Rent or drive your own?

[J N Winkler]

If you overmaintain your car, it will last as long as you like.  My last car was in the very small minority of second-generation Maximas that had gone for over 200,000 miles without a transmission rebuild, because I used my own shift points and changed the transmission fluid every 30,000 miles.  Toward the end (the car left my ownership at 227,000 miles), I think I was starting to lose a few horses, but the car still hummed along happily at 75 MPH and got better than 30 MPG in the summer.

One longevity story I remember (the source escapes me at the moment) is the Mercedes owner with a 250-mile daily commute.  When his car hit the million-mile mark, as it would have done after sixteen years of regular commuting, Mercedes apparently took it (to make into a museum exhibit?) and gave him a new one in exchange.

[Takumi]

There's a 1990 Accord that went over a million miles a couple years ago. Honda gave the owner a brand new Accord, but I'm not sure if they took the old one or not.

Back on topic, on the rare occasions I go on road trips, I prefer my own car(s, which one I take depends on where I'm going), for the reasons listed by others. Manual transmissions and the convenience and familiarity.

[hbelkins]

I never really learned to drive a manual. Never really wanted to. And I don't get the fascination with them, as some have expressed here. I'm much happier just driving and not having to worry about using my feet (especially my left one) and my hands more than necessary for things such as shifting when there's a device that will do it for me. Besides, on long trips to unfamiliar territory, I usually have my camera in my right hand.

[oscar]

I almost always prefer to drive my car: I know its operational limits, it's usually more fun to drive, and it has a manual transmission.

When one or both of my cars were stick-shift, between 1988 (acquired my 1982 Honda Accord used) and 2007 (1996 BMW 328i totaled by a drunk driver), that reinforced my preference for driving over renting.  But when I spent a few days in England in 2011, I rented an automatic-shift car bigger and more expensive than I wanted so I could focus on driving on the left side of the road and not on relearning how to drive a stick with the shifter on the left.  Now that I have experience with wrong-side driving, next time I'll rent a stick-shift, especially since those are much more available and cheaper across the pond. 

[oscar]

I never really learned to drive a manual. Never really wanted to. And I don't get the fascination with them, as some have expressed here.

I fried a clutch when I learned to drive a stick (I bought the car used, I wasn't wasting a brand-new clutch), so there's definitely a learning curve.  But I did appreciate that most car thieves don't know how to drive a stick.  That probably saved my Honda Accord, which got a lot of damage from someone obviously trying to steal the car, but he couldn't drive it away.

OTOH, working the clutch on my Accord and after it died my BMW in stop-and-go city driving was really a pain, and the stress on my left ankle may have contributed to its mystery fracture in 2006.  (By then I had a pickup truck that didn't have a stick-shift as an option, so I had that as a backstop for non-city driving, plus Metro for commuting, until my ankle completely healed a few months later.)

[Sanctimoniously]

I've always driven my own car out of financial necessity (I'm under the age of twenty-five) and the fact that I've never flown to a destination of my own choosing. The only time I've ever rented was when I came back from Afghanistan and didn't have a car, and also didn't have the desire to purchase a new vehicle in a Marine town. I also tried to rent a new 2013 Ford Fusion to try it out, but none of the local renters had one available.

[froggie]

Typically drive my own, unless logistics dictates otherwise.  Thus far, that has mainly been overseas trips, when my own car is in the shop, or when I want to get to Minneapolis in 3-6 hours vice 18-20.  That said, one of those times allowed me to test-drive the Chevy Cruze for a week, which was a model I was considering buying at the time...

As a side note, if you ever have to rent a car in Minneapolis, get it in downtown Minneapolis instead of at MSP airport.  It was barely HALF the cost of car rental at the airport the last time I did it, and you can use the Hiawatha LRT to connect between the two.  A 30-minute LRT ride and a $2.25 fare were well worth the $250 I saved.

[1995hoo]

Almost one million miles!? That is AMAZING! What is your secret? Also, have you set a world record for mileage?

He has not set a record. There are several documented cases of someone taking a vehicle well over a million miles in the US alone.

....

Do a Google or Bing search for the name "Irv Gordon." He drives a red Volvo P1800 that has.....a bit....more than a million.

