Do you rent a vehicle for long road trips??
 

Just curious to know what you guys do? Assuming you have a dd that can hold your luggage when you travel say 4 hours or more away, do you rent a vehicle or just use your own car??

I got into a discussion with a friend and he prefers to rent a vehicle when going to places far like vegas instead of driving his own vehicle cause its putting more miles on his car.

I disagreed.

What kind of car does he own that he's worried about putting miles on?

Cars are meant to be driven :shrug:

My family and I have never rented a car for trips. We drive down to Florida at least twice a year and occasionally up to Pennsylvania.

My ratty-ass TL even made it to Kansas City and back last summer :tomato:

he has an accord coupe, but i think this question was before when he drove his families accord which at the time had 80kish miles.

Its not that its the particular car, i think he would do this with most cars he would own unless of course money is no issue.

just realized my poll question is the opposite of the thread question :tomato:

Ha I voted wrong in that case.

I rather drive my car on a long trip, had a blast when I drove from Chicago to Toronto.

Why bother owning a car then?

Drive that shit

An Accord Coupe? That car was built to be a good commuter car. They practically have no set number of miles where the car would suddenly become unreliable.

Tell him to drive that unless he can find a quicker & cheaper form of transportation.

Nope. I've never rented a car to go somewhere if my car was suitable and capable.

Your friend considers Vegas far? L.A. to Vegas is about 250 miles. That is not far.

Of all the long trips I've done (Vegas, San Francisco, Arizona, etc), I've only need to rent once because my car wasn't big enough. We needed something that could fit 6 people (had a Camry at the time).

I rent when doing a trip for work when driving is faster.

Otherwise no.

I have in the past, but not for quite a long time now. If I don't want to put miles on the Acura, I'll just take the repmobile.

Never rented a car for long drives. Done many MA -> NJ drives (around 4-5 hours) - and many MA to MI drives (1000 miles each way).

Why pay $50 a day for a car (or more) that is 1/2 as good as the one I paid for? Doesn't make sense.

I don't go on many trips in fact I really hate traveling, but on the rare occasion I do and its a long trip, I rent a vehicle. I don't like putting a lot miles on my car in such a short period of time, then there's the issue of stuff on the highway kicked up by tractor trailers messing up your hood and front bumper.

I haven't rented in about 5 years, but then again I haven't gone anywhere other than Augusta from Atlanta.

We rented minivans for several road trips when we didn't have one and needed seating for more than 4 passengers.

I once rented a car for a work road trip because it was much cheaper (a Volvo S80) for the client than to charge mileage on our own cars.

Renting a vehicle just to save on mileage makes no sense otherwise.

Depends on how many people are going, and how much shi....er....stuff you're taking. ;)

I have a TSX wagon.

What do you think? :D

as long as you are worried about leaving your AAA range take the rental

After putting tons of miles on my cars driving Fl to NYC & back. The last 3 trips I rented a nice full size car.

The main reason we bought the acura.To drive it not to leave it parked. Love roadtrips.

I know folks who have done it for a few reasons:

1. They didn't own a car that was large enough (Rented an Expedition EL/Excusion)
2. Rental was about 75 bux a day and they figured that the cost would offset miles put on their car in wear and tear
3. No worries in the event of a break-down or accident, the insurance covers everything and they walk away.

this is his reasoning, not ranting against it, just was against the idea and wondered how most people think.

I voted wrong, too.

The only time I might rent a car is if I flew somewhere and need flexibility in transportation.

If I'm driving somewhere it's with my car.

:werd:


I jsut got back from a trip from ohio to florida and ina period of a week put 2500 miles on my car. the only thing i ever worried about on the trip was getting too tired. These things are hondas, they are meant to be driven, rental cars just in the long run cost way too much.

Renting a car for trips when you have your own is like renting a hooker for sex so your girlfriend stays clean. :2cents:

I just returned from driving my CTS-V on a 3000-mile, ten-day road trip. Why spend money to rent a car? I'd prefer to put the miles on my car, which I drive every day and know like the back of my hand. BTW, it was an AWESOME driving trip. Epic in every way. God bless the Mountain West and their speed limits of 75 mph, and twisty roads through the Rockies. :drool:

Why would you take a rental if you have a car that you would even consider remotely fun to drive?

Pretty much what everyone said....you have the car, it's meant to be driven, so drive it!

Every time.

Whenever we head to FL or NY, we rent a sub-compact on the real cheap, pick up a larger car (Emerald Club FTW) and put the mileage and wear and tear on someone else's vehicle. Much much cheaper then flying, and better then putting the wear and tear on our expensive vehicles, or taking one of our fine gas guzzlers... :D

Oh and re-worded the question and reset the poll...

I now voted wrong. I originally voted Yes to do you use your car for long distance roadtrips. I think you should start this poll over.

if it's a 4 hours trip each way, then no I wouldn't rent a car. If it's a really long trip then yea I would rent one. Depending on the space in the car, how many people are going, if I can put everyones stuff in it... there is a lot of factors that will help me make that decision

I can see if you rarely make a long distance drive or maybe even a short trip of say 500 or 1K miles....But when you drive 3K miles round trips, 3-4 times a year for 4 years? That's a a lot of wear, that's money for tires, plus oil changes.

I drive my own. But then again I use my GS for work now and sometimes put on 1200 miles in a week just for work :)

It's a non-binding, non-scientific poll. Should be good as is... :chuckle:

:nod: The longest I would travel without renting a car is about 4 hours each way, and even that is pushing it; I would do a long trip like that in my own car once a year at the maximum.

I just can't tear up my car on long trips when I can get one of the cheapest rental cars available, make the trip and spend less over the long run than eating up my own tires, oil, and not to mention road hazards like gravel kicked up from the tractor trailers, and road salt which eats up the hood and front bumper which is what sadly happened to my (former) TL coming back from Augusta interestingly enough.

I don't make many trips to begin with and most of my trips involve me going from Atlanta to Augusta, or from Atlanta to Simpsonville, SC. I don't make those trips very often, so when I do, I usually take my own car, but if I see I am going to be traveling frequently, then I would rent a car for at least some of those trips.

Nope. We jump in the CR-V and roll. Myself, the wife, the 5 year old and 2 85# Weimeraners. It takes a large roof box to make it work. ;)

Nicely put...lol

I rarely rent as well unless I'm flying somewhere and need a car to get around.

Rental cars aren't that cheap either :shrug:

Think about it, you're essentially paying for the wear and tear on someone else's car, plus their profit.

I have rented in the past for cross country road trips. Especially trips through national parks and off-roading. On a road trip with my father, we hit a large Moose in Idaho early in the morning coming out of Yellowstone. What PITA it would have been to deal with our vehicle, it would have cut our trip short. Instead, they delivered us a new car and we were on our way. Also, if you don't have the vehicle to do it in comfort and style, might as well unless you're on a tight budget.

People keep talking about wear and tear, I just don't get it... I thought wear and tear is driving 2 miles back and forth to work every day and having all that carbon plaque build up and hitting the breaks 100 times in those two miles -- vs engine running at optimal temperature (have to go at least 10 miles I guess) and brakes not being used barely (engine load usually slows me down when someone is blocking the passing lane)

I always thought I am "extending" my car's life by taking it on road trips, it's its only chance to run at optimal temps.

:squint: