Go to the high school parking lot on the weekend, when it is deserted, and have them practice acceleration, braking, turning, parking, and just getting the general feel of a car, about the size they are likely to drive and operate.

You can pick up orange cones (either above board at Odd Lotts/Bigg Lotts or through other underhanded means) and set up a few narrow passes to either drive through or to parallel park inside after they become more confident.

Don't overload them with too much experience the first time. But don't let them speed nor operate around any other vehicles. You're not an official drivers training officer and so, you legally have no defense if there's an accident.

Also, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BUYING 3-5 YELLOW MAGNETIC SIGNS "NEW DRIVER" FOR YOUR CAR. See my other comment elsewhere in this thread. HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

A large parking lot with no obstructions will have limited value, except in very initial aspects of learning to set the vehicle up for driving (seat and mirrors, etc.) and beginning exploration in forward and backward motion. The real learning comes in learning to stay within a lane and having a sense of the vehicle in space (laterally in the lane and speed) as you train your gaze at distance while moving.

I tend to believe that parents do not make the best instructors of their own children in driving skills. Don't take that the wrong way. It's just that there is a very complex relationship between parent and child and it can really get in the way of imparting knowledge in an unemotional manner when learning this important a skill. If driver's education is not available through the school system I would highly recommend finding a driving school that has good reputation. After skills has been acquired you probably could accompany in a back seat drive-along so you can see your child's ability. Being aware of their developed skills would then make you a better adult chaperone when they take to real roads with you in the front seat beside them.

If you disable it make sure you get all cords that go to the battery. Otherwise you can continue to drain power even though Its not arming. Usually doesn't become a major issue unless you're not driving for a while and your car won't start

I'll be the one person in favor of keeping the alarm, solely based on my own experience.

My 1996 Ford Explorer was broken into once. In broad daylight. In my driveway. When I was home. In LAKE FOREST PARK. They actually managed to pop out the tempered glass of a side back window without breaking it. I was impressed.

The car alarm was the only thing that stopped them. I heard it and ran outside, and they were just peeling out in a getaway car.

Just another anecdote for your stack.

Take a look at a list of the cars most frequently stolen and their model date.

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=434545

You will be surprised what is stolen and how the top cars account for the majority of thefts, mostly due to the high resale value of parts.

For the age and model of cars you have, your most likely crook is an underage teen who snatches it for joyriding. As long as your locks are working, if he can't get in, he'll just try the next beat up car on your block.

If you disable your car alarm, I'll take my metal windchimes down! I hate, loathe, and despise car alarms and it always seems to me that someone locks or unlocks their car and makes that horrible loud squeek right when I'm walking by it...they can't really be doing that on purpose just to see me jump, can they?

I had what I thought was a high end alarm system installed in my truck back when it was fairly new. Years later, I was not using it very much and had stopped carrying the keyfob device to control it. Then one day I left my lights on when I parked the vehicle. When I had to jump the truck to get it started the alarm started going off. Somehow in the the gradual power down process and jumpstart the alarm had become activated. Nothing I could do would shut it up and I ended up cutting the alarm siren wires. Then the anti-start circuitry kicked in and kept me from keeping the engine running.

As the company that had put it in was no longer in business, I called another local very well-known car extras business that installs alarms and described my dilemma (alarm manufacturer, etc.). Here I was with my vehicle parked in front of an elementary school at end of day and totally screwed. I eventually got passed to an installer who said, "If they put it in according to the manufacturer's guidelines you should do this... "
I followed the directions as given and after finding a few wires and cutting them, VIOLA, the vehicle could be started and run without problem.

My immediate thought was, "WHAT????, THE CROOKS DON'T KNOW THIS?"
Yeah, right.

When I had the dealer do some under dash and other work on the electrical system (fixing an unrelated problem) I had the guy find and cut out the entire system so it never gave me any other trouble.

Since you say it's a 2001 Outback, you're not worried about your neighborhood, and a main concern is in at trailheads where help is very unlikely to be summoned (they turn off automatically after a few minutes...), I'd definitely lean towards disabling it.

Most car alarms strike me as a very bad hassle:reward ratio. Of course, if you're forced to park your nice car on the street and you know there are pretty consistently car prowls in the area and it's close enough to your house (or work) that you may actually hear it, maybe the ratio is better. But this doesn't sound like your situation.

