Tip 92: Rent a truck instead of buying one

Most people rarely use the hauling capacity of a pick-up truck. You can rent a pick-up truck from U-Haul or even at a home improvement store for much less that the cost of owning a pickup truck and paying for the gas to drive the truck all the time. Often when I see a pick-up on the road it is carrying only the drive- no passengers and no cargo in back. This seems like too much vehicle most of the time.

I rented a pick-up at U-Haul a couple of times during my move and for hauling junk to the landfill. The advertised prices are around $20, but you may pay more than this depending on how many miles you drive and how long you keep the truck. I think my bill was more like $70, but I made several trips with the truck and put quite a few miles on it.

But even $70 to rent a truck a few times a year is almost nothing compared to the cost of buying a pick-up truck, maintaining it, paying insurance for it, and paying for gas to drive it every day. If you only need the capacity of a pickup truck occasionally, you can save well over $1000 per year by renting a pick-up occasionally when you need it rather than buying one and driving it every day.

As with many ways to spend less money, convenience is a factor. It certainly is handy to have a pickup truck available whenever you want, but this convenience is expensive. If you are willing to take some time to drive to the U-Haul store and rent a truck when you need one, you can save a lot of money.

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