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I absolutely do. Currently I am driving a brand new rental Suburban for like 2,800 miles in 10 days for around $700. If i calculate cost per mile including tires, oil and maintenance, it is a good deal. Plus it gives me the opportunity to drive various cars for various situations... trucks, suvs, sedans, convertibles.
Honestly, that's crazy. I can think of way better things to spend $700 on. But maybe that's just me.
We had friends fly up to do a northern circle tour of Lake Michigan with us. I knew that our Ford Escape would be cramped with four adults and luggage for a 7 day road trip. Rented a Ford Flex from the dealer with a company discount and split the cost with the other couple. Plenty of room and quite comfortable. I think it made sense in that circumstance.
Honestly, that's crazy. I can think of way better things to spend $700 on. But maybe that's just me.
It depends on what you compare it with. It is expensive indeed if you compare it with running down an old written off beater but it is cheap if you compare it with driving an owned car with a similar price tag/size/age/comfort. Have to say that i have chosen comprehensive insurance not to be responsible for anything (tires, windscreen...) which is included in the $700.
The price is basically $0.25 per mile. That is cheaper than the cost of ownership per mile with my own vehicle. To make it easy, we assume that the purchase price of such a car is like $60,000 with tax and financing. Then we are already at 240,000 miles of how long that car has to last, taking into account that the major repairs equal out the residual value after that period, which would be quite optimistic. Oil change for a Suburban already could be like $80, which is due after 7,500 and those Michelin 265/70 aren't cheap either. And warranty expires after 36,000 miles. I do not have to care about cleaning either. Oh, and that way I am always driving a new car with less than 25,000 miles on it, instead of a worn out one.
Honestly, that's crazy. I can think of way better things to spend $700 on. But maybe that's just me.
2800 miles is about 6 months worth of normal driving for me... so yeah, I'd spend $700 to keep 6 months worth of wear and tear off of my vehicle. Now if you're the type who drives 20k miles per year anyways, then another 2800 won't matter much to you, because you'll likely be replacing the vehicle in a few years anyway.
When I rent a car though it's usually something like a Camry or Fusion, and I get a discount with Enterprise through my auto insurance, so it's usually cheaper than that.
It depends on what you compare it with. It is expensive indeed if you compare it with running down an old written off beater but it is cheap if you compare it with driving an owned car with a similar price tag/size/age/comfort. Have to say that i have chosen comprehensive insurance not to be responsible for anything (tires, windscreen...) which is included in the $700.
The price is basically $0.25 per mile. That is cheaper than the cost of ownership per mile with my own vehicle. To make it easy, we assume that the purchase price of such a car is like $60,000 with tax and financing. Then we are already at 240,000 miles of how long that car has to last, taking into account that the major repairs equal out the residual value after that period, which would be quite optimistic. Oil change for a Suburban already could be like $80, which is due after 7,500 and those Michelin 265/70 aren't cheap either. And warranty expires after 36,000 miles. I do not have to care about cleaning either. Oh, and that way I am always driving a new car with less than 25,000 miles on it, instead of a worn out one.
Ok, that explains it. Perpetual car payments. I get it.
I rent a car for trips of ~500 or more miles each way.
Back when I drove a beater, this was because it guzzled gas and I didn't trust it on long trips.
Now that my wife and I have new cars, i do it to keep our mileage low and so that I don't have to worry about rock chips, windshield cracks, people banging their doors into us in crowded tourist parking lots, our son spilling food in the car, etc.
Last edited by gwarnecke; 06-03-2017 at 11:55 AM..
Absolutely not! I buy cars I like, so I love having a reason to drive them!
(Although, I would rent something if I had a reason, such as a road trip that involved more people than what can fit in my current vehicle)
I'll add that when we were shopping for my wife's car recently, she really wanted a Mercedes SUV, and I really wanted her to get a minivan or something with lots of space. We realized that we really didn't need a big vehicle for daily use, but would like lots of cargo space and/or room for at least 6 people occasionally. Rather than buying an $80k Mercedes GLS, we bought a $40k GLC and rent a cheap minivan or UHaul van the 1-2x a year that we actually need the space (for long trips, picking up Craigslist purchases, etc).
When you rent cars, do you pay for the rental agency's insurance, or do you put it on your own insurance? Personally, if anything were to happen to the car that would generate a claim, I'd want to keep it off my own insurance. But that makes car rentals expensive, so it's not practical for anything but a short period.
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