As someone who has lived and worked downtown for about 10 years I have probably seen hundreds (thousands?) of car alarms go off. Less than 1% of the time there is an actual human being fidgeting with the car. And out of these rare instances, at no point have I ever thought to call the police (nor have I seen anyone else intervene in any way).

Usually my thought is more like, "Wow, that car alarm sucks, sucks to be that guy," because it is probably someone who just accidentally set it off. Since it is so common and (for me) 100% of the time a non-event, I'd say your chances of getting help summoned downtown are about the same as at the trailheads.

My Toyota claims to have an alarm but I've never set it off. I'm told if someone breaks any glass or yanks on a door handle really hard or tries to use a slim jim on it, some alarm will go off. There is a blinking red light on the inside when it's parked so yay? I definitely wouldn't hear it at home and probably wouldn't hear it at work, but it's there -- it was part of the "safety and security" option package that included the backup camera (best thing ever). I guess I like my alarm but I am not 100% sure it exists, which is probably part of why I like it.

The only time my car has ever been broken into I had accidentally left it unlocked in my locked apartment garage. They stole my backpack, but were nice enough to leave my textbooks and notebooks. I park downtown all the time, but usually in garages. I never leave anything laying out in my car so it looks 100% empty to anyone walking by.

Anecdotes you say? One day in Belltown I saw 2 cars parallel parked on the street very close to each others' bumpers sit there setting each car's alarm off over and over. They didn't have the same timer before automatically turning off and re-arming so they worked themselves into an infinite loop. After about 20 minutes some guy bursted out of the coffee shop they were parked in front of wearing an apron, ninja kicked the hood of the front one open, and yanked the power off the battery all in one swift motion that took about 3 seconds total. He left the hood open and walked back into the coffee shop, some people on the street and a couple people on balconies cheered him.

I put almost anything into my 86 Toyota pickup and used to use used motorcycle oil on a dodge van I had. 300k miles so far. But the 22R motor is a miracle of Japanese engineering.

You probably don't need to change your oil more than every 5K miles and good filters last over 10K IME. The 3500 mile thing is more about jiffy lube selling its service rather than good mechanical protocol. City fleet (and many other fleet) vehicles are often only changed at 5-7K miles. I’ve heard of 10K intervals and longer on newer vehicles.

Do you have an owner's manual? The manufacturer's recommendations are a good guideline but even those tend to err on the side of more maintenance rather than less.

I feel very differently about my motorcycles and for those I use specific oils and change them based on very different schedules since they usually rev higher and run hotter, are older and need more of the old timey additives which are not in modern oils and, in general, are far more precious to me than any car.

I change my oil at the beginning of the season, but that's because my bike is 40 and I don't race it. Other stuff that I do is: grease the zerks on its frame and lube the chain once a season, check the oil (it's old, it burns and leaks, so I check it at least once a week), check the tires (again, once a week), check the brake pads once at the beginning and end of the season, check chain tension when I remember. I wash my air filter socks when they need it, which is wholly dependent on how much and where I've been riding. It's pretty much like a car, except it's much easier to see all the pieces.

Bikes are more fuel efficient in that you can get more miles per gallon and thus release less C02, but they release more hydrocarbons, CO, and nitrogen oxides than cars because the engines aren't as efficient, even with catalytic converters. Mythbusters investigated this, and are actually publishing a paper about it. Here's a summary: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/09/mythbusters-motorcycle-emissions.html They declare the bike vs. car thing at best a wash.

Bikes are a hell of a lot of fun, though.

I own or ahve owned at least 20 motorcycles. currently own two with one on the way.

Maintenance sechedules vary. What is the bike? Year, model, displacement is handy. 2 stroke or 4 stroke?

Bikes tend to get better mileage but many also tend to put out more emissions than a 72 valiant. 2 strokes are flat out eco-killers. Modern fuel infected bikes are better.

Big ass and older bikes around 1000cc should be in the vacinity of 40mpg and many newer bikes around 500cc or smaller can get 60mpg or better.

I put tends of thousands of miles on my bikes every year (well, not this year) and change oil regularly using synth and synth blends for some bikes and dino for others. I rearely go more than 3K miles and on older bikes like Thunderbolts and Eldorados for instance you may want to change the oil every 1000 miles (a bit extreme but these bikes are special).

