# Help me decide...car rental vs taking my own



## highwood (Jan 12, 2012)

...on a road trip. I will be going on a road trip for one week so putting on about 3,000 km on my vehicle which is 3 years old and is still under warranty/has road side assistance, etc. 

I was debating renting a car to save wear and tear on my own vehicle however as I am going to a farm area there would be some gravel roads I would be travelling on..probably about 5 miles or so each day during the 7 days I am in the area...and I know rental companies do not want you to drive the car on gravel roads but I guess they would not know unless something happened on a gravel road i.e. accident, etc. 

So what would you do take a chance and rent or just use my own car.

I hate taking my own vehicle on gravel roads as I worry the dust, gravel underneath will hurt the vehicle??


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## NextTimeAround (Dec 15, 2011)

Depends on how cost sensitive you are. Maybe you can find some car rental deals. Byt also remember, if you gravel messes up the rental car, you'll pay for that too. So I guess, make sure you have adequate insurance.


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## anonmd (Oct 23, 2014)

IRS mileage rate is about 50 cents a mile which covers gas / oil / maintenance / insurance / purchase amortization for a normal mid size car. That implies 3,000 kilometers worth of travel costs about $950. Take off $150 or so for gas costs and make it $800. If you rental(including any mileage charges) is substantially less than $800 it makes sense to rent.


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## cc48kel (Apr 5, 2017)

I would want to rent for a long distance trip... less wear and tear on my car!!!


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## Mr. Nail (Apr 26, 2011)

Wow that would be really cool to be able to choose not to drive on a gravel road. Or better yet to own a car that has never been on one.


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## highwood (Jan 12, 2012)

Hey all, I emailed another rental company locally and I asked him about the roads that the car should be driven on and he said government maintained roads so I told him that the car would be driven 90% on paved roads and about 10% on maintained gravel roads, basically my mom's house to a paved road so about a mile or so each day on gravel..and I have an email from him stating that this is okay.

He said that was fine...so I will rent thru them. Plus I always get the Loss damage waiver insurance anyway thru the rental eventhough our personal auto covers it, just for peace of mind.

It will be about $600.00 to rent including full insurance on the car.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

cc48kel said:


> I would want to rent for a long distance trip... less wear and tear on my car!!!


I'm the patron saint of rental cars. Visiting DD1 is a 10 hour drive, and I do it at least 10-12 times a year. Always rentals. We get great rental rates thru work (Toyota Corolla for 30/day) and it's a lot better than ruining our cars.

Gravel... Tough one. Can you avoid that road?


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## jb02157 (Apr 16, 2014)

I wouldn't rent if you are using a gravel road at all. I use rental cars extensively for business and they are very intolerant about any dings at all you would receive on a gravel roads or highways and charge large fees. I rented with Enterprise once and they tried to charge $600 for some dings I got while hit by small pebbles off a semi truck when driving on the freeway. Lesson learned...I refuse to use Enterprise for any rental whether business or personal.


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## highwood (Jan 12, 2012)

jb02157 said:


> I wouldn't rent if you are using a gravel road at all. I use rental cars extensively for business and they are very intolerant about any dings at all you would receive on a gravel roads or highways and charge large fees. I rented with Enterprise once and they tried to charge $600 for some dings I got while hit by small pebbles off a semi truck when driving on the freeway. Lesson learned...I refuse to use Enterprise for any rental whether business or personal.


That is why I always but the car rental insurance as I stated. Plus your auto insurance often has a car rental clause too.

I rented with Enterprise in the past and found them okay.


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## jb02157 (Apr 16, 2014)

highwood said:


> That is why I always but the car rental insurance as I stated. Plus your auto insurance often has a car rental clause too.
> 
> I rented with Enterprise in the past and found them okay.


Okay if you want to take your chances with Enterprise, be my guest.


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## highwood (Jan 12, 2012)

That is not who I am renting with to begin with this time...but I rented with them for five weeks in the winter after my vehicle was in an accident and was in the autobody shop. My insurance used them as their car rental company of choice.


