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-   -   Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/international-automotive-scene/7893-buying-owning-driving-maintaining-car-north-america-10.html)

The most Fuel efficient car I could rent was the Nissan Altima Hybrid. But rentals for hybrids cost much more.
A cobalt will easily give you 30mpg city and 35mpg highway
Best is to search sites like avis/fox rent a car/budget car rental etc.,
you will get a car for 150-170$/week + Insurance. LDW(Loss damage waiver) is another 9$/day.
Your total cost will be 12+9 for Insurance and LDW/day(same everywhere)
Add another 10$ minimum for the car
So total cost all inclusive should be less than 1000$/month.

For example Fox rent a car gives car for $9/day in LA

Another thing, get in touch with rev_hard and scout for some Non airport locations.
This means you save as much as $9/day over non airport locations

Hey,
Thanks a lot guys !! I really appreciate.
@tsk Thanks for the info it has helped me a lot. 1000$/month is a bit too much for me, I just want to pay till 600-700$.

@rev_hard Thanks a lot brother. My bugdet is 600$/month but last I'll pay 700$ if I find a good car. Please let me know which cars do I have in option.

Thanks.

Hertz rents Prius Hybrids now a days and i found it to be a good car in terms of fuel efficiency. On long drives it gave me about 48mpg. Even on short drives it is supposed to give more than 45mpg this i heard from a Prius owner.

IndianDawg, the problem is insurance.
The cheaper LDW(Loss damage waiver) is 9$/day
Insurance(compulsary for you since you need third party damages) is 12$/day
So if somebody gives you a car for free you pay
21$/day = 650$ approx
The cheapest car you can find is probably 10$/day, this comes to 300$
So there is no way you will be able to fit below 900/month

I suggest you rent a car for weekends(weekend rentals are cheaper than weekday rentals), and on the weekdays you take the bus
I know california public transport esp in LA and San Diego sucks, but if you plan your trips in advance and check bus timings on website you can travel unlimited for 3-5$ a day depending upon the area.
When I was in Irivine in 2006 I did a lot of bus riding since I did not have a car.

Better option would be to buy a decent secondhand car (say a 2002 Civic for example)....for around $10k and sell it off at the end of 6 months...it wold cost you about the same if not less.

On east coast, Enterprise has a special scheme for long term car rentals....check out if CA has any rental agencies that have such schemes.

I got Cobalt from enterprise at $560 for a month in LA without insurance. My company has the insurance so I didn't have to take the additional Enterprise insurance.

This is corporate rate for a month. For short terms it's much more expensive.

Now I upgraded to a Chrysler Sebring at $660/month.

hey dawg. gas was almost 5 bucks a few days ago. now its around 4.50 a gallon. consider this very seriously. if you are planning to commute anything over 20 miles one way everyday then please consider buying a sub $2000 car and get rid of it when you leave.

rentals are minimum 1200-1300 all incl but w/o gas. civic is for 1350 a month.
do ask your visa sponsor if the company you are going to work for will pay your insurance and/or car rental cost. sometimes, if you are lucky, they do!

a slightly risky option is not taking the complete insurance cover but getting just the $12 basic insurance. but then you won't be able to drive it like you stole it on these amazing roads. your call.

Thanks once again.
Will keep in touch :)

Hi guys,
I'm back with another bang now hehe
I'm 20 and i'll be turning 21 this December.
I checked out Atwest Rent and Auto Rent both in San Diego and also I heard Enterprise who gives car to rent for under 21.
When I checked out Enterprise site it says I cannot rent as am underage.
Atwest do give cars to rent for under 21 but covers no insurance.
Still I have to phone Auto Rent and find out more about it.

Anybody who can help me out in this bad situation.
Thanks, I have been a noise around but I really appreciate your help.

oops. You are in trouble buddy.
Most places are very strict for under 25. You have higher rates etc.,
Under 21 its very very difficult, if not impossible.

Rental under 21 is very expensive if available. Most of these rental companies need the renter to be atleast 25 or else there are various random fees.

My advice... buy a cheap car and then sell it off when you are returning.

For a 6 month period, buying a cheap japanese car sounds like a good idea.

When i was under 25, i used to rent from National Car. I dont remember whether they had any underage clause, but if it was there, there was a cheap alternative.

Under 21- I am not sure.

Thanks for your replies.
E-mail from AutoRent
Here are the details for your inquiry. Picking up August 28th 2008, to March 26th, 2009. We calculate a monthly rate, based on 4 weeks. Every 4 weeks, counts as 1 month. You would have the vehicle for a total of 8 months. I can give you a discounted rate of $700 per month. Which include full coverage insurance, that consists of liability, and collision. This also includes the fee of you being under the age of 25 years old. Total for the 8 months would be $5,600.00 total.
Auto Rent Car Rental of San Diego - Best rates for all car rentals in San Diego, California 888-809-2727 :)

awesome find dawg! ask them about taxes though. its about 7% here. overall it might bump the cost by $600.

Already 50$ down bro lol still i'll get him to 600$
Thanks


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