Vacation Travel Rent Or Use Your Vehicle

Would I rent a car just to do a trip?
No, seems silly to me when we already have a couple that are quite ready for any trip.
Drive or fly?
Depends on whether you're heading to a destination or on a road trip with multiple stops along the way, in which case it makes sense to drive.
Anything approaching a thousand miles where the goal is to get there and then get back, well, that's why we have airliners.
 
Does Avis not give you the ability at your status to walk down the aisle and pick a vehicle? I'm President's with Hertz and Executive with National (both via credit card bennies FYI...I only rent about twice a year) and I can't remember the last time I had to ever go to a counter to get issued a key unless it is such a small venue that there is no "pick and go" aisle. Your example is ORD where I will skip the counter in less than 2 weeks with National and take my pick.
No, Avis simply assigns a car and sends a text what stall it is in. One can change the vehicle from the Avis app, but often is no alternate vehicle available.

The assigning of the vehicle appears to be a manual function at the airport rental location. Some Avis airport locations, to include major airports, seem unable to assign the vehicle in advance. When this happens, the preferred renter is supposed to skip the main Avis counter and go to the Avis preferred kiosk in the garage. Issue is, you walk past the main counter, go to the garage, and often find the Avis preferred kiosk unmanned, so then you have to walk back to the main counter, and the line grew longer than when you walked by it five minutes earlier.

Not so long ago, I was renting up to five cars per week, most every week of the year. One starts to learn a few tricks to avoid lines, especially at smaller airports, where only one counter person may be present. One trick is don't go to the bathroom when you get off the plane, make a mad dash to the rental counter. A delay to the rental counter, even if a small delay, can risk an auto renter from having a person in front of you that has credit card problems, but won't leave the counter. I have seen police called to get people to leave with a non-working credit card.

Another is getting to the counter quickly because the rental location runs out of cars, first guy to the Avis counter off a flight gets a car, following guys in line don't. And finally, when no cars are available, play the DYKWIA card and show you are a President club member, show how many cars you have rented in the past year, and that you will take a "broken car". I have had locations with no working cars give me cars with major crack in windshield, accident damage, etc- by playing the DYKWIA card. And I hate playing that card, as I am a nobody like everyone else, but having a rental confirmation and no rental car available one goes to whatever it takes method in trying to get some wheels.

The reasons a rental car location runs out of cars is often because prior renters failed to return the car on time. There are numerous reasons a renter fails to return a car on time.
 
The assigning of the vehicle appears to be a manual function at the airport rental location. Some Avis airport locations, to include major airports, seem unable to assign the vehicle in advance.
That seems to be my experience also. Sometimes I am told "pick any car in Aisle 3" or sometimes I am told specifically my car is in stall 3F or whatever. It varies airport to airport.

I told this story before, but I think it was on another forum: I flew into Boston and rode a very crowded shuttle bus over to the EXTREMELY crowded rental center. Every counter had about a hundred people in line. But being a Rewards member, I followed the signs up the escalator and into the garage to check the monitor. At the kiosk, there were another hundred people in line, and there were people all along the walls and everywhere else sitting on their luggage or on the ground; there were children crying, wives arguing, etc. It looked awful. They had been out of cars all day. But up on the monitor were about a dozen names, including mine, so I headed to the indicated stall and found my car waiting there with the paperwork in it and ready to go. Fastest rental pickup ever! Thus I highly recommend joining the rewards program of your favorite rental company. It has been a real timesaver for me.
 
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Back in the day, rent. When a daily rental was in the $20 range (this was 2019). I figured spending about $270 all in, to keep 1,100 miles off of our own car, in 6-7 days, was worth it. Example is our family trips to Toronto. Get a car from the Phila. airport, leave our own in our driveway (taxes and fees were horrendous but no selection non airport).

I haven't even traveled for work since the pandemic, so am not aware of the rental car cost as I type. But if it's say $45, I'd drive my own car. The real reason to keep miles off imho is warranty, not really anything else (we don't and will never lease). One mess up with say a toll reader and the whole rental car proposition is out the window since the rental car co. assesses their own charges. There was one pesky bridge in the Buffalo area that had misreads and locals racked up thousands of dollars in fines over $1 tolls. It would be better to have this happen with one's own car, not a rental. my .02

p.s. going back to 2000, I rented cars from the Phila airport for $12, and I'd go to Montreal with buddies. I was furious when suddenly, one day, the price went up to $14. man did we have it good 25 years ago. Today? Despite having a quadrupled salary, everything is relatively expensive. In thinking about this, 4X the year 2000 is probably average to above average. That's not a CPA partner's salary increase for sure. That may be about 20X so a CPA partner is better in 2025 than in 2000. queue the Talking Heads song
 
I get the per mile thing, but to be simple. You spent $80 x 7 out of pocket. Which you really didn't have to spend. 2400 miles is a drop in the bucket wear, tear, depreciation. You never realized this savings in a practical sense.
$80? I said if in the 20's ok lol
 
How about this question--do you rent a car if your own has illegal tints? Because not every state let's it go. And that has to be greater than 50% where I live.

Add some more factors--your car has no reggie, no inspection, no insurance, and you don't have a license, like 30% of the people where I live. Now, you do want to rent a car. There has to be a way to rent a car as an unlicensed driver, it's your right. lol
 
I’m driving my own. At the end of the day, it’s a vehicle. I take care of it, it rewards me with reliability and trust, otherwise I would get rid of it.
 
Time constraints, usually. Some times I had a max of 7 days off, so Flying to Vegas or Miami cut out a day or day-and-a-half drive each way.

I would literally fly to Vegas after my last Day shift and be on the strip that evening. Nor do I want to drive a 2000 mile trip home to be exhausted and need to get up the next day at 3 am for a 12hr shift.
I've had the opposite too. Flying from Colorado Springs to San Diego our plane broke in Phoenix with an 8hr wait. Could have driven faster.
 
It really depends. I have a what most American called a small wagon, sit 4 comfortably with room for enough luggage, but it is still not a minivan and it only get 40mpg. If I am going to do a 2000 mile road trip in 3 days I would likely rent a very efficient car that gets 50-60 mpg with just enough space. However, if it is done in 20 days I would take my own car, or if this is done to places that my rental company refuse to insure (i.e. some part of Alaska), I would take a beater there instead.

One thing I did a calculation on long ago: it is cheaper to buy a car that works for everyday and then rent special purpose cars when I need to. In the long run I save more even if I have to rent something once in a while.

Not knowing what you currently own, what you want to rent, how many people you plan to go with, etc is very hard to say which way works better.
 
Headed to Phoenix next week and will NOT drive from Florida.

LOL
From Southern Florida to Phoenix a long ride.

From the Panhandle of Florida to Phoenix can be a nice road trip.

Depart Panhandle early, stop in greater New Orleans area for a locally made breakfast/lunch.

Spend the night in San Antonio, dinner on the Riverwalk.

Wake up, drive to El Paso. Nice Mexican dinner in El Paso, maybe catch a Chihuahuas minor league baseball game, spend the night in El Paso.

Depart El Paso, have lunch at Portillos in Tucson, make it to Phoenix for dinner.
 
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