Overhaulin'

Buy? Rent? or Lease? How to get a car for just 1 year.?

I'm currently studying abroad in California for just 1 year as an exchange student from Japan. Since I came here last September, I have been really feeling necessity of car and I'm considering getting one. Actually I can do nothing without car here in the west coast... Then what I wanna ask is which mean I should take. 1)to rent only when needed 2)to buy a used car and sell it again (I don't have such a big amount of money though) 3)to lease. Please give me some advices.

Public Comments

1. Ordinarily I would say that if you want a newer car your best option would probably be to take over the remaining year of an existing lease. If you'd be satisfied with an older car than buy, you'll save money on sales tax. Since you're an exchange student here for only one year I suspect you might have difficulty leasing or obtaining credit. You might not have any choice but to buy for cash.
2. Buy a second hand car for 1 year.
3. In hubli u could get it
4. You are unlikely to find economical options renting or leasing. Buy a cheap car, hope it doesn't break down and then sell it after a year.
5. You can't lease for a short term. The minimum lease is three years. Even if you could it would cost you $200 a month or more. $2400 total car expense for the year. It would be cost prohibitive to rent for a year, even if you could get a deal on a long term rental agreement from a company like Enterprise. Rates would probably be similar to leasing. The smart thing to do is to buy a used car and then resell it. It will cost more up front but you'll get almost all of it back when you sell. This will reduce your overall car expense to almost nothing. Buy for $3500, sell it in a year for $2800. Total car expense for the year is only $700. Less than $60 a month.