Renting a car before buying that model?

[Satori]

Right now I drive a major POS that I won't trust to drive further then my AAA towing will allow (left me stranded on the side of the road a couple of days ago, its still in the shop waiting for a part). I'm setting money aside for a new car and will keep putting the money aside until the car needs another major repair (probably when the temp seal in the head gasket blows) then I'll go ahead and get the new car but in the mean time I'll keep saving up money.

Anyway I'm going to visit family next month and I do not trust my car to make the trip (I'll drive about 600 miles) so I'm planning on renting a car for the trip but I'm thinking maybe I should see if I can get the exact model of car I want (Toyota Prius assuming its little breaking issue has been repaired) to drive for the time we'll be gone. I'd hate to buy a car then find out I hated it! I thought I wanted a Toyota Corolla last time I went car shopping a couple years ago and I ended up realizing I hated it while on the test drive, I'm to small to drive it (as in couldn't really reach the pedals and was hugging the steering wheel among other things).

I also don't want to spend months worrying about driving the POS and feeding its huge gas appetite when I could have bought a better car and saved money after figuring out that I didn't want a Prius in the end and got a cheaper car (you can get a 3-4 yr old Prius here for $6-12k depending on the mileage, people don't want to shell out $3k for a new battery when the mileage starts adding up, I'm ok with needing to buy a new one if the price is right)


I've been thinking about car models for a while and on average I drive 36k miles a year which is a lot of miles and gas so a Prius in the long run would actually save me money and I just think there cute and I would be able to visit family on a much more regular basis since it would be so cheap with a Prius, it gets more then 2x what the current car gets for mpg.

So, rent the car for a week? yea or nay?

[zebra15]

if you can rent it go for it

[bobandjess99]

Sure, sounds like a great plan. Also, some places will let you take an "xtended testdrive" when yuo are buying a vehicle, like a full day and night even, so that you get to really know the car before buying. I would really look around for a place that does this, or else take several test drives on different dsays ( at different dealerships, etc) so you really get a feel for a car.
I understand about thinking you want a car, and finding out you HATE it....I was all set to buy a focus, money in hand, went to the dealer ship...and HATED the seat. it was awful. I'm not picky about stuff, I generally have to use whatever stuff is given to me, so I've learned not to be a "chooser", but this was going ot be my first newish/not a beater car purchase and I certainly wasn't going to give anyone ANY amount of money for my entire body/back/spine/legs/neck/shoulder/butt/hips to be TORTURED like they were in the drivers seat of the focus. Uh-uh.

[nd_deadhead]

An extended test drive (especially if you are planning to rent anyway) is a fantastic idea! Our previous vehicle was fine to drive in town, but very uncomfortable for me after about 20 miles on the highway (DH was comfortable, and he drove it more than me). We wouldn't test drive long enough to figure that out.

I'm thinking Toyota might be bending over backwards right about now to get people to buy their cars, so you might be able to talk a dealership into letting you take one on your trip, for less than the cost of a rental car company.

Have fun!

[mbhf]

Originally Posted by bobandjess99

Sure, sounds like a great plan. Also, some places will let you take an "xtended testdrive" when yuo are buying a vehicle, like a full day and night even, so that you get to really know the car before buying. I would really look around for a place that does this, or else take several test drives on different dsays ( at different dealerships, etc) so you really get a feel for a car.

Yeah, this. If you can find a Prius to rent, go for it! But I don't think they're available at your typical car rental agency. I went to check out the new Sienna over the weekend and they practically begged me to take it home and bring it back the next day. I did take it home briefly to show it to my husband and try out some carseat configurations but I brought it back that evening.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by mbhf

Yeah, this. If you can find a Prius to rent, go for it! But I don't think they're available at your typical car rental agency. I went to check out the new Sienna over the weekend and they practically begged me to take it home and bring it back the next day. I did take it home briefly to show it to my husband and try out some carseat configurations but I brought it back that evening.

I called the only local rental place and they only have 2 in the fleet and couldn't guarantee I'd get one. I'm going to call the dealer and see if they know or maybe they have a rental program.


ARGH, dealer said they don't rent and only enterprise gets cars from them and they only have the 2. Tried Hertz and they cant guarantee a Prius either since they only have 2-3 in the fleet too.

[xmysticprincessx]

When I sold cars, we often did an extended test drive for people who were on the fence about the car. The thinking behind it was that the people would take it home, see it in their driveway, neighbors/friends would see it, etc, and they would therefore get a sense of ownership of the car and then want to buy it.

I recommend getting a rental for the trip, even if you can't get the Prius. We took a vacation last week (drove over 2,000 miles, round trip), and my car broke down about 5 1/2 hours from home. Thankfully, AAA towed us to a good garage who got us in right away, diagnosed the problem, and had us out a few hours later. (And didn't screw us over.) Its worth the money for a rental to have the peace of mind that you're not going to be stranded on the side of the road and spend a day or two of your vacation while your car is being fixed or worrying about being screwed by a dishonest garage.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by xmysticprincessx

When I sold cars, we often did an extended test drive for people who were on the fence about the car. The thinking behind it was that the people would take it home, see it in their driveway, neighbors/friends would see it, etc, and they would therefore get a sense of ownership of the car and then want to buy it.

I recommend getting a rental for the trip, even if you can't get the Prius. We took a vacation last week (drove over 2,000 miles, round trip), and my car broke down about 5 1/2 hours from home. Thankfully, AAA towed us to a good garage who got us in right away, diagnosed the problem, and had us out a few hours later. (And didn't screw us over.) Its worth the money for a rental to have the peace of mind that you're not going to be stranded on the side of the road and spend a day or two of your vacation while your car is being fixed or worrying about being screwed by a dishonest garage.

Its a moot point, POS DIED, went to car heaven and aint coming back. Its got low compression on all cylinders on top of its other issues. I will ask about an extended test drive since I want to see how it does on the hill to my town. The sales rep I talked to at Toyota lives up here too so I think he will totally understand that line of thought. I'm pretty sure it can handle it though Prius's are very very common here.

[mattemma04]

Renting is a great idea.I wish we would have done that.We bought a 2010 prius in September 2009,but I don't really like it.Want to buy it? Lol.

Besides renting I would recommend you do a search at the NTSB(?) and read through the complaints filed about your car(s) of interest.

My next car I want a very very basic car with the least amount of electronics.

Could be how I drive but last I checked I got 38mpg with the prius.My mom has a basic 99 corolla and gets 34mpg.

[mattemma04]

Given the issues with Toyota lately the dealership should be willing to offer a lot to get you to buy one of their cars.Our local dealers are giving loyalty cash in addition to the discounted prices.Best wishes.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by mattemma04

Renting is a great idea.I wish we would have done that.We bought a 2010 prius in September 2009,but I don't really like it.Want to buy it? Lol.

Besides renting I would recommend you do a search at the NTSB(?) and read through the complaints filed about your car(s) of interest.

My next car I want a very very basic car with the least amount of electronics.

Could be how I drive but last I checked I got 38mpg with the prius.My mom has a basic 99 corolla and gets 34mpg.

You won't see the 50mpg until you break it in which takes several months and a lot of miles and it gets poorer mpg during the winter months. Its discussed in detail over on one of the prius websites I've been reading. I'm looking at an 04-08 prius. I've heard people are not as thrilled with the 2010s as they are with the older ones.

[MyTwoAs]

Originally Posted by mattemma04

Could be how I drive but last I checked I got 38mpg with the prius.My mom has a basic 99 corolla and gets 34mpg.

Not to hijack the OP but I have the Lexus HS 250h hybrid which is rated at 35 mpg and I get about 38 mpg with it. I write about hybrid cars for a client and so I know the 2010 Prius is supposed to be about 50 mpg. When I first starting driving my car (I bought it in October), I was getting around 30 mpg. I finally started to pay attention to my driving (I used to have a sports car and perhaps I have a leftover lead foot hehe) and now I am up over the EPA estimate and do most of my driving on the highway (city mpg is higher than highway mpg, typically).

I've decided that getting optimal gas mileages out of hybrids takes a bit of finesse and a lot of practice.

[Ola_]

I think it's an awesome idea. It's something we wanted to do (also planning to get a Prius) but unfortunately we could find one to rent. We did get a Toyota Camry hybrid for our rental though and it was awesome! I really liked it and we had a long-ish drive there and back so we got to test the comfort, fuel efficiency, and just how it worked for us in general. A Prius is still an option (DH loves all the gadgets they're putting in it now) but we'll have to drive it first for sure to see how it compares.

We did learn however that the trunk has significantly less space due to the batter, so that's something to keep in mind (it was just the two of us on our trip so it wasn't a big deal).