There's plenty of regular maintenance to do on a motorcycle, much like with a car. One big difference if you have a chain driven motorcycle is to keep your drive train maintained through periodic inspection, lubing, adjusting, and replacing wear parts. Of course the owner's manual will have a comprehensive overview of the maintenance schedule. Here's an example from a 2012 Kawasaki Ninja (pdf document).  This particular bike recommends changing oil once a year or once every 7500 miles once it is broken in, whichever comes first.  I'd think if you were changing your oil yearly that you'd want to do so before the riding season begins, though I'd be interested to hear what other folks do.

In my experience, my 250 cc motorcycle gets about 60 mpg in regular city riding.  For a single occupancy vehicle, this is certainly more efficient than a small car and competitive with the best hybrid cars.  Bigger motorcycles get lower gas mileage, but they still tend to be comparable to small cars.  As a rider, it is certainly my opinion that more of us should be considering motorycles over cars for single occupancy vehicles, though I may be a bit biased.

You'll be fine, dump it in. Oil is oil. The only real concern is if you have pre-existing oil leaks and run a thinner oil than usual (the 5w20) you may see a little of that 5w20 leak out. It's not gonna be a big deal, just check that dipstick and keep it full.

Git er dun

Here are a few things off the top of my head. Hopefully others can fill in the rest:

1) Get the license plate number, and call your local Police Department's NON-EMERGENCY phone number. Call them and say this: "Hello, this is NOT AN EMERGENCY. I am buying a vehicle and I would like you to run the plate to make sure it has not been reported stolen please." They will be happy you checked with them. If you buy a stolen car, you're up a creek, so check first. Best to do this in advance or in private, so you don't rub the seller the wrong way.

2) Yes, the State of Washington will charge tax. I believe you pay this at the time of registration/title transfer.

3) If you are paying cash, meet in the lobby of a bank. Preferably your bank, but the seller's bank is better than nothing. Ask the seller if they are willing to take a cashier's check. It's up to them.

4) Ask for the VIN and run a carfax check on it. Avoid buying vehicles that have any accidents on the record, and avoid older vehicles that have spent any significant portion of their life in a snowy city that salts the roads. Salt kills cars. I would never buy a car from New England, Minnesota, Denver or Canada. A car from Seattle or a similar city that rarely salts roads is better.

5) The willingness of a private party seller to hold the car while you gather your liquid assets will vary. The general expectation is that "it's not a deal, until it's a deal." If you agree to buy the car for X dollars in five days, be prepared for the fact that if the seller gets an offer equal to or greater than X tomorrow, they will probably sell the car to the person who shows up first with the cash.

6) Haggling etiquette. It is almost expected that a little bit of haggling will go on, but don't be a dick about it. If the car is as-advertised, you should pay within a few hundred of what the ad said. Let's say the ad says the car is in good condition and is for sale for $11,500. You show up and see that it is in good condition, but there's a coffee stain on the back seat. You can offer $11,250 or maybe even $11,100. Don't show up and offer $9000. That's a dick move. On the flip side, if the ad says the car is in mint condition, and you show up and see it's got shitty tires and peeling paint, go ahead and offer something really low. But the bottom line is that if the car is generally in the advertised condition, don't try and undercut the asked for price by more than 5-10%.

7) Run it through Kelly Blue Book, but don't rely on Kelly Blue Book alone. Look at craigslist ads and see what comparable vehicles are actually going for in the area. KBB says they incorporate these regional differences, but they don't compensate enough. Example: Subarus command a premium in Seattle, pickup trucks sell for less here than they do elsewhere. Simple supply and demand.

8) Google known issues on the model car you buy. Example: I like Subaru Outbacks. They need head gaskets and timing chains replaced around 100,000 miles. A car that has already had this done is worth more to me than a car that hasn't had it done yet. Find out if there is a known issue on the car you are going to buy and learn if it's been dealt with yet.

9) Ask the seller why they are selling it. I usually say "If you don't mind my asking, why are you selling it." You want to hear things like "I got a promotion at work, and upgraded to a newer one," or "we're having another baby and need a bigger car." You do not want to hear a bunch of hemming and hawing and subject changing. If it's actually a good car, they probably have a good reason for letting it go. Ask.

10) If anything rubs you the wrong way, walk away. You're in charge. You aren't obligated to anything until you shake hands and exchange money. Trust your gut. You're the boss.

Hope this helps.

