Seasonal Car Rental

az99 wrote:
Does anyone have any suggestions for long term (2-3 month) car rental during the Fla. snowbird season? I was thinking maybe used car lot or such. I would like to explore other options than dragging a car all the way down and all the extra costs associated with towing.
Thanx

All I can tell you is I was totally shocked at what the rates for rentals are down here! :E

Just a heads up for you.
Didn't make any difference which well known chain of rentals I called the cost was over double what the rates where in the Midwest. AND there was not one of them that offered any of the discounts I was accustomed to up North. Floridians will tell you the rates are normal but they don't have anything to compare to. The rates are way high compared to the Midwest rental agencies. They can and they do because they have a captive audience and destinations like Disney.

For what you would have to pay for a rental in Florida you could pay for the gas to drive back and forth 4 times towing your toad and still be ahead and have money left over for a nice dinner out! :B

In 2011 we paid $142/week with Thrifty for two weeks on a compact in Myrtle Beach. Their monthly rate is in the neighborhood of 3.7 times the weekly rate.

We use this place. Rental

And if she goes to a nicer restaurant by her self she uses this one With driver

For $500 and another $300 in repairs, we bought a used 1992 Buick Century a few years back and left it in the carport. With 93,000 miles on the odometer, we reasoned that it was good for another 30,000 or so since our 1986 Buick registered 124,000 miles before we finally traded it.

fchammer1 wrote:
For $500 and another $300 in repairs, we bought a used 1992 Buick Century a few years back and left it in the carport. With 93,000 miles on the odometer, we reasoned that it was good for another 30,000 or so since our 1986 Buick registered 124,000 miles before we finally traded it.

I agree that for anything more than a few months, this is probably your best option. You can even spend a few thousand and get something newer, drive it for as long as you need it and then sell it (I did for with a car one winter when I was working in Florida (Mostly I was looking for an excuse to drive a Miata) and for a boat another year).

Don't forget about the factor in the tax but if you are going to spend $500/month for 3 months, you can easily spend $4000 on a used car (plus about $250 tax + $50 licensing (not sure about that one) + a few months of insurance), drive it for the 3 months and then sell it for $3500. The longer you stay, the more beneficial it is. If you plan on returning the following year, you can also look for a farmers field where you can get outdoor storage for cheap and leave it there for the summer (disconnect the battery).

Its going to be so expensive to rent a car in that particular season, as most of the agencies double their price. So you better check the details and price list and then decide whether you want to hire a car or not. Last time I hired a car from http://www.tripntourpackages.com/. That was very neat and clean almost new car. But in that particular season rates were high. I compared all agencies like Hertz, avis etc but in the end I took one from tripntourpackages.

Buy one when you get there, sell it when you leave.

az99 wrote:
Does anyone have any suggestions for long term (2-3 month) car rental during the Fla. snowbird season? I was thinking maybe used car lot or such. I would like to explore other options than dragging a car all the way down and all the extra costs associated with towing.
Thanx

What extra costs beyond the initial set up? If you already have a car that can be towed 4-down, just get a towing setup and tow down and use as you normal would, tow back and you're ready to go on another trip.

Barb

As others mentioned, either bring yours down or buy one there and sell it when you leave.

Realistically, I think for anything more than 2 or 3 weeks, it will be cheaper to bring your own car on a dolly.

One other thing you could look for is try to find someone trying to get out of a lease with only a few months left on it. Timing might be a bit tricky but that would probably be your cheapest option. Or try finding a really short lease from a used car dealer.