Getting a car for 3 months?

[heymrdj]

My brother would like to rent a car for about 3 months during the summer vacation. Something along the lines of a Ford Flex. Over those 3 months would probably be about 1,000 miles or so, maybe upwards of 3,000 but that's unlikely.

What's the economical way to do this? From what I can see leases don't go that short. But the weekly price to rent a vehicle for that long is astronomical. Certainly there's a "get a vehicle for those of us from a far off part of the USA" option 😵.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Is there a car-sharing co-op in your area? If so, this might be a good option.

You pay a refundable deposit to gain membership to the co-op, and then book your vehicle over the web. I believe you can rent by the hour or by the day, and then just return it to a designated location.

 

[heymrdj]

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
Is there a car-sharing co-op in your area? If so, this might be a good option.

You pay a refundable deposit to gain membership to the co-op, and then book your vehicle over the web. I believe you can rent by the hour or by the day, and then just return it to a designated location.

Never heard of this, definitely something to look into 🙂.

As an expansion of reasons, he's wanting this so him and his girl can have a little more flexibility getting around. He normally flies up there, but waiting to borrow one of the inlaw's vehicles to go out somewhere is a pain in the nads.

 

[Jeff7181]

Some rental places have deals on "long term rentals" which is what you'd be looking at here. I believe it works out to just a little more than what a lease payment would be, but it's a month-to-month deal. Don't have to agree to a certain period of time up front, and if you decide the next month you want to try a different car, no problem.

 

[helpme]

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
Is there a car-sharing co-op in your area? If so, this might be a good option.

You pay a refundable deposit to gain membership to the co-op, and then book your vehicle over the web. I believe you can rent by the hour or by the day, and then just return it to a designated location.

an example:

http://www.citycarshare.org/

 

[RU482]

Ah...I knew it was a San Fransisco thing. not that its a bad thing

 

[Throwmeabone]

He could try riding a bike to get around

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: Throwmeabone
He could try riding a bike to get around

Got a girlfriend to take around with me, and the minimum distance is 7 miles one way. Additionally we would drive for occasions, most of which would require us to not smell like the scent of... "vigorous exercise" 😀

Thanks for all the suggestions so far though guys 🙂

 

[Black88GTA]

Why can't he buy some beater, drive for 3 months, then resell it when finished? If he does it right, he may even turn a profit on it.

Or is he one of those "can't be seen in anything older than 6 months" types?

 

[Elganja]

Originally posted by: helpme

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
Is there a car-sharing co-op in your area? If so, this might be a good option.

You pay a refundable deposit to gain membership to the co-op, and then book your vehicle over the web. I believe you can rent by the hour or by the day, and then just return it to a designated location.

an example:

http://www.citycarshare.org/

zipcar in dc is very similar.

 

[sdifox]

Georgia has zipcar

http://www.zipcar.com/


never mind, I looked at the rates, it's not cheap.

 

[JDub02]

most rental car places will rent by the month. my rental was month-to-month during my last extended business travel.

 

[Arcanedeath]

Most rental agencies will let you rent on a 30 day / monthy basis, Zipcar is also an option in many major cities, you may also want to look into using a credit card for the CDW coverage, most are only good 30 days w/out a day break though, Getting a cheap used car may be the best option though.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: Black88GTA
Why can't he buy some beater, drive for 3 months, then resell it when finished? If he does it right, he may even turn a profit on it.

Or is he one of those "can't be seen in anything older than 6 months" types?

Couldn't care less about age. I actually like the thought of cars that are *just* barely running. It's kind of fun to me. But buying a car isn't really an option. I just dont have the liquid cash available for that sort of expense.