If you don’t own a car, you may have wondered whether you should be renting a car whenever the need arises or just buy your own car. Renting a car often can be extremely expensive. But renting a car only when you need to, like for the occasional road trip, is a smart idea. Here are four scenarios when it makes sense to get a rental car rather than purchase one.
You Reside in a Large City
If you live in a big city like New York City or Chicago, you likely have excellent public transportation. This means most of your day-to-day commute is taken care of. If you need to go on a one-off road trip or vacation, you could just rent a car for that period. This will likely be a lot cheaper than buying your own car and paying for maintenance on the regular.
You’re Traveling
If you are traveling to a nearby city or the next state, renting a car could make your life a whole lot easier. Just ensure you have your rental car insurance sorted out before you travel.
You Are Running Errands
It makes sense to designate one day every week or even a whole weekend once every month to carry out the various errands that you need to. This can include things like going to the bank, grocery store, gym, post office, etc. Likewise, say, you want to buy a new refrigerator or television, getting a rental car and transporting the item yourself may work out much cheaper than paying to ship the item all the way to your home. To increase your money savings when doing this, see if you can get your friends to accompany you and split the cost with them.
There’s a Special Occasion
Don’t buy a luxury car just because you have an important event coming up. If you need a luxury car for a special occasion, like, say, a wedding, you may want to rent a car instead. Even in a place like New York City, you could get a luxury rental car for between $200 and $250 for two days.
