

    and Worst: North Dakota . cause it can be tough for car owners because of its harsh winters. The extreme cold and heavy snow can make driving a real challenge. Plus, road salt and ice can be rough on your car’s paint and undercarriage. So, if you don’t like dealing with cold weather and potential car damage, North Dakota might not be your top choice.

  13. Other factors, like winter roads being salted in your area also negatively effect your vehicle.

    And at least here in Michigan, particularly where I live, the roads are notoriously shit. I actually look forward to the winter, because the snow fills in some of the potholes. Especially after it’s been packed down by the plows.

  14. I’m not sure if it’s the worst, but I would not want to be a car owner in Virginia. It’s pretty pricey. You have to pay tax that’s a percentage of your car’s worth.

  15. Alabama: pain in the butt to transfer a driver’s license from another state, and just barely easier when handling titles, but taxes are also low.

    City of Atlanta registered cars has to have annual emissions checks, which is slightly annoying.

  16. Best: Texas. God damn that gas was cheap.

    Worst: NY, specifically the city. I would rather just take the train if I lived there.

  17. IMO, Virginia and anything north of Virginia. It was just a PITA to get anywhere because the lack of multiple roads. To get to Walmart I had to hop on the same 2 lane road everyone was using to get anywhere from NY to FL. I have family up in New England and it seems to be the same deal. Maybe if the town isn’t along 95 its fine but I still never enjoyed driving on the east coast because one accident or road work can screw your plans.

    Driving where its flat is boring _but_ it is so much better. Was driving through Texas and there was an accident that would have caused an hour long delay in VA but the GPS said “oh, there’s this thing called a frontage road, get on it” and we totally bypassed most of the accident.

    Idk, again just my opinion. I’m probably bias because I lived 15 minutes from work but once got stuck on 95 for 1.5 hours and I’m still holding that grudge lol

  18. “Best: … no safety or emissions inspections…”

    So a lot of polluting rust buckets on the road… not what I call a benefit.

  20. You know that safety inspections prevent people from having needles accidents, right? Some can be over the top, sure, but most are a good way to keep uncle tommy from driving the truck he found in the woods.

  21. I would say that the driving culture is the #1 factor. A disturbing number of people I know from out of state (notably Virginia and Pennsylvania) have licenses despite having never learned basic stuff like parallel parking and what high-beams are. Boston drivers are aggressive, but they generally know how roads and cars work. You generally want to see a higher proportion of mid-size Asian (esp. Japanese) cars, as small sedans means students, large family haulers mean poor handling and visibility and distracted or self-absorbed drivers, and trucks mean stupid assholes (CR-V drivers have conservative drivers, but they’re also dangerous because their idle speed is around 80mph). The next factor is climate, as you want very stable temperatures above freezing to maintain smooth roads. Salt isn’t typically a problem for modern cars, as most manufacturers are wise to it (although haShem help you if you got one from before its manufacturer did, with Mazda probably the one you’re most likely to see around).

  22. Delaware is tough because so few insurance companies underwrite. Expensive insurance with little competition

  23. Nevada for the same reasons as California. Emissions aren’t required everywhere, just a few counties. The DMV by me is appointment only with one walk in day a week. Need to make an appointment months in advance.

  25. California is awful to own any sort of enthusiast car. It’s like the police and laws are actively trying kill their car culture. Which is a shame because that is one of the best things about California! They have a *rich* car culture for car nuts!

    Hell you can get ticketed and have your car towed for a *stock exhaust* in California like the one dude with his [Hyundai Elantra N](https://www.motortrend.com/news/2022-hyundai-elantra-n-loud-exhaust-police-california/). He was in track mode, but still, it’s messed up! Plus the cop didn’t exactly handle it in a professional manner to say the least getting SUPER confrontational out of the gate saying the dude was gonna be out $3k being super combative for no reason.

  26. Californiana has street sweepers every week.

    When I lived in Georgia, there were never any street sweepersand you got street detritus poking holes in your tires often.

  27. Massachusetts, horrible quality and poorly designed roads, sky high car insurance rates, and some of the worst congestion in the country.

    Edit: And how could I forget the excise tax?

  32. Not here. I can maybe drive my fun vehicle for half the year because of the road salt. It’s impossible to find a 10+ year old truck that isn’t full of rust on the entire undercarriage, wheel wells, and cab corners.

    I’m consistently blown away while visiting places down south and out west. I find myself gawking at spotless regular Chevy trucks way more than I should. You guys have no idea how good you have it over there.

  35. They use Road salt in Tennessee. I left TN for AL in 2021 and my costs of ownership are lower here and we literally NEVER salt the roads since it only snows about every 5 years down here

  36. GA is pretty good, same thing as TN. A lot of people will complain about us not having annual inspections, but it’s a boon to poorer people. Also no road salt so cars don’t fall apart so quickly.

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