For the infrequent use, it might just be more cost effective to call a taxi or Uber for grocery shopping, and rent a car when you go visit.
Good points, which is why they have not had a car on campus until now. A couple of things are driving this.
1 - The last two times we visited, the car rental charge for a basic vehicle averaged $150 a day due to outrageous fees and taxes. We intend to spend alot more time on the west coast for vacations in the next few years, so if we visited two weeks out of the year, having a car will save us $2,100 in rental car fees. That will cover insurance and registration costs.
2 - In the past four years, ours kids had summer internships that required they had a car to commute. In the past, we have shuttled one of our cars back and forth from the coast at the beginning and end of the internship. Instead of doing this on a bi-annual basis, it would make sense just to leave it out there year round.
3 - We already have other daily drivers, so if they do not take the car, it will just sit in our driveway for the next nine months. Alternatively, if we sell it and they do need a car for future summer internship, we will have to buy something for them to drive.