It seems as though your question has been thoroughly answered. Something that drives me crazy (no pun intended), is when I see Seattleites take a left turn in the wrong direction in a roundabout. What are they thinking?!

Interesting...we must be driving in different neighborhoods, Whenever I encounter a traffic circle, the other drivers don't just drive right on without slowing down--they stop dead and refuse to enter it, without regard to other traffic (or lack of). It's like they've never seen such a monstrosity before and they are totally flummoxed about how to proceed, and they're not going to just yield and merge--they're not budging until they've thoroughly figured this out.

The question has been quite well answered here and LLR indicates complete awareness of the yielding issue.

I wanted to write and mention the interesting point that in the law the right of way is never technically given to anyone, but instead who must yield the right of way is very well defined. I remembered this point from driver's education some 40 or more years ago and found this reference to support that premise. They taught us never to think "I have the right of way" and instead to look for the other driver to yield it. Later it is part of what would be called "defensive driving".

http://www.safemotorist.com/articles/right_of_way.aspx

The correct answer is "The one that is already IN the circle or roundabout has the right of way." If you pull out in front of an oncoming car, you're not only in the wrong, but you're also liable to get broadsided. Wait for traffic to clear, even if you have to come to a halt and hold up other traffic behind you.

Traffic ENTERING the roundabout is always supposed to yield to traffic ALREADY IN the roundabout. That's how it's supposed to be.

Problem is, Seattle drivers are terrible. Witness also the fact that they can't merge. In every other city in America, traffic moves along on the freeway, and drivers entering from the ramp speed up to match. This is the only city I've ever seen where drivers already on the freeway will SLOW DOWN to let somebody merge.

Also, in the rural areas of Washington State where the speed limit is 70, you'll find people constantly camped out doing 55 in the left lane of the Interstate. The left lane is for PASSING ONLY, you're not supposed to camp there.

Bottom line is you are right on both counts. Traffic entering the roundabout is supposed to yield, but that doesn't happen here because Seattle drivers (and WA drivers in general) are TERRIBLE.

This is part of why you have your own insurance. Call your own provider and get a claim number (you won't get charged for it). You'll get to be on the right side of your very own claims adjustor. It's his/her job to wring appropriate money out of the responsible parties in an accident, aka subrogation.

This is useful in many situations--you're probably going to get calls from the guy-who-hit-you's insurance company, wanting your description of the accident, for one. Don't talk to them, as they will fish for a reason that you were partially at fault and thus pay you less. Just tell them to call your guy Vinnie (the name of the claims adjustor I had when I was involved in a 37 car pileup, and he was/is awesome).

Your adjustor will also help you deal with the other insurance company (or structure of the claim, if guy-who-hit-you is also one of their clients) as far as what documentation you'll need to submit for reimbursement and repairs, and also how many estimates you need to get. They can also help you figure out what else you might be able to claim--did you miss work due to the accident or doctor's appointments? You can probably get compensation there. Had to stay in a hotel because you couldn't get home? Compensation.

Dad Griffin was a claims adjustor. He's also an asshole much of the time. A claims adjustor is one of the few careers in life where this is actually a benefit to the consumer. Good luck.

I don't have much helpful advice here, except to say that being in a car accident really jolts your entire body more than people sometimes give it credit for. It wouldn't surprise me if your pain goes away in a couple of days. That being said, potential spinal injuries are nothing to mess around with, so I think your decision to go see a doctor is a good one.

Just wanted to express my sympathies. I hope you feel better soon, and I hope your car is okay and the whole situation is insurance nightmare-free.

In order to get a fair payment out of the other insurance company you need an advocate. Insurance companies try to pay out as little as possible but with a lawyer you can get a better settlement.

I was rear-ended at a stop sign in 2000 and got horrible whiplash. I waited to settle but decided to get help and found Bruce Wolf in Seattle to be a highly ethical personal injury attorney. He was very clear with me about each step of his handling of my claim and in the end I got a settlement around $7000, of which I got around $3800 after his fees.

It is not unheard of to have physical symptoms contine to emerge after a year or two. I went to see a chiropractor right away and went for regular massage therapy and still just over a year later I woke one day and couldn't turn my head and felt like I had screws going into my forehead. I had to go for physical therapy for 5 months and was prescribed muscle relaxants by my doc.

