Should I buy a car or should I rent one?

Question

I am going to be around in one of the suburbs in Massachusetts for next 6 to 7 months.

I basically have a shared car for weekdays. But weekends is a problem to go out as we use a shared car.

Should I think of buying a car for next 6 months (basic need is getting around on weekends) ? and then sell it off?

Will it be too dear economically if I rent one?

Obviously the rental will be expensive. I will have to pay around 3000 USD for six months rental. That is a money gone. But the cars come at all prices. I can buy a car for 5000 USD and sell it for 4000 bucks. But what about the other factors? maintenance, registration, insurance n stuff which add up to the cost ?

and we do not have public transport here. Suburbs!

Answer 1

well knowing insurance costs in boston I would just rent a car on the weekends where u can't use the shared car. Insurance alone on a car in mass is expensive to say the least. Then there is the repairs and tags. I can tell you that the average car today costs 32cents a mile to own and operate. based on 20,000 miles a year. Just doing the quick math if you rented a mid size car from someone it should be about 40 a day maybe get a weekend special. you might wind up paying 120 a weeknd or 480 a month. Between the cost of the car. If you pay cash figure loss of that omney doing something else. the hassel of buying someone elses headache, then paying tax and tag they trying to sell it to recover your money and in boston its going to get hit or scraped from time to time. Rent it, have piece of mind. if you find you are paying more then 700 a month on a rental then yea it might pay to do so. Have you looked into a short term lease? that too might be the way to go. Do you have a car back at your own home? look into shipping it to boston. I can get a car shipped from Fla to boston for about 600 bucks. Hanlon auto transport is one such company in the northeast. weigh it all and do whats cheeper. We just had a person rent 7 cars for the summer out in the hamptons for his staff. his business manager said in the long run it was cheeper. If you own it and you get tired of it you can't just swap cars. This same customer needed a 4x4 for a few days and we sent a driver to pick up his Focus and gave him a new explorer for a few days when he was done gave him back a focus. The focus we got back was full of dust and dirt for the polo club. The one we gave him back was brand new. He did not even have to go to the car wash.. renting does have its advantages.

Answer 2

If you have to pay 3000 USD for six months rental,why dont you buy a used car?
Two months ago,I bouht a near new SUV from online police auction.It only cost me $730 and i have not had one problem with it yet .
I followed the guide on
http://www.usedcarsinfo.info/index.php?t=usedcar .That site lists top 5 Police auction sites and help you choose the best one.
Hope that help you.

Answer 3

I suggest just renting a car for the weekend only. You could easily get by for $1000 and be driving a new car every weekend. Places like Enterprise will even deliver the car to you. If you belong to any auto club or fraternal organization you can usually get a discount, too.

Answer 4

Comparing prices is a good idea. And would you be comfortable in a 5-10 year used Escort or Corolla (etc.)? If so, buying a used car that runs might be a reasonable option.

Answer 5

Do you live in a city that has public transportation available? Why not use that??

Answer 6

Hi
You can find thousands of different auction and repo cars really cheap at http://www.carauctions.co.nr
Hope this helps

Answer 7

u have to compare prices. if it is more money to rent, buy it and then sell it for the same price.

Answer 8

You should rent a car.

Answer 9

You should take the T