New Car Question: Has anyone ever done this?
 

I had a friend who came out to visit and rented a car for a month. The rate for the entire month was around $600, which was much less than the same car would be to buy with no money down. I started thinking: if a person always buys cars on payments (I do), never puts money down (I don't if I can get away with it) and always trades the car in before the contract is paid (I never keep a car long enough to pay it off) it might just make more sense to rent a car month-to-month from a rental agency and always have a close-to-new car with a few thousand miles on it.

So I called Enterprise Rent a Car to inquire about such a thing. The representative confirmed that Enterprise does indeed have a leasing program which, done through a business name, is even less per month than $600 for a mid size vehicle INCLUDING insurance. She's having a leasing specialist give me a call tomorrow to discuss it with me.

Here's my question: has anyone on the board done something like this?

That seems like a fine idea as I'm paying over $1k/mo for my car. Only problem is I wouldn't be able to do any interior modifications for a system installation. I wonder if they would have a problem with it if I brought it back all-factory before I returned it..hmm

I'd love to do that though since I get bored with cars quickly.

I have leased vehicles over the years but never from a Rental Car place. It sounds like a good idea if the math works out. Does the 600 include unlimited mileage?

Will be easy to compare once they give you a quote.

Common sense tells me you should be able to lease say a GM Tahoe from a dealer like thru GMAC Lease cheaper than you can from a Rental Car agency, but who knows, keep us clued in.

A lease is usually 2-3 years.

Not a bad Idea, you can bring back a rental anytime you want, a lease has a hefty penalty for early termination...

what sort of car are you talking about?

For one thing, I don't have good enough credit to lease. That's what's odd. Belinda and I bought a house in November (I was her co-signer) so my credit is good enough to do that, but it's not good enough to lease. It's good enough to buy a car, however. But the buy rate is 11.75%. The payment would be equal to leasing the same car through a rental agency. The difference is that this way I would have a different car each month that has less than 5k miles on it. I love that new car smell. This way it would last forever.

i like your idea donny!

The funny thing is this would include any car they classify as mid-size, or any mini van. Or anything in their non-premium SUV category (such as an Explorer or equivalent).

It would include unlimited miles, yes. See my response to Boy Alley about the lease through dealer option.

When I buy a new car I never customize it. A few years ago I bought a new F250 4x4 Powerstroke Diesel truck and Belinda wanted me to raise it and put new wheels on it. I wouldn't. I like stock for some reason.

Fuck customizing an F250. That's a work truck. You haul shit in it. I could see customization on an Escalade or some other nigga ride. :2 cents:

I don't have it anymore, but it was a crew cab (4 regular sized doors) and was very nice. It had all the options and was used more like an SUV than a truck. Still, I am not the customizing type.

I'm the same way. I like everything the way it is, stock. I wouldn't mind getting some nice new wheels with the low profile tires though. I think it would look nice on the Caddy. Tinted windows too. But who knows when that's going to happen. I'm impatient when I have to do this crap, that's probaly why I don't do it.

You're making me get a truck now. There goes another few hundred dollars a month. :)

I don't like to customize my cars either. I tend to drive Mustangs, and I've never done anything to them. Why bother? I trade them in on the next car and I would have l lost whatever money I put into it. My last car - The Mach 1 - was the same.

The car I have now has a mods to it which is cool, but otherwise I don't invest my time or money into such things.

Also, you shouldn't be buying cars without putting any money down. The sooner you pay it off the more money you'll save. I tend to pay my cars off as quickly as possible to save on the Interest.

Ive done this before. Used to rent Jags/Escalades from Hertz regularly.. For many months at a time. Its very expensive but its true you get new cars constantly.

I have this "thing" about car payments, I hate them. I buy a nice, reliable car, pay it off, then drive it for as long as I can until it dies of old age.

My last car died at 320,000 miles.

Then I bought another one.

I see where you're coming from though. I just can't stand always having car payments.

29....yay!

i've done this for several months at a time.. every 4-5 months i travel for a month or two.. saves a lot of $ in the long run.. plus i swap vehicles out sometimes depending on what i need :1orglaugh

i only pay like $9/day for a small car, like $20/day for a big one.. i have a discount

I worked for a company that did this with all their company cars. In the long run, it's more expensive than leasing. But if a new car every few months is what you're after, then go for it. I find it hard to believe it includes insurance since full insurance (if you don't have it on your regular car or credit card that will transfer over) is usually around $15 a day, but if it's in writing that it's covered, you're good!

And a house is a LOT easier for a bank to take back than a car which is why you were approved for a home loan and not a car lease ;) Plus having the house on your credit report could have lowered your score.

The answear is leasing! :)

not true, most manufacturers have open ended leases now or flex plans that gives the buyers more options then just trading the vehicle in at its due date.

thats gotta be a US only fact then cause in Europe fines are HUGE

only problem i could see is that people tend to abuse rental cars but hey, if you're leasing the repairs aren't your problem i guess.

the major issue with leasing is you have a limit to how many miles you can drive each year, like around 12,000 a year. if you plan on taking some road trips or something in it, well, then it may not be a good idea

Nope, never done that.

OMG 2 - 3 years?!? God forbid if someone were to keep a car THAT long

I do rent cars from months to month since I've got to montreal. My friend has a rental compagny so he gives me good price ($1200 for a infinity QX).

I change car every month thought.

He dosen't charge me for klicks too...