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## NextTimeAround (Dec 15, 2011)

Remember, car rentals sell their cars every two to three years. They want them to be in as perfect shape as possible.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

jb02157 said:


> Okay if you want to take your chances with Enterprise, be my guest.


I use Enterprise or Hertz, no problems either way. Still... gravel is a concern.


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## Hope1964 (Sep 26, 2011)

Hubby and I do road trips frequently and we always take our own vehicles. It's never even crossed my mind to rent. I tend to be picky about my creature comforts, so since I know my own vehicles and how they work and their quirks and how to be the most comfy that will always be my first choice. We have rented cars for road trips when we flew somewhere and then drove, and I am ALWAYS uncomfortable. Wear and tear and putting miles on it are part of owning a vehicle.


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## arbitrator (Feb 13, 2012)

*To rent is the only sensible way to go!*


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## highwood (Jan 12, 2012)

john117 said:


> I use Enterprise or Hertz, no problems either way. Still... gravel is a concern.


Yes but minimum gravel not that big of a deal....we have an 18 year old car that I took out where we are going at least 8 times...never had a problem with the vehicle because of gravel.

There are way worse things someone can do to a vehicle than drive on gravel once ina while.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

Another good reason to rent is mileage. There's lots of cars out there that give obscenely good mileage but I would not want to buy. Just concluded a 1300 mile 2 day trip to get DD1 in a Corolla. Ouch. Only 35 MPG WTF. Same trip, same or more load with a Nissan Altima, 45-47 MPG. I've done the trip about 20 times in the last two years so the cost would be $60 x 2 = 1200, saving myself nearly 24000 miles worth of wear. 

Next weekend it's Chicago, but I'm taking the Mini.


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## happy as a clam (Jan 5, 2014)

I must say, the whole gravel road thing has me a bit perplexed. I've rented plenty of cars in the recent past (at least 10-12 times in the past 2 years) and not once -- not a single time -- have any of them ever mentioned driving on gravel roads nor has it ever even crossed my mind. I'm sure it's buried in the fine print somewhere, but it wouldn't prevent me from driving on one to Grandma's house, lol.

I rent from Enterprise all the time because I like the fact that they'll come pick me up. I've never had any issues with them. I even bought a 2 year old car from them for my daughter and got a really good deal on it.

Oh, and I never take the extra insurance...


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## zookeeper (Oct 2, 2012)

Use your own car. What kind of car can't handle driving on a gravel road?

The best way to get your money's worth out of a car is to drive the hell out of it.


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## lucy999 (Sep 28, 2014)

Your personal vehicle insurance would not carry over to the rental?


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## George36 (Aug 26, 2017)

john117 said:


> I use Enterprise or Hertz, no problems either way. Still... gravel is a concern.


My wife and I just returned from an 8,000 mile road trip over three weeks from San Diego to Minnesota to Oregon and many places in between. We used Hertz and they were great. Cost was $623. I do not know if they do it elsewhere but Hertz here takes pictures of inside and outside of car when you pick it up. Saves on arguing about who did what.

We always rent vehicles for trips. Saves our mileage and, if it breaks down, we just call for a replacement. 

Have a Great trip


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

It's a new policy as they just did it last month. I have a Hertz rental coming up for a 2.5k mile trip around Labor day... Hoping for a Nissan Rogue .


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

john117 said:


> It's a new policy as they just did it last month. I have a Hertz rental coming up for a 2.5k mile trip around Labor day... Hoping for a Nissan Rogue .


Tell me this John.
Do they have airports where you live.Twelve hour road trips?Not a chance I would drive that long if I didn't have to.
Edit.I just remembered the cat.My bad.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

Ah, glad you asked.

For some cases in the USA there's actually competition and low fares. We spent a week in Washington DC last March and two airline tickets was not far off a weeks rental plus fuel. But that's Washington DC. 

When DD2 was in hurricane country for her undergraduate it was 12 hour drive or flight. We drove a few times, flew some. Minimized trips as DD2 was not in need of resupply (4 years in dorm). That was in a Southwest Airlines city, hence non-stop and reasonably inexpensive (200$ round trip).