I'm sorry you were in an accident and I do wish you and your family a quick recovery.

operating -
Ramps and HOV lanes and the Express lanes of North 5 and I-90 are all ok for motorcycles to use with a single rider.
Used to be you didn't have to insure your motorcycle so that was a big get.
While 520 is no cheaper, the ferries, and highway 167 hotlane are free or cheap for motorcycles.
With better MPG comes fewer gas taxes paid - and gas taxes have gone up over 15% in the last ten years.
Best reason: motorcyclists here are hardy, observant, and very supportive of one another.

Parking -
You don't have to purchase a RPZ permit to park in zoned neighborhood parking with a motorcycle -as of about two years ago.
Parking is significantly easier to find in neighborhoods that are generally a nightmare --such as pioneer square, capitol hill, belltown - since you can slip into end spots, and spots that are too small for cars.
Spread throughout the city are parking slots for motorcyles ONLY. If you happen to do business a lot where these are, then you win the parking lotto.
Many parking garages let motorcycles park free in the wasted triangle spaces (until these spots are filled).

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=111289349892739264829.0004656bf6227d23b2c61&z=13
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/parking/motorcycleparking.htm

Hey Reutte, the bridges will be back and forth with traffic for a while. The 520 toll is here to stay and will be locked in at the present rates for several months. It'll just take some time for drivers to get used to the rates and adjust their schedules/acceptable driving costs.

If you're moving back, I'd recommend living nearer to I-90 if you can. With the 520 toll and continuing construction on the new 520 bridge, both bridges will have traffic issues, but I-90 may just be easier in the long run.

Full Disclosure: I'm a roadway engineer that specifically bought a condo along I-90 a couple years back to ensure we'd avoid the impending mess on 520 :)

So, I'm one of the people who is directly affected by the tolling. I live in Greenlake, and commute to Bellevue. When I did the math, if I continued to drive myself alone to/from work each day, it would have added nearly $200 a month to my expenses, which is more than I'm willing to stomach.

However, I've been taking the bus recently, and although it is waaay slower than driving (an hour and ten, vs. 25 mins driving), I find I'm using the time to work, read, listen to podcasts, etc. While it's not ideal (I really, really, really wish there was a bus that went from a park and ride north of Montlake directly into Bellevue without first going into downtown Seattle), I'm making it work.

I do also drive still one day a week, but that's usually on days when I have errands, so I'm not hitting the tolls at peak times. One of the benefits of occasionally driving is that the drive is now WAY faster -- 15-20 mins, compared with 35-40.

If I were moving and expected to live in Seattle and work on the Eastside, I would make sure I was moving somewhere with a transit option that I could be happy with.

There was a time (ten to fifteen years ago) when it was legal to park your bike in between cars in Seattle. That was helpful.

In short, I don't think there are any significant Seattle-centric advantages to owning a motorcycle.

State law does not require mandatory insurance for motorcycles. I pay about $100/year for pretty comprehensive coverage anyway so the savings aren't that much (but I don't own a $20K Harley). Not unique to Seattle.

Motorcycles are faster in most types of traffic as they are smaller, more nimble, quicker and slightly less likely to create road rage driving competitions and challenges. I do things on a bike that I would not do in a car but nothing egregious. But not unique to Seattle.

You cannot lane split in Washington so that advantage is a non-factor. There are times when, if traffic is ridiculous, I will zoom ahead to see what the heck is going on. Ditto on unique.

Most bikes get at least 40MPG which is pretty good. However, older bikes probably put out more GHG emissions than a brand new Hummer. And the 2-stroke bikes and scooters are flat out eco-killers. Applies everywhere.

Parking isn't as Wild West as it was a decade ago but there are lots of places you can stick a bike that you can't stick a car where it is free to park and safe. Under the viaduct and at the ends of overpasses like the ones that come off of Capitol Hill and first hill into downtown. A little sketchy sometimes...

One of the biggest advantages is that if you get a parking ticket for not having one of those little slips you are supposed to stick on your headlight you can contest the ticket and so long as you are not there daily the judge will let you slide. Tell him you had one but it got stolen. It's a lie but I'll leave the ethical quandary up to the individual.

Parking in garages can be cheaper or even free. Some garages have gates that are not manned and lots of bikers just slip in and out of those. Some garages will charge a very low monthly rate for parking bikes- as little as $25/month. All on the up and up.

Of course having such excellent hospitals in Seattle is a big deal. Everybody eventually crashes. And if you don't make it, your organs will be that much fresher for donating to someone who needs them.

