What would make you consider running a much smaller car and hiring a bigger one only when you need it?

Answer 1

Hi

If the rental prices were cheaper I'd consider it for sure!

Answer 2

I haven't read the other posters so I have no idea what the consensus is...I would think that the same argument could be used if you said would you consider using public transport for work and a small car for pleasure...in both cases I would say No...and for the same reason, public transport is costly, unreliable and dirty...hire cars are costly and may not be available when required assuming that everyone decided to do the same thing...I personally have a people carrier, although there are only my wife and I, but we use the car to take my daughters family out and about when they visit...that was one of the things I took account of when choosing the car in the first place.
So the only time I would consider what you propose would be if the bigger hire car was cost effective, could be delivered and collected door to door and was readily available at short notice....

Answer 3

This idea has been around for years. I recall a similar question being asked in 1984.

The theory was we do our day to day motoring in for example a Fiesta. We hire a Granada when we take the family on holiday. Yes it was a Ford sponsored meeting but other manufacturers were posing the same question.

Whilst it makes sense in some ways – why drive round in something that carries everything including the kitchen sink when there is only you and the wife? There is no justification for a people carrier when there is only you.

There is merit in the idea but the problem is to persuade people. That is where it falls down. Very few people would willingly do so.

The car is a status symbol – The bigger the car the bigger demonstration of your success. The same argument applies to speed. Why are cars sold on the basis of how fast they can go when legally we are restricted to 70mph maximum? You could term it “The Boast Factor”

I feel that the idea is doomed to failure without legislation and taxation to back up the idea. Marketing is geared to persuade us to want bigger and more expensive. The idea that we should downsize is anathema to most.

It makes sense but I will not hold my breath waiting for it to happen.

Answer 4

It makes sense to reduce your petrol bill.If you go alone use a small car.There are many small cars between 800 to 1000 cc giving 18-20 km per litre.Parking at busy places may be easy.When you travel with family or there are many people then use the bigger car.If you hire bigger car when only required is more beneficial.In fact I use an 800 cc small car and when in need hire a taxi as Taxi Stand is very near.While i was at a different location where taxi stand was far away,I used one big (when needed)car and same 800cc for local trips and office work.

Answer 5

Lower costs of hiring, and smaller cars being more comfortable for longer trips.

The former, because I bet I'd find a larger car would be needed more often than imagined.

The latter, because if you spend any length of time on the motorway it's not pleasant bouncing along at high revs in a small-engined car.

The frequency of motorway use combined with often unpredictable and short notice demands for more carrying space makes the idea of hiring a bigger car when required for these purposes too costly and inconvenient.

Answer 6

Nothing, I just switched from a Ford Fiesta 1.1 to a Mazda 323 GLX 1.5 last week, for the simple fact that I wanted a bigger, faster car.To be brutally honest, I was sick and tired of bigger cars up my backside and overtaking me me, just because I had a weaker,more sluggish engine with terrible pick-up then them.

Pulling out of a garage on the main road, with nothing in sight, before I know it, these big cars are up my a***!

Theres nothing but big cars on the road now, and its not gonna change, its as simple as that. I agree with the comment above, that car companies are making cars bigger then ever now, take the Micra for instance, and the new Ford Fiesta, you cant avoid it.

No-one wants a small car,they are rubbish, I dont want to be stuck in the slow lane.I wanted a big car because small cars are not in any more,they are slow, sluggish and according to the majority, not 'cool'.
We can afford to run big cars no problem,if people couldnt, they wouldnt be driving them. Im a 25yr female by the way, not a boy-racer, and the majority wont own up and say that its just not 'cool' to own a small car. I think thats the main barrier.

Answer 7

If i it were financially feasable i'd own 2 cars, a bigger one for the weekends when i were going places with friends or for when i needed it, and a small one for shuttling to and from work of a weekday, however its discouraged by having to buy a separate tax disc for each vehicle, despite you only being able to drive one, and being hammered for 2 lots of insuarance. not sure about hiring one, as i use most of my jeep at the weekends, either being full of stuff from the builder's merchant or full or people, it'd be unfeasable to be shelling out for a vehicle of the size i need. Also as i dont own a brand spanky new one, it doesnt matter too much if i scratch it a bit or the interior is a bit messy, Rent-a-car people dont like cement dust on the seats when its returned.

Answer 8

A rental system which worked on carbon offsets, so if I use the bus and the tube all year, I get a free car to take the kids on holiday in the summer. Lexus 4X4 , the fuel efficient one would be nice. Someone who had a smart car could get themselves a life as a rally driver, or whatever they wanted, for £5 a day
As for all those people who drive all the time, they should get free bicycles for the summer

Answer 9

Already down sized my car but wouldn't want to hire. Most hire cars are the basic models so you lose out in comfort,why would anybody want that.
I drive a Pug 307 and really anything smaller is a non starter.

Answer 10

I wouldn't consider getting rid of my 'big' car as I tend to get called upon at short notice. However, if I could afford to own a small car as well I would certainly use it for the work/shop run.
(Instead of trying to 'pursuade' people to get rid of the big car by increasing the tax burden, why not encourage and incentivise the use of alternative fuels. A lot of modern diesels can run on ordinary vegetable oil - but once the fuel duty is added it's more expensive than diesel).

Answer 11

With the low price of quality used cars, which still hve years of service left in them, why not own a bigger, more luxurious and/or higher performance car for evenings out, weekends, touring, and maybe trips abroad?
I must say though, having recently bought a little Fiesta and now keeping the Mercedes for non-commuting, I arrive home at the end of the day worn-out.