With DD1 the math doesn't quite work the same way. She's in a small college town that has air service but the price is punitive. $350-450 round trip, and only saves 3 hours vs driving due to layover. So, 10 hour drive with a rental full of food and supplies vs 7 hours in cattle class, extra for luggage... Screw that if I may say so.

Flying with a pet? Triple screw that. You pay a $100-125 ticket to take the pet in an airline approved pet carrier in the cabin. Except there's a 20 lb limit and size limit. Try fitting a 20+ lb cat into an airline carry on... Ain't happening.

In America, unless you're flying from and to a very large city (Columbus Ohio, Louisville, Cincinnati around me for example) you're screwed airfare wise. There's no Ryanair or even feasible rail service. 

Just the TSA wind airport taxes in America are what a Ryanair ticket is in Europe. Several airlines tried to play Ryanair for decades, it simply isn't profitable given how the USA is laid out. Not to mention you need a rental once you arrive since there's no mass transit.

Car rental for 4-5 days is maybe 130-150$ for a decent car (Corolla, Altima) that can get 40mpg. Then 1000 km or 600 miles is 9 hours, 9.5 with stops, total 4 tanks of gas maybe 100$ total. For 1 person maybe flying is doable, but try 4. Plus 200 lb of food, because there's little in the expletive deleted college town except a Walmart and a Kroger and prices suck, and unlike the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sales tax is paid on food. So food ends up costing 20% more easily. Screw that as well. 

There. Aren't you happy you live in Europe?


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## NextTimeAround (Dec 15, 2011)

john117 said:


> There. Aren't you happy you live in Europe?


Europe is a quite cheap place to live. I miss it.


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

john117 said:


> Ah, glad you asked.
> 
> For some cases in the USA there's actually competition and low fares. We spent a week in Washington DC last March and two airline tickets was not far off a weeks rental plus fuel. But that's Washington DC.
> 
> ...


I'm in Europe on vacation right now but I live near Boston.We have had this discussion about Ryanair before,no need to have it again.I had to fly to Spa in Belgium this morning and after being up all night watching the fight I could have happily cancelled.It was almost six am here when the fight finished.The airport in Spa is just a glorified landing strip but Ryanair would use it no doubt (and claim it was in Brussels)
It's still preferable to driving though.


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

NextTimeAround said:


> Europe is a quite cheap place to live. I miss it.


It depends on which part you live.London is very expensive and driving is a joke,Paris is the same.Some of the Eastern European countries are quite cheap though.It has become very common for people to travel to less expensive countries for dental treatment,in the wealthier countries dentistry is unbelievably expensive.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

My daughter used Ryanair a couple times from the old Rome airport. She described it as zero security, paper based, and about as chill as it gets. $30 for a round-trip flight to my birth country and also to Barcelona. How she used her charm to get past the luggage size allowance is now part of the family legend. 

We USED to have Delta fly out of Cincinnati Ohio to Frankfurt then all over. Delta and Comair had a huge presence there and you could get places for cheap. Same as Detroit metro to Amsterdam via KLM. Then, the airlines started shutting down capacity post 9/11 and packing flights. We're now to the point that airline travel within the US is only for funerals, weddings, or job interviews.

/Commentary

This, cable TV, and cell phone service are very dark spots in the USA in terms of how capitalism has gone haywire. We're down to 4 major airlines and 4 cell carriers, and if Verizon asked to buy at&t Trump's cronies would gladly approve in a week.

Having said that, the free wine you get in Lufthansa coach class is bad . Out now defunct national airline had 747s with more legroom in coach than today's business class, and stellar food. Anyhow, enough ranting.


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## George36 (Aug 26, 2017)

NextTimeAround said:


> Europe is a quite cheap place to live. I miss it.


Taking the wife to Europe Oct/Nov. 25 days Prague, 5 Days Rome. Was thinking about renting a car to tour Czech Republic.

Do not want to hijack thread but any thoughts on Europe rentals cost and drivability would be appreciated.

Thanks.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

There's a reason a huge number of YouTube in car video footage showing mindless accidents comes from Eastern Europe 

Rates you can get online, but I would think tolls, parking, fuel at 3x US prices, and insurance would add up a lot faster than rail. If you have 3-4 people vs 2 it also could go the other way...


