When times are hard economically, people tend to take a close look at all of their expenditures. They may wonder whether they really need to make some payments, or whether they could get away with a simpler and more cost-effective approach in that particular area. You may be thinking along those lines if you're looking at the car sitting in your driveway. After all, it tends to sit there for rather long periods of time. Could you make a significant saving if you were to look into car rentals instead of own?

Transport Solutions

Some people find that they need a car regularly, simply because of their work schedule, or the fact that they live in a more remote area. However, other people live quite close to their place of work or may well be able to ride a bike instead, as a great form of exercise. Do you live quite close to a supermarket, or within the downtown area anyway? In this case, you may not need that car after all.

Cost of Freedom

Car ownership has its advantages, and there is always the freedom to go wherever you should like at the drop of a hat. However, this level of freedom can be quite costly and especially when you take into account depreciation, maintenance and average running cost.

Rent Versus Own

In this case, it may be better to sell the car and to rent a vehicle, whenever you need it for a special purpose. There are typically several rental companies in your area, and they will have reasonable deals for one day or weekend availability.

Making a Calculation

Before you make any decision, think about the number of times that you have used the car in recent months and make a note of the reason in each case. Could you have made alternative arrangements, or rented a vehicle instead? If you find that the answer is "yes" more often than not, then you need to talk with a rental car company and get some prices. You will be able to rent a family saloon, or even an SUV if you need more space for a weekend getaway.

Other Advantages

Once you have taken all of these costs into account, you can then compare them to your annual motoring budget and will invariably reveal a considerable saving. You should be able to reduce the size of your family's carbon footprint as well if you only use a car when you absolutely need to.