






  • 1
    consider also the "rent a wreck" used-car-rental options – Fattie Sep 19 '14 at 8:24
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    As a note on the question: your picture shows a fancy sports car. Although rental companies often have these available, they are often subject to higher prices and special rules (e.g. no one-way rentals). If you look for a more modest car, you'll probably find a better price, and a better chance of satisfying your one-way itinerary (not to mention a more comfortable interior and better fuel economy). – Nate Eldredge Jul 27 '16 at 17:28
  • With the pandemic, there are probably a lot of people with significantly decreased use for a car that would be willing to loan theirs out for a month for $2000. I probably would. – Acccumulation Nov 5 '20 at 3:15

Buying option



Rental option




  • I do not agree at all that a car under $3000 is unreliable. In fact, it is the other way around. The cars they are building these days are designed to break down so that you keep buying new cars. Older cars before 1995 are very reliable and easy to fix some problems on your own rather than going to a mechanic. We bough our 94 Chevy g20 for $1500 and we have drive up and down the west coast many times and have owned it now for 3 years. Never a problem. And recently we bought a Hyundai Elanta for $700 had it for almost a year now. Runs great! – Road Trip USA Nov 20 '18 at 22:46
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    @RoadTripUSA: Of course you can find a car under $3,000 that will be very reliable. But you won't know until you've driven it for a couple months. Also you cannot reliably find a car under that price, that you can be sure will work without problems during a road trip. Thus, I stand by my statement that such a car will be "probably not very reliable". If you're willing to risk your holiday plans on the chance that you get a lemon, of course, you are free to do so. – Flimzy Nov 21 '18 at 6:52


I have bought a car in the US as a tourist four times, but over twenty years ago.

The first time I was only there for six weeks but I expected to go to all kinds of odd places at odd times so never considered doing it another way given the country's bad reputation for public transport.








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    The advice to avoid Japanese cars is no longer valid. Parts for Hondas or Toyotas are going to be every bit as available in the US as parts for Chevys or Fords. – Rob K Nov 20 '17 at 21:16
  • The reliability of different year & brand of cars varies greatly too, it's worth it to pick a very reliable vehicle to reduce the chances of a breakdown, but after 20 years the odds of problems goes up for anything. +1 to Rob K's comment, buying an American car just for the cheap parts would be especially bad, if another brand probably won't break down at all. {The Lemon-Aid car/truck guides by Phil Edmonston have been great for reliability ratings (might be Canada-specific but virtually identical cars are in usa)} – Xen2050 Nov 20 '17 at 23:23
  • There is no brand that will probably not break down at all and also no age. Giving such advice is tantamount to urging people not to prepare. In particular some problems are pretty universal for used cars that have been sitting unused for some time. I had to replace the water pumps on several cars for this reason. As for foreign cars, Japanese cars are definitely better and European cars are worse re obtaining parts readily and cheaply. But Ford and Chevy are probably still unbeatable in that regard. Another problem is cars newer than a certain age have more things you can't really work on. – hippietrail Nov 21 '17 at 7:32












From my personal experience, Hertz usually has the highest rates.





  • Apparently some Ford dealers do too.







All companies:
Renting from the Airport location of any Rental company is the going to have a hefty premium because of the added Airport related taxes. Look for a shuttle to an offsite office.

One-way rentals cost more because they want to keep the stock at the location it is at and not have to spend time moving it around.

Get involved with their loyalty program which is good for discounts on renting and sometimes options. If you have the funds, you may even consider establishing yourself with a rental agency in your home country which is also active in the US. This may smooth the rental process because they will have your information and as a repeat customer they will have a higher trust in you. The first time renter is their biggest liability.

AAA (Triple A) is an Travel company in the US, being a member of that can net you discounts on renting, hotels and some transportation(even trains oddly enough). its $40 a year for a basic membership and will get you a very short emergency tow (5 miles I think), but you would be getting it for the discounts.

You need to return your rental with a tank at least as full as it was when you left. There is a hefty surcharge if you bring it back less than that.

For Hertz:
The car you show is from the Hertz Prestige or Adrenaline line. Those are Premium rentals and can only be rented and returned at the same place. The gas mileage on that car would eat your $3000 much faster than you would believe.

The best Rental Rate at Hertz is the Manager's Special, however if a location is fully booked out, it may not exist. On the other hand, you can get lucky with a location that needs something moved, and you are going where it needs to go, a Manager's Special could be really special. This is especially true of driving one-way south from a northern state in the fall.

AAA has a fuel discount and rental discount with hertz. the AAA fuel rate may be cheaper than the local gas market.


As a previous person suggested joining a loyalty program could help reduce the cost. National give you a free day for every 7 rented. You could also try to use a combination of renting a car, and a discount airline like southwest. Kind of a hub and spoke method.

I also noticed that National has one way specials. https://www.nationalcar.com/en/car-rental/specials/one-way-specials.html
