Permanently Renting Instead of Owning
Nov 12, 2018, 6:38 pm
#301
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: The place where it gets so hot in the summer some planes can't take off.
Programs: Marriott LT Titanium, WoH Globalist, National EE, United Platinum
Posts: 1,446
Interesting.
Why not leasing a car? You can get economy cars for quite a bit less than 680 which also includes insurance and maintenance.
But one thing is that as a rental car you can swap it out anytime you want to try out diff vehicles. Though to me personally that's not worth the cost since I usually will buy used cars between 10-20k and use it for 10+ years.
If someone is resigned to be forever under a car payment then...well guess it can make sense.
Be careful about "double covering" for the LDW insurance. My CC says that if you take the rental company insurance then their own rental insurance is invalid
Why not leasing a car? You can get economy cars for quite a bit less than 680 which also includes insurance and maintenance.
But one thing is that as a rental car you can swap it out anytime you want to try out diff vehicles. Though to me personally that's not worth the cost since I usually will buy used cars between 10-20k and use it for 10+ years.
If someone is resigned to be forever under a car payment then...well guess it can make sense.
Be careful about "double covering" for the LDW insurance. My CC says that if you take the rental company insurance then their own rental insurance is invalid
I'll have to check my CC coverage. I have the National LDW so I guess I'm covered no matter what.
I don't want to lease or buy an economy car again... my Camry was very economical but wasn't my favorite car. Anything with a good infotainment system, decent sized touch screen, cooled seats, and reasonably fun to drive (I looked at a Honda Accord as a middle of the road vehicle) was still quite a bit per month for purchase or lease. You also need to factor in an additional $50-$60 or more for insurance vs a non-owner policy. If you're putting a ton of mileage on the vehicle $.545 doesn't make up for the wear/tear, maintenance, and depreciation.
If you want to keep a car for 10+ years or buy a used economy car this doesn't make sense. It can make sense if you like nicer cars, your rental location has a decent selection, and you planned to trade in/lease every 3 years or so. I know a ton of people who pay $550-$750/month for a lease, albeit for a nice luxury car, and still shell out for maintenance or have to deal with insurance in case of an accident.
