My rising senior needs a car in upstate New York for a 10-week summer internship. He is under 21, but if he joins AAA, Hertz will waive the under-age fee and Hertz also has some good deals with monthly rentals and other specials. It will probably cost about $2,500 for him to rent for the summer, although he might be able to get some money back in rewards by getting an AAA credit card etc.
One of the available cars is electric, and there are convenient charging stations, so he could save some gas money that way hopefully.
The alternative is buying a used car and selling it back at the end of the summer. We know there will be a financial loss, but we have no idea how much.
Any advice from those who have done this before? There is no public transportation available and Uber/Lyft is super expensive.
(Oh, and our insurance won’t cover him for this, so he’s going to need his own insurance as well. )
We thought about buying a car he can keep, but he really doesn’t need or want one for his senior year (compact campus and great public transportation options) and parking is about $100 a month at his college, so that’s adding on another 1k to the cost of the process. But we should probably re-visit that idea.
I know American Express has car insurance for about $25 per rental that we use instead of buying the Hertz insurance. The 2 times my husband had to cash in on it, American Express took care of everything without even contacting us or our insurance as they were primary for the rental. I would assume other cards offer the same options, so worth looking into. Look carefully as some plans are secondary; the card I use it is primary.
@MMRose do you have an extra car at your house? You could have that shipped…or someone could take a one way road trip to deliver it to your son. We got a car on the east coast, and DS and a friend drove it across country. If something like that could happen, you would only be shipping the car one way…
I’m skeptical that he needs a car for 10 weeks. (My son took a fellowship in the NE and walked for a year. It was a 1.5 miles each way from his room rental.)
If you post the town/location, perhaps our NY posters could offer some suggestions.
That’s something to consider. We don’t currently have an extra car, but we are looking to replace my car soon, so that is something that might work.
You might want to check Turo and see if you can negotiate a monthly rental fee. Some people have extra cars they post on Turo and would probably love to rent for an entire summer.
If considering the EV rental, check PlugShare for charging locations and comments. It’s possible he could charge near work or home with no hassle. There are quite a few level 2 chargers around at very low cost or free depending on the area.
Define, if you feel comfortable, “upstate New York.” It’s a big place, with anything north of NYC carved into different areas.
Anyway … I don’t think it’s a bad idea to go ahead and buy/keep a car for him. Or you. Look at certified used Toyotas or Subarus. If you buy it and keep it in your name for the time being, it is likely he can remain under your insurance as an authorized driver. If it’s in his name, he has to get his own insurance. That’s how it was with my 22 grad - until she bought her own car, she could use the one I bought for her in my name and remain on our insurance.
My rising college senior has an internship in Texas and we are driving with her from Ohio, and getting a rental back. Reverse and repeat at the end of her internship. Not as far as you, but far enough that we considered a rental even though she has her own car (that is in my name). We nixed it based on finances alone, plus knowing that her car is in mint condition despite being used. You never know about rentals for the long term.
He should check in with the person who runs the internship program to see if he can get connected to the other interns. If someone else with his start/end dates is showing up with a car, having someone who will split the gas costs (incidentals like the occasional parking ticket) might be a viable solution. Or splitting the taxi costs (two way, three way, four way). Or finding someone who is leaving the company in June to attend grad school and has a sublet within walking distance of the office?
I’m sure this is not the first time the company has had new employees or interns who didn’t own a car (and some people don’t drive-- one of my kids didn’t even get the license until after college graduation, long saga) and I’m sure they can come up with a cost-effective solution.
Checking with internship/HR is an excellent suggestion. Son was able to find a carpool partner that way (but in your situation your son might be the driver or the carpool partner). The first and last week there was no overlap, and I’m really proud of what he did to make it work (6 miles on bike, 40 min commuter rail, 6 more miles/uphill on bike to work; reverse logistics on the way home, 9pm dinner).
Like almost all the other companies, Turo has a hefty surcharge for young drivers. The only way to avoid the surcharge is AAA rental via Hertz, based on my morning’s Googling.
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