How to lease a car for 2 months
May 28, 2021 11:36 AM   Subscribe

We need a car for 2 months. Can we? Tell us the safest, most economical way? It needs to be insured, and we have been warned about the small print at the end of the lease period. Connecticut, if that makes a difference.
posted by ebesan to Work & Money (14 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Sounds like you can RENT a car for two months. I'd check if a dealership can let you do that.
posted by kschang at 11:44 AM on May 28, 2021 [6 favorites]


You might be able to find something on Turo (peer to peer car rental).
posted by pinochiette at 11:58 AM on May 28, 2021 [1 favorite]


Just be careful with monthly rental if you're using the insurance on your credit card... they sometimes don't cover you for any rentals over 30 days. One way to solve that is to rent a car for 1 month twice, if that's an option.
posted by Grither at 12:20 PM on May 28, 2021 [5 favorites]


You could consider just buying a used car and selling it. You might take a smalll hit but it probably would be comparable or better to what you'd spend renting a car for that long.
posted by thewumpusisdead at 12:26 PM on May 28, 2021


The simplest option given you're over the usual 28 day limit for car rental insurance is a "car subscription", which typically includes delivery and insurance and month-to-month renewal. The only option I'd heard of before this question is Care By Volvo, "the all-inclusive car subscription from Volvo", but it's on the pricey end and a few minutes on Google should throw up lots of other options, e.g. this article looks like a good list.
posted by caek at 12:33 PM on May 28, 2021 [4 favorites]


You'd have to pay for 4 months with Care by Volvo, it seems.
posted by Seeking Direction at 12:39 PM on May 28, 2021 [2 favorites]


(By all means check you options for traditional car rentals, but you may find they are extremely expensive right now, because the pandemic caused a bunch of inventory issues.)
posted by caek at 12:40 PM on May 28, 2021 [2 favorites]


For insurance, you can buy non-owner's liability insurance (and perhaps other types of nonowner insurance) through some traditional insurance companies. It's typically for 6 month periods, but you may be able to do it for a shorter period. Even if you don't, it should be much less expensive than buying from the rental company. I bought it through Allstate, then switched to Geico, which was much less expensive (around $80/6 months, I think). Rates and availability may depend on your locality and circumstances.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 1:00 PM on May 28, 2021


Response by poster: Changing the question somewhat - if we lease, (24 or 36 mo.) can we then buy the car? Does this make sense economically if possible?
posted by ebesan at 1:07 PM on May 28, 2021


Yes, there's almost always a purchase clause at the end of a standard rental agreement but they're not always favorable compared to the value of the car at that time.
posted by Candleman at 1:24 PM on May 28, 2021


Yeah, I rented an almost-new car for $600/mo before the pandemic, but I think the prices have gone up across the board since then.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 1:45 PM on May 28, 2021


Is zipcar or one of their competitors available in your area (enterprise and others have something similar). It's basically a membership (low monthly fee) and then schedule a car for when you need. Gas is included and there is aagas card if you need to fill up. It includes insurance too.

I've used it several times when business traveling and I needed a car for yadda yadda but didn't need a rental car all day every day.... Really a lovely experience when I've used it (I specifically used zip car)
posted by chasles at 3:16 PM on May 28, 2021


You can also take over someone else’s lease. Check out these two websites: swapalease.com and leasetrader.com. Both will tell you location, monthly rates, how many miles are left and other pertinent info, including whether you can return the car to any dealer at the end.
posted by carmicha at 4:24 PM on May 28, 2021 [1 favorite]


I was in this situation once where I needed a long-term rental (4 months) and found this place in Atlanta. Unfortunately, they're not national and I know you're in Connecticut, but just wanted to say that it is possible it could exist there too.

I did use my own insurance. It was Progressive and they didn't care that it was a rental. It wasn't any more expensive that when I owned my car.
posted by LizBoBiz at 3:04 AM on May 31, 2021


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