Need car < 12 months. Buy, rent, lease?

[Mitch Kronowit]

I'm going to need a set of wheels for a short amount of time out of state, probably less than a year. What would be the best way to go about this? Should I:

1. Buy a cheap "beater" for a few thousand then unload it for cheap when I'm done?

2. Rent monthly from one of the big boys, e.g., Hertz, Avis, Budget, etc.?

3. Lease a car on a short term lease (miles logged will be very low)?

Thanks for any and all advice.

[Sharad M.]

Mitch,

Are you going to be driving the car everyday? If yes, then I think mathematically you will come out ahead with option # 1. If instead you are going to be using the car once every other week, then rental will be the best option.

Option # 2 and # 3 will give you the most convenience, but you will pay a price for that.

I would personally go with option # 1 mainly because of the cost.