Would you rent or take your own vehicle?

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Going back and forth in my mind. Maybe you guys can give a different look on it. Weve been going to Virginia every year, renting a house on Smith Mountain Lake. I normally rented a minivan, I loved the caravans with fold flat middle row. The X3 that we had at the time wasnt large enough to fit me and my wife, our junk and the dogs, and with my wholesale account at Enterprise it was well worth the room. Now that we have a son, I picked up the GL a year ago to fit all of us comfortably. I found out yesterday that her father has graciously rented a large house down there, and her family will be coming as well, and as usual, he will not accept money. I will be taking care of the pontoon boat and probably a pair of jet skis for the 9 of us that week. Since I have a much lower cost for our vacation this year, would you rent a mini van like we always did in the past or take the large SUV that you own? Looking around, it seems to be about 650-800$ for that week and 2 days Id rent one, and a bit less renting a 2018 Pacifica on Turo (private vehicle rental). Im really looking forward to taking a long trip in the GL, but any type of issues would lead to a huge headache, as finding someone to fix a Benz let alone a diesel one may be a tough proposition in the hills of Virginia. Im guessing the tow back home alone would equal the rental. SO peace of mind with the rental or save the money?
 
I'd spend the savings on taking everyone out on a nice dinner before I rented a car. Unless your GL is too much of a heap, but you have many old euro cars so I doubt that.
 
Get a AAA membership for a little peace of mind and take the Benz. When you get back from your vacation you can brag on BITOG about how well it ran on your 1,000 mile round trip. ( There's a MB dealership in Roanoke ).
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There's a Mercedes dealer in Lynchburg, if you have any issues. This appears to be a 500 mile trip one way, so I would take my own vehicle.
 
I'd rent the van, based on my experience. Did a 650 mile road trip in a 2011 Durango with my parents... similar size and cargo space to the GL320. It was us and our 2 kids in the Durango. My parents rented a Grand Caravan and it was them, my sister and her girlfriend at the time in there.

The van had WWAAAYYYY more space than my Durango. We were packed to the roof for the most part. The van had a ton of extra room and they ended up taking some of our stuff as well.
 
Sounds like you're worried about the Benz. Rent something new and relax on vacation. On the other hand, if I had a vehicle that I was worried could make a 1000 miles trip without breaking down, I'd put the rental money towards a new vehicle with better reliability.
 
Prices on Turo seem higher than car rental agencies especially with the limited mileage. Looks like insurance is included though so that's a plus.
I would take my own but you know the MB better than anyone here does. Is it dependable or likely to break down.
 
Originally Posted by Jarlaxle
If you don't trust the GL, replace it. If you do, drive it.


That says it all.

If you can't trust a 12 year old modern vehicle you own for a vacation trip, you are doing some thing wrong.

I have a 20 year old Acura SLX I use as my "when I need it" SUV. I keep it maintained so I could drive it to Boston tomorrow if I needed (I live in Seattle). That may be extreme, but if I couldn't trust it to do family duty when another car was down, I wouldn't own it.
 
Thanks for the input, my worries were mostly from my mind just wandering, all of the what ifs. I think Ill take it, the car is in great shape and doesnt leak a drop. Ill probably be under 100k by the time take it also, plus Ill be bringing my scan tool and a decent set of tools.
 
Originally Posted by Leo99
Sounds like you're worried about the Benz. Rent something new and relax on vacation. On the other hand, if I had a vehicle that I was worried could make a 1000 miles trip without breaking down, I'd put the rental money towards a new vehicle with better reliability.


Amen. Only I wouldn't buy a new vehicle. I'd get a new used one....

And with all the rich people on SML, you better believe there is a Benz mechanic around. PM me if you want me to look around. I live 30 miles from there. I never made enough to afford a house on SML.
 
So for a once a year trip, ppl recommend buying a newer more reliable car? I disagree, a less reliable car may very well be fine for around town, doesnt mean I should buy a new car for a once a year trip. Rent for a week and its what 1 or 2 months of a car payment? Still alot cheaper than buying a used car. Id rent and have piece of mind and enjoy your vacation. I rent a car for 2 weeks every year for vacation. Costs me about 1 month of a used car payment when my 07 Corolla is older now but still gets me around as my DD at home.
 
Having been stranded in the middle of Kansas once, 6 hours from home with a failed transmission, I lean toward rental if there's ever any questions concerning reliability driving my own car across country. I was literally in the middle of nowhere, it cost $150 to tow my truck ('01 Nissan Frontier) to the nearest shop only to find out it's a mom & pop place that won't work on "[censored] trucks;" he put it exactly like that. Another $300 tow to Olathe, KS which was the nearest Nissan dealer. They charged $300 to diagnose a failed front pump, needed to replace entire transmission to the tune of $4,000. Had to rent a car to get home, ended up selling my truck remotely from home, which if you've never done before I don't recommend! Lost a ton of money in the whole ordeal.

So yeah; I don't recommend unless you're reasonably confident there will be no surprises!
 
Rental. All the way.

Why put all the miles on your GL? Let someone else take the hit. Rent with a credit card that offers primary coverage (I carry the Chase Sapphire, purely for primary rental coverage) and you're good to go.
 
I rent cars every week, for work.

I recently reserved a Lincoln continental, mostly because it has heated seats and plenty of interior wiggle room for a 2200 mile winter trip. What I got was an infinity Q50. No heated seats, tiny trunk and too small/tight for the crew. Might as well have rented an Altima.

My point is that you cannot count on rental companies to get you what you expect or what you really need.
 
You sound like you're trying to justify it by your not spending money elsewhere on the vacation. So it's burning a hole in your pocket.

What are the odds of your SUV breaking down on vacation? 1:10? Save the $650 every time and suddenly you have $6500 you otherwise wouldn't.

And what if it does break down? You don't have to be at work the next day. Low stress! Meet some cool people who can be helpful. And you shook something loose that could have inconvenienced you later, more.

It's a bit snobbish to assume you own a car so ridiculously complex the people in "the badlands" won't be able to fix whatever happens.

Not to mention the dumber issues, like a power window stuck down, which can be solved with a hefty bag and some duct tape.

I say run what you've got.

PS I fixed my own 32-year old benz diesel in a box store parking lot. The Carquest did at least two hub runs per day and I got my parts without having to spend the night!
 
Originally Posted by eljefino
It's a bit snobbish to assume you own a car so ridiculously complex the people in "the badlands" won't be able to fix whatever happens.


I don't think it's snobbish, it's reality. Many rural areas have nothing but a smattering of local indy mechanics, many of which, in my experience won't do anything but basic stuff to anything even remotely foreign. Then forget about parts availability, even the chain stores carry a very limited selection of low volume parts (i.e anything Mercedes.)

More than likely, nothing will happen and the trip will go just fine. However, if one were adding variables together to come up with a calculation for or against renting, having a Mercedes is definitely something I wouldn't leave out!
 
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