[texaskdog]

I've had two manuals which I owned each for about 2 years.  Just one more thing I had to worry about.  First was 1988-1990 and second was 2000-2002 and I hadn't forgotten a thing in 10 years.

Still preferred the automatic though.  Everyone told me to get rid of my 2000 Buick (130,000 miles) instead of the 1999 Civic (170,000) and I did, and enjoying the 25/36 gas mileage over the 17/20.  No A/C though and not that fun in Texas, if only I can find someone to fix it without a huge markup.

[hbelkins]

Typically drive my own, unless logistics dictates otherwise.  Thus far, that has mainly been overseas trips, when my own car is in the shop, or when I want to get to Minneapolis in 3-6 hours vice 18-20.  That said, one of those times allowed me to test-drive the Chevy Cruze for a week, which was a model I was considering buying at the time...

A couple of years ago, mine was in the shop for some warranty work and the loaner was a Cruze. Last weekend my rental was a 2013 Cruze. They're nice vehicles.

Eric Stuve had a rental Cruze in Wichita that had 250 miles on it when he got it. It was THAT new.

[texaskdog]

what i hate is when you rent one with good mileage and they give you a car with worse mileage.  gotta watch my bait & switch on friday

[oscar]

what i hate is when you rent one with good mileage and they give you a car with worse mileage.  gotta watch my bait & switch on friday

Thing is, the rental companies always say that they're out of the cars with good gas mileage, and the gas hogs they have on hand are "free upgrades".  That meant an economy car rental at the Providence airport was "upgraded" to a full-size van (not even a mini-van), and one at the Seattle airport to a Lincoln Town Car.  The only time I got what I considered a genuine upgrade was when I wound up with a Shelby Turbo at the San Francisco airport.  Yet another reason why I don't rent if I can possibly avoid it.

Not sure what you can do about it, other than to get there early, or do some last-minute shopping of other rental car agencies (assuming there's no penalty for canceling your original reservation).  That you're renting just before a weekend is not a good sign. 

[texaskdog]

what i hate is when you rent one with good mileage and they give you a car with worse mileage.  gotta watch my bait & switch on friday

Thing is, the rental companies always say that they're out of the cars with good gas mileage, and the gas hogs they have on hand are "free upgrades".  That meant an economy car rental at the Providence airport was "upgraded" to a full-size van (not even a mini-van), and one at the Seattle airport to a Lincoln Town Car.  The only time I got what I considered a genuine upgrade was when I wound up with a Shelby Turbo at the San Francisco airport.  Yet another reason why I don't rent if I can possibly avoid it.

Not sure what you can do about it, other than to get there early, or do some last-minute shopping of other rental car agencies (assuming there's no penalty for canceling your original reservation).  That you're renting just before a weekend is not a good sign. 

I'm going to call over there a few hours before and make sure the kia rio is still there or if not tell me what they're giving me so i can check the mileage.  tired of having gas-hogs pushed off on me.

[Brandon]

what i hate is when you rent one with good mileage and they give you a car with worse mileage.  gotta watch my bait & switch on friday

I usually specify an economy or a compact only and refuse any "upgrades".  That, I find stops the bait and switch crappola.  My last rental (in Corpus Christi, Texas) was a Ford Focus.  Not a bad car, but it did have an automatic.  Those never shift as nice as I can with my manual.

[Brandon]

Typically drive my own, unless logistics dictates otherwise.  Thus far, that has mainly been overseas trips, when my own car is in the shop, or when I want to get to Minneapolis in 3-6 hours vice 18-20.  That said, one of those times allowed me to test-drive the Chevy Cruze for a week, which was a model I was considering buying at the time...

A couple of years ago, mine was in the shop for some warranty work and the loaner was a Cruze. Last weekend my rental was a 2013 Cruze. They're nice vehicles.

Eric Stuve had a rental Cruze in Wichita that had 250 miles on it when he got it. It was THAT new.

I wasn't all that impressed with the Cruze when I got one as a rental last year.  My car (2011 Dodge Caliber) was in the body shop - it was hit while parked in the front right quarter panel.  I found the transmission balky even with the autostick shifter.

[formulanone]

A couple of years ago, mine was in the shop for some warranty work and the loaner was a Cruze. Last weekend my rental was a 2013 Cruze. They're nice vehicles.

Eric Stuve had a rental Cruze in Wichita that had 250 miles on it when he got it. It was THAT new.

