francesco_m

I'm going to spend two months in NJ (Monmouth county), and I'll need a car mostly for local use for that period of time. Anyone has suggestions? Any rental agency is better than others? Buy one when I get there and then sell it when I live?...is this an option?

Thank you!

screenwriter2006

Renting at a car rental location away from the airport will save you money (avoids airport related extra fees). Also I know sometimes a 31-day or more rental will save some of the taxes. You'll have to check with the rental companies. Note that some credit cards limit their insurance coverage to 2 weeks or one month, so you may want to do two rentals for a month to ensure coverage.

lizziea06

That's not necessarily true re credit card coverage. Some major cards won't cover monthly rentals, only daily and weekly. Read the description of coverage carefully.

Ryan

You might check with National Car Rental. They tend operate mostly outside of airport locations and will pick you. In a suburban location, they are likely to have more cars than a franchised Avis location. Not sure of specific locations in Monmouth county but I know there are several.

If you're thinking about a short term lease, perhaps you might want to check with David Michael Motors. They are a fairly large dealership group on Route 9 in Freehold. Perhaps they'd be willing to swing a deal as I'm sure they have cars coming off a lease.

In terms of buying outright, I would suspect you'd take a fairly large loss in the difference between what you paid and what a dealer would be willing to buy the car back for. I know if you purchased a brand new car, the depreciation can be quite severe just for driving the car off the lot.

Though I have not rented a car in NJ in a few years, I actually found the Newark Airport rates to be far better than what I could get where I lived or when I rented at the Jersey short. The airport taxes may be a bit higher, but every municipality has a high tax on rentals. I would compare the cost between the airport and non-airport location.

francesco_m

Thank you all!

I've checked a few rental agenices, and it seems cost would be of 1500/2000 US$ for two months rental for a small/medium size car. I would be using it mostly for local transportation.

I surely wasn't thinking of buying a brand new car. I thought a 1995/2002 car could be affordable and would not make me lose too much to sell it only two months later. Anybody has experience with something like this on ebay?

Thank you,

Francesco

mclaurie

Actually, $1500-200 sounds cheap to me, especially if you're not a US citizen with insurance that might give you some coverage. Those prices might not include all the insurance you need.

I can't imagine you'd want the aggravation of having to sell a car at the end of your stay either.

Check Enterprise.com They have 4 locations in Monmouth county and on the website claim they have special "month or more" plans that you have to phone about.

You might also want to look for local car dealerships that might do rentals/leasing like the one Ryan mentions.

karameli

I would absolutely rent a car rather than buy. Please keep in mind it is illegal in New Jersey to drive without insurance, and rates here are some of the highest in the country. Make sure you do plenty of research on insurance before considering a short-term purchase. (If you do go with this option, I recommend the 1994 or 1995 Ford Escort -- super-cheap and surprisingly reliable. I've owned two for a total of a quarter-million miles.)

Budget (www.budget.com) also offers monthly rates if you decide to go with a rental.

SusieQQ

Agree with Enterprise.com . I have used them for rentals and they have good rates and good service. They offer a pick up service.

gail

I am assuming you are not from US. Do you know anyone here or if it is a business trip can company do this for you. That is, contact a car dealership that person has done business with in past and ask about either a long-term rental or short-term lease arrangement. Or even buying the car and selling it back to them in 2 months.

nytraveler

Unless your timing is very loose I would never consider buying a used car.

To sell it privately can take weeks. And to sell back to a used car dealer (the only ones likely to take a car that old except as a trade in) you are likely to get a really bad price.

Also - you have all the issues/hassles of getting registration and buying insurance. And the latter can be very expensive since they have no access to your driving records - and will have to charge you as a risk pool driver.

marleyzoemom

We live in Monmouth County. You can take the train from EWR to Spring lake or a town close to where you will stay, and enterprise will pick you up- I have had nothing but good luck with them in Wall Township....Renting at the airport will add tons....not that New Jersey doesn't need all the revenue they can get!