Renting or Buying

[shrek_2226]

Hey Guys,
After a little bit of advice (don't know if this is the right section of the forum so please move it if I am wrong).

I can't decide whether I am better of renting a car (total price about AUD$2750) or buying a cheap one of ebay and then picking it up.

The benefits / disadvantages I have thought of are as follows:

- Renting $2700
(Inclusive of Insurance, Unlimited KM's, No need to pay for any repair work)

- Buying $2500
(I would have to buy insurance and repair if neccesary, plus pay for taxes however I would be able to sell to a dealer once I reach new york and hopefully spend about $500 in total)

What do you guys think. I definetly understand it would be abit of a gamble buying but potentially it would work out well. Is it possible for a non-us resident to register a car? What taxes are payable?

Thanking you in advance,
Alex

[Robert Schaller]

The hassle of buying vs the convenience and security of renting make it an easy choice for me.

You won't find much of anything with reliability for $2500 AUD. That alone would discourage me. I don't know if a non-US citizen has to pay sales taxes or not.

You can register and insure a vehicle as a foreign citizen, but I believe you'll need a US address to use as a base in order to do so (if I remember correctly). Perhaps you have a friend who lives here? Also, be sure to get yourself an international drivers license before arrival -- contact your consulate for information on that. This will be a requirement for the insurance.

[akabootie]

I live in Hawaii and I am planning to go on a month long summer road trip. I was wondering where I would be able to get a good rate on renting a truck or small SUV in the LA or San Francisco area? Or should I ship my own truck to the mainland to use for the month? Cost to ship is about $950 and renting a truck is about the same or up to $2000?

[PNW Judy]

Gosh, if it's actually cheaper to ship your own truck, I'd be tempted to do that. But there must be some drawbacks? Like...how long would it take your truck to get there and back? If you have to ship it a week or two before your trip, will you be OK using public transportation during that time or what? It also seems that it would be a hassle to pick it up at the port. And if you have a major breakdown toward the end of your trip, would you feel comfortable leaving your truck with a mechanic to work on and get to a port to ship back to Hawaii? Or could you extend your stay until the truck is repaired so you can get it to the port yourself?

It seems like it would be easier to pay the higher rental fees to not hassle with all of this to me.

Car rentals are usually cheaper than SUV/truck rentals. Is there some reason you really need an SUV or truck?

[akabootie]

My truck would still have one year left on the warranty. My sister lives in San Fran and I would stay with her and I would also have transportation here at home if I needed it. I have the flexibility to change plans being that I have a two month vacation. I know renting a car is cheaper than a larger vehicle but I hate being couped up since I am six feet. One of the down sides is I would be racking up the mileage on my own truck. I barely put 4500 miles on my truck in six months. Renting is looking even better every day. Do you know of any rental places that I would be able to get a good deal for a truck or small SUV.
thanks

[Mark Sedenquist]

Renting is looking even better every day. Do you know of any rental places that I would be able to get a good deal for a truck or small SUV. thanks

All of the major companies rent SUVs -- I use National Car Rental and find that the quality of their vehicles is always up to snuf. A giant caveat, one of the clauses you will sign with just about any US rental company is that you agree not take the vehicle off-pavement. If you do, and we all do, you earn all sorts of problems. There are companies that rent vehicles that are designed to go off-pavement, but the surcharge is about 40-60% of the normal cost of the rental. Generally, you can figure that you can obtain Chevrolet TrailBlazer-style SUVs for about $200 per week or $800 per month.

Mark