<p>In need of a car rental for a summer internship in the Dallas area, but I’m under 25 so the cost is outrageous.</p>
<p>Any suggestions?</p>
<p>used car lot</p>
<p>Any chance you could purchase a used car for the summer and sell it at the end of the internship time?</p>
<p>Yes. Used car probably best idea. </p>
<p>I agree. I actually bought a used car years ago that a student had used short term. Just make sure you, or someone who knows cars, takes a careful look at it. Depending on your logistics, you may be able to used public transportation to save costs and wear and tear on the car as well.</p>
<p>I looked into a three month rental for my daughter. It was ridiculously expensive. Because it won’t be a replacement vehicle, you will need to buy all of the insurance in addition to the car rental price. Enterprise does do rentals at a premium for under 25. I strongly recommend buying a used car and selling it at the end of the summer. Do you have a car at home that you can send down for three months? I am sorry that this will be such a hassle for you. I would network, network and network to see if you can get a used car, Perhaps your summer employer has a lead. Good luck!!!</p>
<p>Buy a crappy car for 500 bucks. It should last all summer and you can resell it for 500 bucks lol</p>
<p>Do you really need a car? Can you find housing closer to the internship and use public transportation or use a bike?</p>
<p>Last summer DS found housing about 2 miles away from internship and rented a bike to get to/from work. He used public transportation to get around the city for other things.</p>
<p>It might be hard to rely on public transportation in Dallas. And I don’t think riding a bike in 100+ degree temps is wise, although I guess people do it! I’m a wimp - that’s why I moved to Maine. Give me ten below zero any day!</p>
<p>A few years ago someone on CC ended up doing a month long rental for their child from U Haul. At that time, they had small pickup trucks that they rented by the week for those under 21. </p>
<p>Perhaps you could borrow a relatives car for your own use and with your child drive one of your cars to Dallas and then fly home. </p>
<p>I would for sure contact the HR department of the company as they must have run across this issue in the past. Is this a larger company that hires multiple interns and puts them up in the same housing complex? Perhaps there is another family you could share with.</p>
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<p>This seems risky if he doesn’t plan to keep it. Additionally it can take a lot of money upfront. He wants to keep it for almost the entire time he’s there, so he would have to sell it quick right at the end.</p>
<p>I tried to do the same thing with a mattress during my internship. It ended up just not happening so I just donated the mattress to charity when I left. A car is a much harder thing to sell. If he wants to ensure that he can sell it quickly enough, he’s going to have to price it much lower than its value. This might work but it would still cost quite a bit.</p>
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<p>$500? And running, and continuing to run for 3 months? Good luck with that.</p>
<p>For the internship I would recommend just carpooling with someone else. Help pay for gas. </p>
<p>If the deal is just that you don’t have a car, I’d just buy one and keep it if you plan to go down the route of buying a car. There’s nowhere in the Continental US that you can’t drive to Dallas in a few days. You could buy it in Dallas and then drive it back up to your hometown so save on one of the one-way trips. </p>
<p>How about this idea…do a summer rental for a parent (who IS over 25), and let the kid use one of The PARENTS cars.</p>
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<p>I feel pretty dumb for having not thought of that. </p>
<p>Kids in my home town buy 500 dollar cars all the time. You buy what you can afford. Three months isn’t an eternity. I got 800from the dealership when I traded in my last car and it ran perfectly fine. I would have sold it to some kid for a similar price if I knew one looking for a car… </p>
<p>Great idea of having the parents rent a car.</p>
<p>I’ve been trying to find a car that runs for under $1500 for over six months and haven’t found anything even close. Of course, I am hoping for something that will run a year or two and not just three months, but still. I don’t think I could find a car with an engine in it for $500.</p>
<p>I would be comparing the cost to rent to the cost of buying a beater, assuming that I couldn’t sell it back for even close to what I bought it for. If renting is still so expensive that buying a beater is substantially cheaper, I would get the beater if I could find one that I felt was safe enough to drive and that’s a big if. Having a parent rent is a great idea if they are willing, mine would never have done that for me. I just would not have been able to take this kind of an opportunity if I could not afford the rental or the purchase of a safe used car.</p>
<p>Prices in different areas of the country vary widely. Most cars that are in decent running order around here are well above $500 or even $1500. Many folks are keeping cars longer because the economy is so uncertain. </p>
<p>We have been fortunate enough to get a few free used cars from family, but I recognize that we are very fortunate.</p>
<p>I agree that if the parent is willing and able to rent at a decent rate and loan out HIS/HER car to the young adultl, this would be a good solution to pursue. Good luck!</p>
<p>It’s got to depend on where you are. My son is always buying junker and driving them until they die. He can fix anything so that helps. Lots out there for less than $1500. His current car was just given to him since the owners felt they couldn’t charge for it in good conscience. </p>
<p>Yes, if you can fix “anything,” you definitely have more options. Many of us are not able to repair vehicles, especially with more and more parts being computerized. Glad your S is able to make things work.</p>
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<p>“Beater” cars tend not to be new nor full of the latest and greatest parts. That’s why they’re beaters. If all one is doing is driving to work and back for a few months most will do the job. I barely know a carburetor from a spark plug and I got a good year from my little basic Chevy beater in between a more permanent choice. </p>