I had a 2012 Fiat 500 in August 2011 out of DTW with 5 miles on it, which surprised me, since new car manufacturers specify at least 5-10 test-driven miles as part of the pre-delivery process.

I've had a few Avis cars with under 1000 miles, but a fair number with 30,000 miles and up. I had a 2011 Crown Victoria with 37,000 miles that was almost two years old, turns out they're not that popular.

Cruzes are okay, I've had a few, they're decently feature-laden, but the steering feel is non-existent.

[corco]

yeah, I was actually hoping to get a Cruze for the Wichita meet- I'm going to buy either a Cruze or a Focus at some point in the next few months. My parents have a Focus that I've driven a few times, so I know what that car's like. I've valeted a couple Cruzes, but never driven one faster than 20 MPH or so.

Got a Corolla instead, which, blech.

[agentsteel53]

I think the fewest number of miles I've ever had on a rental is 11.

brand new Corolla.  six of them had arrived that morning - six consecutive license plates, in fact. 

[Truvelo]

I prefer to drive my own but the places I like to travel the most, North America, makes it impossible.

I have never had a rental car die on me and as the vehicles are generally replaced every 6 to 12 months there's always that new smell you get when stepping into one. I did have trouble with one car where the brakes shuddered every time they were used so I returned to the car rental company and was given an alternative vehicle. I suspect a previous renter was performing last minute stops with heavy braking and overheated the rotors causing them to warp.

As for the free upgrades that some on here have called gas guzzlers it depends what you want when you rent a car. For me it's vacation so I want something that's relaxed and entertaining. Cars with good mileage tend to be dull to drive. A tin box with a tiny underpowered 4-cylinder engine won't do when I'm climbing the Rockies with 10% grades. As gas is half price of what we pay over here I couldn't care less whether a car does 20 or 30mpg. I always book a full size car which would be something like a Taurus but the upgrade will be a Crown Vic instead with its 8 cylinder engine. On some occasions I have ended up with SUV's or, as I did last week, I got a Dodge Challenger.

[froggie]

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've never had the "bait-and-switch" issue that some here have alluded to, with one exception.  But that exception was a government rental and I had no control over it (which, BTW, is why I will *NEVER* own a Dodge Caliber...no offense to Brandon).

[corco]

I haven't either, which would probably turn me off renting since I do it for the fuel economy. I've gotten stuck with a Nissan Cube, which didn't get that great of gas mileage. I also got stuck with a Kia Soul when I had booked a Chevy Malibu/Ford Fusion/or similar but I actually really liked the Soul and it got fantastic gas mileage. If I didn't insist on buying an American car, I'd probably buy a Soul- that vehicle is basically perfect for my needs (great gas mileage, I can sleep in it if I have to, decent enough ground clearance that I can take it on a logging road and not feel guilty, quite inexpensive, available with a stick).

Somebody tried hard to upsell me to a Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible once, but I wasn't going anywhere near that.

I usually don't book the economy class of car, because you usually get stuck with some stripper tin can with the fleet motor and no cruise control and a crap transmission that doesn't get great gas mileage (when I've booked in that class I've gotten a Nissan Cube, a Chevy Cobalt with no cruise, and a Hyundai Accent that didn't even have power windows). I book compact/intermediate to get into the Ford Focus class and will often upgrade to the standard if there's a vehicle on that lot that will get better mileage (I've had great luck with the last generation Fusion especially)/the same mileage but is enjoyable to drive. I don't book in that price class from the beginning because I don't want a 200/Avenger- those are perfectly good cars bought off a lot, but the fleet versions have these terrible 4-speed automatics that get shit gas mileage and aren't fun to drive- the ones off the lot usually have Chrysler's silky smooth 6-speed. I'm happy with a Malibu/Fusion and haven't gotten stuck with a Camry/Sonata/Optima/Galant yet- I had the choice between a Fusion and a Camry once, but since my strong preference is to drive a car built by a company headquartered in the USA I opted for the Fusion. I think I've rented 10 times or so- rented/gotten (Enterprise unless otherwise noted):

