I am driving across the states this summer, and need to hire a car for about 5 and a half weeks. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this as cheaply as possible? Most of the mainstream car rental companies are quoting about £2500 and so i am keen to see if there are any companies i dont know about that could do it cheaper.

thanks!

That sound very high...would it be cheaper to get weekly hire cars and pick up another car when you drop off?

Weekly rentals are usually the best rates but would incur hassle.

It sounds like it would be cheaper to buy and then sell rather than hire..if you're feeling adventurous!

Car rentals for UK citizens are also expensive because of high insurance. I had a family member from England use this website last year after a lot of searching around. He needed a minivan (people mover) and it was by far the best price and included insurance. Don't know if it will help you.

http://carhire.airline-network.co.uk.../link.ashx?lp=

Nonresidents encounter huge difficulties in terms of insurance and registration if they try to buy and sell cars in the US. Generally not worth the hassle.

You might try searching under "leasing," or look for "long term rental" options on the car sites.

You should also be aware that rental companies charge different amounts depending on your home country, and visitors from the UK often pay a premium compared to US residents. Not fair, but fair is not a term they focus on at business school.

Interestingly, after posting that info, I tried getting a price for a month rental to discover you can only rent for 28 days and then must return the car and get a new rental. It's doable but must be done in 2 separate rentals. It's still worth costing out with them.

Did a quick search for other ideas and came across a similar question form another forum. Here's a thought....a co. that puts drivers together with people who need cars driven cross country.

http://www.autodriveaway.com/default.htm