Comments on: Road Trip Car Rental: Is it Better to Rent a Car or Drive Your Own?

By: Glenn

Glenn — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I think you did a very unbiased job at evaluating the cost aspect. However I think this all comes down to how much you value peice of mind. Most important question that was not answered? Is a happy joyful vacation with your family worth spending an extra $250 to increase the likely hood of no car foul ups by say even at least 2%. I say yes others may not agree. Depending on your financial situation you may have no choice but to take the risk to even go on vacation but if you have it pay it. Nothing worse then sitting on the side of the road missing vacation days to save $250 of which you are going to give even more now to get it repaired and depending on the time it takes to repair your whole vacation may be shot once they get the parts in. If you always plan for the worst you decrease the likely hood of being disappointed. If your going on a short trip to grandmas for the weekend say a 2-4 hour trip drive your own car if it acts up you can always see grandma next week.

By: Oc Limo

Oc Limo — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

We should go to car rental websites to rent a car. I think it’s a good idea..

By: Seriously?

Seriously? — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Do any of you guys work on cars? Ever replace parts? Know anything about them? I don’t mean this sarcastically or angrily, I’m genuinely curious.

With proper maintenance, a 2000 year car with less than 100,000k is barely considered broken in. When the car reaches 100,000k miles, you will know the nuances of it and will have all the kinks worked out. New cars are rarely recommended for long trips because they haven’t been driven long enough for faulty parts or poor mechanical work to show yet.

I took a 97′ XJ Jeep Cherokee on a 5,000 mile trip when it has 205,000 miles on it. This was because I was the second owner, and I’d taken care of it. Regular oil changes, transmission fluid changes. Before leaving on the big trip, I made these repairs:

- New radiator
- New water pump/hoses
- New timing belt
- New oxygen sensor
- New front brakes
- Brake/Transmission/Engine fluid changes

Total Cost: $400 (I did the labor myself, a 21y-o female with no prior experience. If I could learn, others can too)

These things put the Jeep back in prime condition. It didn’t have a single hiccup during the trip. It now has nearly 300,000 miles on it and only has had its regular oil changes and filter changes. The body is still in very good condition (only micro-rust where pebbles flecked the paint), the engine and tranny are strong.

Sometimes I wonder if people are overly cautious because they don’t really know much about a cars actual mechanics and parts. I also wonder if people just upgrade to new cars because they get tired of using the same car and use miles as an excuse. I mean, I see people updating cars at 50k miles like that is a lot or something.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

My husband and I have been discussing this very thing only with a different twist. Is it more economical to drive junkers around home (say $4000 to $5000 cars you can pay cash for ) and then rent a car for trips? We tend to drive cars/vans until they are on their last legs but not trustworthy to take out of state. We did, however, drive our 1988 Caravan from Ohio to FL once with 200,000 miles on it.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

THANK YOU!! This actually helped a lot. These were the exact questions I have been asking. I am making a long road trip from L.A. to Phoenix to Tulsa and back again. I will be away from home for 2 months. I was worried that the wear and tear on the car would be too much as I have already taken it on long road trips. However, it’s the best little car and I get amazing gas mileage!! I take very good care of it with regular maintenance. Thank you for taking the time to break it down for us and for adding those links!! And if anyone wants a great vehicle check out the Toyota Echo. Seriously amazing gas mileage. On the highway 38mpg easy. It’s little and fits everywhere but is still roomy with a surprisingly roomy trunk for a small car. I am going to use your links to find out just how much wear and tear I will actually cause it. Thank you again!! Well written article.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Great article. I think renting is a great way to travel on vacation especially if you need a bigger vehicle than you need on a daily basis. I drive a Toyota Corolla daily that gets 33+ MPG but it’s not necessarily our first choice for a family of 4 plus our golden retriever for a long road trip. The initial buy-in, maintenance, and fuel to own and run a large vehicle daily far outweighs the rental costs when it comes to renting a larger vehicle. This very conclusion is what led me to start my own rental company but I have added the benefit of ‘going green’. I currently have a Ford F-250 truck running on BioDiesel. It’s a four door so we can fit the two car seats and the dog inside while all the luggage stays dry in the bed with a cover. I had a customer take it to New York and back earlier this spring to bring his son back from college and was very pleased. I’m in the North Dallas area if anyone needs to haul a load of lumber or take a long family road trip.

Ben
http://www.rentmybiotruck.com

By: S. B.

S. B. — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

This is a great article. As I was reading the original comments from your friend David, I was mainly struck by the line about 20 cents/mile for depreciation, as that seems to be the main contention that the rental car scenario could be cheaper. My immediate reaction was “No, that’s not right” because that’s not the correct comparison to make regarding incremental costs or savings.

His personal vehicle is still going to depreciate whether or he takes it on the trip or not. It is true that it will depreciate faster if he runs off an additional 2,500 miles, but it’s still going to depreciate even if it sits in the garage the whole year. In fact, I’d bet the “time factor” part of the depreciation equation is much bigger than the “miles factor” part of auto depreciation. However, I was perplexed at how to measure that.

I was glad to see you came to the same conclusion and took that line of thinking much further than I did. The Edmunds hack is very clever and I believe it’s actually a pretty sound approach to making a fair comparison.

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Sure, you are accounting for a theorectical deprecieation amount and I applaud you for that.

However, i can tell you from first hand experience that my 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe will depreciate far more than what Edmuinds will reflect simply because once you have large repair items, the car rapidly decreases in value on the open market. It is far more valuable to me than to anyone looking to buy it, simply because at some point, the cost of repairs will outstrip the value, forcing me to find an alternative vehicle – which becomes more costly. If my car my car only depreciates by $50 with 1000 more miles put on it according to Edmunds [and that is if I could actually get that amount for an suv in this market], but my engine blows or my ac compressor gives out and it is a 2500 repair, i am screwed. This is the opportunity cost that you haven’t figured. If I drive my car and it breaks down, my true cost for those miles is exhorbitant. With newer cars, not a big deal, with older unreliable brands, renting a car may be cheaper.

Again, I give you credit for your analysis, i just wish there were resources online to help you determine what the actual costs for the actual car you have are.

By: PT Money

PT Money — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

@Jason – I disagree that basic is bad. The difference in edmunds.com true market value is as close as you’re going to get to true cost of wear and tear. I think it’s pretty genius that I thought of that actually. I’m typically not that smart.

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Good article, however I would love to see a more scientific approach to help you determine the true cost of driving your car – specifically one that allows you to input the brand, age, existing miles, distance driving, and current condition of existing vehicle.

I think your attempt to determine the cost was good, but very basic and leaves out a lot of factors that actually impact your decision greatly…

I own a brand new Accord and an 8 yr old Santa Fe. We want to go from Phx to San Diego next month and I am trying to determine if renting is the way to go. My accord won’t hold my kid and all our stuff for her and for the beach – otherwise i would drive that more than likely [due to the fact it gets 27 mpg already and that it is under warranty]. The Santa Fe is questionable. I certainly believe that the wear and tear on that vehicle will be more damaging than that on my accord. Therefore, the cost would be vastly different. I found that I could rent a similar sized car for $540. The question is what my Santa Fe will cost me if I take it. I am not sure there is an answer for that…