1: Rented compact, got 2010 Ford Fusion, so yay
2. Rented economy,  got 2009 Nissan Cube which sucked
3. Rented intermediate, upgraded to 2009 Chevy Malibu that had the six-speed automatic, so that was good news
4. Rented compact, got 2010 Hyundai Elantra which was awesome
5. Rented economy, got upgraded to 2010 Toyota Corolla which was fine
6. Rented economy, got 2010 Chevy Cobalt with no cruise, which sucked
7. Rented economy, got 2011 Hyundai Accent which meh
8. Rented economy, got 2012 Hyundai Accent that actually had roll up windows and locks, no cruise control
9. Rented standard, got 2012 Chrysler 200 with the shit powertrain, got terrible gas mileage
10. Rented standard, got 2012 Kia Soul that was awesome
11 Rented compact from Hertz, upgraded to 2012 Ford Fusion for not much money. Had leather seats, sunroof, cruise control- very well equipped and got great gas mileage. Probably my favorite rental car ever.
12. Rented compact, got 2013 Toyota Corolla. Got what I paid for.

Then I've driven a few motor pool Dodge Avengers out of the U of Arizona and U of Wyoming motorpools that had the same shit powertrain as the 200 I rented.

Now that I'm out of underage fee territory, I'll probably take my business to Hertz whenever possible as they don't make you stipulate what states you will visit in the contract and generally have better cars (my Dad always rents from Hertz, so I've been in a lot of Hertz cars) for not much more money. Under 25, Enterprise almost always has the friendliest underage fees- the place in Laramie always waived them for me, and the one in Butte did as a goodwill gesture for this last trip when I pointed out that I was returning the car the day before my 25th birthday. The people at the Enterprise in Tucson were kind of dicks, which is why I switched to Hertz for the last rental there.

[oscar]

Now that I'm out of underage fee territory, I'll probably take my business to Hertz whenever possible as they don't make you stipulate what states you will visit in the contract and generally have better cars (my Dad always rents from Hertz, so I've been in a lot of Hertz cars) for not much more money.

The only time I had that issue was with Enterprise, which at the Baton Rouge airport tried to limit me to Louisiana.   Only problem was, the shortest route to my second business destination cut through southwestern Mississippi, so I insisted on adding Mississippi.  Then I told my secretary to never book me with Enterprise again. 

I did later wind up with Enterprise on a local rental through a dealer, a "free" rental while my car was in the shop.  Of course, there were a few little charges I had to pay (not terribly offensive, and probably not unique to Enterprise, but still).   I've since declined free rentals from any company, using public transit instead.

[AsphaltPlanet]

I usually rent with Enterprise.  I have rented with Hertz too which was pleasant, and with Dollar in Texas, which I wouldn't repeat.

In 2011 I too got upgraded to a Ford Fusion and to echo Corco's sentiment it was among the better cars I have driven in the past few years.  Had leather a moon roof, great gas mileage and was quite powerful.  I rented a Ford Fiesta for a daytrip last week and was underwhelmed with it.  I always shudder when I get a Chrysler product.  I rented a Dodge Avenger while in Phoenix in the spring time and I think it was the biggest piece of crap I have ever driven.  Gas mileage sucked, it was way underpowered (particularly for mountain roads), and felt unbalanced while driving around curves.

[jwolfer]

We have rented minivans for long trips with the family.  Just nice to have the extra room.  We had a 2007 Sonata and it was nice to have a Chrysler Town and Country with the stow and go for extra storage and we could put one of the center seats flat for the extra room.  In the past we did rental cars for trips when we did not want to drive an old car with lots of miles from Jacksonville to Indiana

[jeffandnicole]

I've never had a problem getting a low-mileage vehicle with Dollar in Vegas - they seem to have quite a bit of turn-around and keeps them current (and I find I go out there often, which is why I brought that up).

My first trip out to Vegas, I rented a vehicle for 11 days (we included a trip to California on that trip).  I wanted to take a long, fun day trip thru Death Valley (in May, it wasn't hot), so I rented a 2nd vehicle for a day - a Jeep Wrangler, which Dollar had at the time.  First thing was taking the soft top off.  2nd thing was trying to take the doors off, but they were specially bolted on so the renters couldn't do that with basic equipment. In the 14 or so hours I had that vehicle, I racked up 535 miles driving all throughout Death Valley.

Normally though, when my travels don't involve flying, I prefer my own vehicle.  Like others said - I know the vehicle, but I also know what fits where within the vehicle, how comforable the vehicle will be for naps, etc.