<p>Doubtful one can buy a car for 500 dollars in Dallas that will have a working AC. And you need one in that summer heat!
One avenue might be to deal with a user car salesperson and negotiate a buy back after the summer. I am not sure if they would accept to rent a car because of registration and insurance issues.
If dealing with major car rental companies, check the locations and find one that does not cover all the fees that have for airport rentals. But before that it pays to try all potential memberships to lower the cost of rental.
For instance USAA members can avoid the young renters’ surchages.
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Some credit cards might also help with discount programs a la USAA. For instance, Amex has the premium coverage that is valid for 42 days at a fixed cost of 20 or 25 dollars per rental --not per day. While I am not sure if it applies to younger than 25, it is worth checking. Coupled with the Amex CC, one could lower the cost of rentals by lowering the required insurances.
Lastly, but a long shot, one might look for students’ newspapers and see if anyone might be willing to rent a car for the summer while a school such as SMU is out for the summer. Not as easy as checking all the coupons and discounts for a rental with the Big Boys. </p>
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<p>This is what our family did in this situation. In two different summers. </p>
<p>But make sure the parents check with their insurance company. Some insurance policies allow for only a rather small number of days a year of coverage for rental cars. You might have to pay extra to be covered while using a rental car for the entire summer, but it will be MUCH less than paying for the insurance offered by the rental car company. </p>
<p>Marian- This is a bit tricky from the insurance scenario. We considered this, but in actuality we would have been required to purchase all of the insurance from the car rental company. Your insurance only transfers to a car rental if it is a replacement vehicle for a car that you own but are not using because you are on vacation or the car is getting repaired. Technically, your car rental is not a “replacement” car and not covered by your insurance because your car is in full use in another state by another family member. Trust me, we looked into this extensively when our daughter’s car was totaled by a landscape truck three months before her graduation. The op’s family will also need to change the location of the car to Dallas. If there is an accident, and you proceeded as you suggest above, the rental would not be covered if the insurance company invested the situation- which, trust me, they will. </p>
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We did something like this but our “child” was over 25. Yes, it costs a lot in this way (but he has saved us a lot of money by not asking for a car since the junior year in high school, when he got his driving license.)</p>
<p>This might be a dumb question, but will you need a car after the three months? Back at school a little then find yourself in a situation where you need to buy one? All things to consider.</p>
<p>If you do decide to look for a car ti purchase, cars of the under 1500 variety are usually found from people… not from dealerships. These are folks trying to get more then the 300 to 800 they are Just offered on a trade.</p>
<p>Just because the used car costs more doesn’t mean it’s a better car.</p>
<p>I remember when I bought my first car. I was 16 and I handed over about 4500 of my hard earned dollars. That Car was awful from the time it was on the lot and I never would have brought it home. The fact that they hadito jump it so I could test drive it should have been a red flag!! </p>