Thinking about renting a car a few days a week instead of owning one, is this a good idea?

Question

How much can I expect to spend on a vehicle to rent a car 2 -3 days per week?

Would it be cheaper than leasing or buying my own car ?

Answer 1

At $50 per day, that would be $100 per week or at least $400 per month.

So it might be about the same, but if you were at 3 days per week it would be probably be more expensive than owning a basic used car.

Of course a key question is what economics defines as the "Utility Cost"  With owning the car what is the value of using the car on day when you are not planning to rent a car.  

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Answer 2

It is called leasing, except you get to keep it all the time. Cheaper than many new cars but far more costly that buying a 3-4 year old car.

Answer 3

I once figured that my Audi cost me $5000 per year (on depreciation / lost value and insurance).  That did not include the repair and gas (because the car was under warranty).

So that comes out to about $400 per month.  

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So if you can spend less than $400 or less on rental, it would make sense.  Or let's say for real rental (like nissan sentra), $300 or less.

Good Luck...