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## George36 (Aug 26, 2017)

john117 said:


> There's a reason a huge number of YouTube in car video footage showing mindless accidents comes from Eastern Europe
> 
> Rates you can get online, but I would think tolls, parking, fuel at 3x US prices, and insurance would add up a lot faster than rail. If you have 3-4 people vs 2 it also could go the other way...


Your post is an eye opener. No rentals for us. Thanks.


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

George36 said:


> Taking the wife to Europe Oct/Nov. 25 days Prague, 5 Days Rome. Was thinking about renting a car to tour Czech Republic.
> 
> Do not want to hijack thread but any thoughts on Europe rentals cost and drivability would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks.


Do not drive in Rome,that's the first piece of advice I would give you. 
Don't drive in the Czech Republic,that's the second piece. 
Seriously,Rome is a nightmare for driving and driving regulations are looked on as a suggestion rather than a rule.
Depending on which part of the Czech Republic you are going the biggest problem you may have is the local police.They are very poorly paid and look on foreign drivers as a source of income.I have heard plenty of stories about drummed up charges and I've seen it for myself,everything from illegal parking to allegations of driving while intoxicated.There is a zero alcohol limit for driving and you can be stopped for no reason and asked to provide a breath sample and then told to pay a fine immediately.You won't get a receipt either.
Prague is notorious for this.Try and make sure your rental car has no identifiable markings showing it's a rental but I've been told that the cops have all the numbers anyway.


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## Ynot (Aug 26, 2014)

Back to the OP, I always rent now if I am taking an extended road trip. For several reasons. #1 it saves wear and tear on my vehicle. #2 if the car breaks down, you can just call them and tell them to bring you a different car. #3 I write it off as a business expense. #4 you can drive different cars to get an idea of what your next vehicle should be. So if you drive an SUV get a Sedan or a sports car or vice versa. If you have a small car, get a bigger one with more room. Plus you can upgrade and try different features - 4WD, All wheel drive, front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, standards or automatics, satellite radio, navigation, etc etc.


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

I always rent when I'm traveling and always a 4x4 and I take the CDW.I only ever had one crash,that happened in Orlando and I left the vehicle with the cops and hertz had another one at my hotel within four hours.
I was collecting a vehicle at an airport one day and the clerk was explaining the advantages of the CDW to me.His best line was "you can bring it back in a dumpster" and it won't cost you a cent.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

What do you need a 4x4 in Florida 

Depending on what credit card used, they may cover you (domestically). Our work card covers us for business travel overseas too. The rental agencies may know in generalities which cards or car insurance plans cover, usually they'll take your word for it, and if not sure, they will ask to see the policy or call them. 

And occasionally I get the leasing agreement printed in Spanish ...


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

john117 said:


> What do you need a 4x4 in Florida
> 
> Depending on what credit card used, they may cover you (domestically). Our work card covers us for business travel overseas too. The rental agencies may know in generalities which cards or car insurance plans cover, usually they'll take your word for it, and if not sure, they will ask to see the policy or call them.
> 
> And occasionally I get the leasing agreement printed in Spanish ...


I'm self employed so I have to pay for everything anyway and it's a business expense.
I take self preservation very seriously and if I was in a 4x4 and had a collision with you in your mini guess who would be the most likely to walk away.🚘🚗
In this situation size matters.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

Andy1001 said:


> I'm self employed so I have to pay for everything anyway and it's a business expense.
> I take self preservation very seriously and if I was in a 4x4 and had a collision with you in your mini guess who would be the most likely to walk away.
> In this situation size matters.


Ah, true, but the Mini's superb handling and safety systems make it more than a good bet. Obviously, the laws of physics haven't been rewritten but you generally don't need an Escalade to survive. 

There are places in America where an Escalade comes in handy - 610 around Houston or anywhere in DFW - but in most cases especially in big cities larger vehicles are an issue with traffic, parking... 

Hopefully Daimler Benz will sell us the A-class someday. It's my favorite rental in Germany.


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