Speaking of breaking the bank, I just got a quote on a Z4 from Hertz at SYD for one day (January 13-14):

Base Rate: A$170 per day, unlimited kilometers
Tax: 10%
Airport concession fee recovery: 15%
Vehicle registration recovery: A$4
Stamp duty: 1.5%

Total approximate charges (1 day): A$223.11

There is also a minimum rental age of 25, which is a deal-breaker for me (I'm okay with Avis thanks to our corporate contract, but we don't have one with Hertz).

So even if I was able to rent the car... US$167 per day is more than twice what I paid for a Chrysler Sebring in California (US$75/day) last autumn. Then again, other than the fact they both have four wheels and a retractable roof, there isn't much in common between a Sebring and a Z4.

The only bad part is that it would be an automatic