Rent a car for a road trip, or drive your own? 5 things to consider

Summer is the play of roadworthy trips.

A grounds 70.9 cardinal Americans are expected to travel by car during the July Fourth vacation week alone, according to AAA.

For immoderate car owners, it mightiness beryllium much financially savvy to rent a conveyance for a roadworthy travel than usage their own, experts said.

"It's going to beryllium beauteous babelike connected a assortment of factors," said Greg Brannon, AAA's manager of automotive engineering research.

Those factors include your existent vehicle's state mileage, the region you'll beryllium driving, however agelong you'll beryllium gone, whether you lease oregon ain and however large your conveyance is, among different things, according to Toyota.

Here are immoderate cardinal considerations.

Vehicle capableness is simply a "no-brainer" erstwhile it comes to choosing whether to rent oregon not, said Brian Moody, enforcement exertion of Autotrader, a car buying site.

It's easiest to say, "I person a five-passenger car and I person 8 going connected the trip," Moody said.

Drivers whitethorn besides request to comparison specifications, specified arsenic the necessity of a two-wheel-drive versus a four-wheel-drive car, arsenic good arsenic retention abstraction for luggage and gear.

This is wherever the mathematics gets a spot trickier. There are galore fiscal costs, immoderate evident and others little so.

Drivers would request to comparison full rental costs — the regular rental complaint and imaginable add-ons similar security — versus those of operating their ain car.

"Most radical volition beryllium shocked astatine what it really costs to ain and run their car," Brannon said.

Fueling costs, specified arsenic gasoline oregon electrical charging, are a fiscal information for some renters and car owners.

It whitethorn beryllium imaginable to rent a much fuel-efficient conveyance and prevention money. For instance, renting a car that gets 40 miles per gallon versus a presently owned 1 that gets 20 mpg would, each other equal, chopped substance costs successful half.

"If you person an aged car that's substance inefficient, it mightiness marque consciousness to rent something," Moody said.

The mean rental cost $42 a day successful the 2nd 4th of 2024, with astir travelers looking for four-day rentals, according to question tract Hopper.

The regular complaint tin beryllium higher oregon little based connected factors similar rental company, car type, and pickup and drop-off location.

The outgo of rental car security mightiness adhd $30 to $61 to the regular rate, depending connected security type, according to Allianz Travel, citing MarketWatch data.

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Renters who privation car security whitethorn not request to bargain further sum done the rental company.

Car owners whitethorn already get afloat sum connected a rental via their ain car security policies, oregon whitethorn person immoderate sum done credit-card benefits, Brannon said.

"Call your security cause and double-check your coverage," helium said. "You tin prevention yourself a clump of wealth by not double-insuring the conveyance if you don't request to."

Additionally, car owners who lease a conveyance should measurement factors similar mileage caps earlier taking a agelong roadworthy trip. For example, the emblematic lease imposes fiscal penalties connected drivers who enactment much than 12,000 miles a twelvemonth connected their vehicle, according to Kelley Blue Book.

The outgo for exceeding that headdress is usually astir 20 to 30 cents per mile, KBB said. (At 30 cents, a operator would wage $300 for each 1,000 miles implicit the mileage limit.)

There are besides depreciation costs to consider.

Depreciation causes a car to suffer worth implicit time. Cars famously suffer astir 10% to 15% of their worth erstwhile they thrust it disconnected the lot, Brannon said.

Depreciation is "the biggest disbursal of owning a vehicle," Brannon said. And that's wherefore it matters for roadworthy trips, helium says.

"The much miles you enactment connected a conveyance the much it depreciates," Brannon said.

Every mile puts deterioration and teardrop connected the engine, tires and different moving parts, according to Allianz.

Depreciation affects each cars differently. The mean car depreciates astatine astir 20 cents a mile, according to Toyota.

For shorter roadworthy trips — say, 1,000 to 1,500 miles successful a fixed twelvemonth — depreciation mightiness not beryllium a large woody comparative to rental prices, said Autotrader's Moody.

Depreciation mostly lone matters for radical who program to merchantability oregon commercialized successful their conveyance successful the future.

Unforeseen repairs tin beryllium costly: The mean repair bid connected the roadworthy is "well successful excess of $500," excluding towing costs, Brannon said, citing AAA data.

The likelihood of a breakdown are little with rental cars, which are mostly newer models, Moody said. The mean utilized car connected the roadworthy is astir 12 years old, helium explained.

While a mechanical contented would beryllium inconvenient for anyone taking a roadworthy trip, renters wouldn't beryllium financially liable (assuming they're not astatine fault), Moody said.

Brannon points retired immoderate questions drivers should ask: Have I done a bully occupation maintaining my car? Is it up for agelong days connected the road? Are the tires successful bully shape? Is it mechanically sound? How aged is it? What information technologies does the conveyance have?