Compared to other parts of the world Seattle drivers are quite deferential to motorcyclists. Ever since I eschewed my leathers and cafe racer for a dual sport bike and Hi-Viz yellow/green road gear with orange helmet I have had virtually zero issue with drivers. If you've ever ridden a bike in California or New York/New Jersey you will understand how much better Seattle drivers are. And if you count Mexico or the Philippines than Seattle drivers are the epitome of grace and forbearance. Sure, there are the occasional knuckleheads and dumb-asses but I swear it feels like open season on bikers in parts of California at times.

The proposed registration fees like the ones defeated on the last initiative really pissed me off. I own several bikes because I am a hobbyist. To pay $80, $100, $120 for each bike is bullshit as I can only ride one at a fucking time. And that it cost the same as a car at all is also total bullshit. I voted for it anyway as I am a supporter to the things that the initiative was trying to accomplish but it pained me to do so.

In Seattle you can pretty much ride year round. That’s pretty awesome. So long as there is no ice I’m riding. There is heated riding gear available if you need some extra warmth.

Seattle has a decent motorcycle infrastructure. Nothing like Southern California but still OK. The Suzuki shop on Aurora is staffed by some good guys and the Moto Guzzi shop up the street is probably the best motorcycle dealer I’ve ever dealt with. The BMW dealer (Ride West) is good and Mick Valentine’s shop on Aurora can handle nearly anything German and English at a cheaper price. My experience with the Honda shop has not been particularly good and I’ve heard mixed things about Lynnwood Cycle (Kawasaki and Triumph et al). I hate 99% of all Harleys so don’t know anything about them or the local resources. There is also a good café racer scene here with some specialty shops staffed by reasonably knowledgeable fellows. Langlitz Leathers is all the way down in Portland but they are considered one of the best makers of leather gear in the world.

Well, I probably digressed into some points that were not exactly pertinent to your question, but if you have any follow up I’d be glad to try and help.

Well you'll save on gas and it is easier to sneak into a parking space. Most scooters can't go on the freeway unless you get the bigger engine type ( my sister just got one that will do freeways I think it was a 110 type). She had a scooter then went back to a car for a year and then got a nicer scooter cuz she missed it so much but she's never really been a car person. I think it depends on what you want from your vehicle. But yeah parking is the same price , just don't usually have to hunt as hard for it

I believe the question that you want to ask yourself in order to help answer this question is: What is your car worth?

I would say that the lower the value, the less you will want to spend on the selling process.

Cheapest: Craigslist. Cost: Free.

I have sold cars on craigslist before and the only real hassle is the Nigerian scammer. Then again, if you are one that likes to have fun with said scammers it is a gold mine. Really, deleting an email isn't that difficult and if you make sure to make your address anonymous, there is no harm. Like with the next option, you will want to have decent pics to upload. Craigslist takes maintenance and you may have to re-post and use appropriate key words to get hits.

Next cheapest: Auto-trader
Cost: Between $20 and $60 for the standard service and between $160 and $360 for the VIP service.

I have also sold a car using this option in the past and it was painless. I ended up having to re-post once and I believe this was offered at a discount. The nice thing about auto-trader is that there is a built-in and defined market - people go there either to look for cars, figure out what their car is worth (browsing) or research new vehicles. If your car is worth $10K, then $20 only represents 2/10s of a percent of the price.

Consignment: definitely the most expensive, but perhaps the least hassle?

I spoke with one agency here locally who indicated that there aren't really any up-front costs unless the car needs to be made ready to sell. For instance, you might need to have it detailed or fix a cracked windshield or put on new tires or touch-up paint.

At the time of sale, they would take 10% of the selling price with a minimum of $500 and maximum of $2000 being the fee.

They host the car and do all of the leg work.

I'm a biker in Seattle and have been for a long time. I've never heard of anyone renting dirt bikes here. Seems like a bad business plan since the whole point of a dirtbike is to abuse it. And the old maxim of "nothing handles like a rented car" would hold especially true for rented dirt bikes. I'd thrash the shit out of it.

Having said that you may be able to rent a dual-sport from Ride West BMW in Seattle. They are not dirt bikes but BMW's F800GS and the 650Gs are dirt capable and I have seen those for rent in other cities.

Jeebus, thank you for asking & answering, I have been wondering the same thing about that sticker.