Renting a Car: More Cost-Efficient Than You Think

by Omega Car rentals
(Auckland, New Zealand)

Renting a car used to be the exclusive domain of businesspeople who flew all around the country or world and needed wheels to make their sales appointments or corporate meetings. They wore suits and skirts, got their cars at the airport and zoomed off to nearby hotels to prep for the next day's agenda.

Now, many other people who do not do sales calls, regular people like you and me, are renting cars for shorter trips that do not involve airports or faraway destinations. The reason is that renting a car for any trip longer than about 150 miles one way makes sound economic sense. Let me explain.

Rather than rely on anecdotal evidence about elevated gas prices or soaring repair costs, lets examine one hard, cold fact from a reliable source: the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS allows a standard deduction of 51 cents per mile for business miles driven during the tax year 2011. That's a whopping increase of about 25% from just a few years ago, and a sound guide to how much it actually costs to drive in the U.S. now.

So, lets do a little math. You can take your car to see aunt Betty several states away this weekend and have the familiarity of your well-worn interior, pre-set radio stations and oft-used control panel. You also are adding significant wear and tear to your vehicle (which rises exponentially with age, by the way) and accumulating all kinds of hidden costs far beyond the $50 you are plunking down to fill the gas tank.

Lets say that aunt Betty lives 300 miles away. According to the IRS, you are racking up $306 for your round trip. Hey, she's worth it, but I would propose a cheaper alternative to wearing out your ride.

Consider the cost of a rental. If you go for the weekend to Betty's, you will earn a special discount weekend rate in many cases. You can often get a mid-sized sedan for about $25 a day. Furthermore, I am willing to bet that you can rent a car with better gas mileage than your current vehicle. If you can squeeze your family of four into a compact car, for instance, you might get 40mpg on that highway between here and there.

Lets add up our costs now and compare it with the $306 that you will spend taking your vehicle to Betty's: $50 for two days rental + $50 for gas (based on 40 mpg) + $0 for maintenance costs. Do you see what I see? $306 vs. $100.

In fact, if you are planning any type of trip to a destination more than 150 miles from your home, it will probably save you money to get there and back in a rental car.

The above does not hold true if you choose to rent a Cadillac Escalade at $80 per day with miserable gas mileage. However, for the rest of us who live in moderation, renting a car makes sense much more often than we have realized. Think about it before you pile into your van for your next getaway.

This article was written a car rental New Zealand company Omega Rental Cars. They have depots in all the major New Zealand cities, including a car rental Auckland Airport depot, and a car rental Christchurch depot.