Car Vs Jeep - the never ending debate

[Traceyd14]

We are stuck. For weeks we have been going round and round trying to decide Jeep vs. Car for this trip. Looks like Jeep rentals are about double the cost for a car. First I should mention - the cost for the more expensive jeep rental is in our budget, but that doesn't mean I think it is a good use of funds or worth it. We have talked about a jeep or a few days only, but we also don't want to be locked in to a schedule. We already have 3 days out of 10 with some type of event or commitment and do we really want to give up another day driving around? We can't decide! I want to talk it through and get your thoughts.


One week rentals seem to be a better value than 4 or 5 day rentals regardless of the type of vehicle,If we have a jeep and decide to go off road, we have the option right there - something to being spontaneous that we like. But do we want to do that this trip, neither of us feels strongly either way - so we don't know. How many days will the car or jeep just sit in the parking lot? if it is the price of the car, I won't feel so bad just having it sit if we don't decide to use it. BUT on our last trip we remember saying next time we are getting a jeep instead of a car, but we can't remember why we felt that way.

Should we rent a car from Friday - Tuesday, then if we decide we want a jeep for a day take our chances getting one? The downside here is that the car is only about $60 more to do a full week rather than a partial one. Are we more likely to go off roading if we have the option right in the parking lot without thinking about it?


Summary
I don't care if we go off roading but I wouldn't mind trying to find the Blackstone Beach for once and I know Jon likes off-roading.
We will drink to0 much to drive at night.
Is the jeep a waste - or would it keep our options open making for a more carefree trip making the cost justifiable?


I'm really at the point where I should just flip a coin.

[kemperato]

Ahhh Tracey. This is the great debate in our house prior to every trip. Darrin always wants to rent a Jeep and I have a hard time justifying the cost given the minimal use we would get out of it. We’ve opted for the car whenever we rented. The last two trips we didn’t even rent the car, and intended to rent a Jeep for a day or two if we wanted it. Well, we never rented it. Also we didn’t miss not having a car as much as we thought we would. Like you, when we do rent, we barely use it.

sorry, I realize that was zero help!

[Pegmeister]

I won’t be much help as we never rent a car. If it were me I would probably just flip a coin.

[Traceyd14]

Ahhh Tracey. This is the great debate in our house prior to every trip. Darrin always wants to rent a Jeep and I have a hard time justifying the cost given the minimal use we would get out of it. We’ve opted for the car whenever we rented. The last two trips we didn’t even rent the car, and intended to rent a Jeep for a day or two if we wanted it. Well, we never rented it. Also we didn’t miss not having a car as much as we thought we would. Like you, when we do rent, we barely use it.

sorry, I realize that was zero help!

It helps to know we are not alone! I'm sure we will be happy no matter what we decide.

[cpjones]

It helps to know we are not alone! I'm sure we will be happy no matter what we decide.

.....that's the key.... and should lead to a simple coin flip! Unless your remember "BUT on our last trip we remember saying next time we are getting a jeep instead of a car, but we can't remember why we felt that way". Good luck kids.....!

[Andrea J.]

my brain hurts

rent the jeep...........no, rent the car..............
back to brain hurting

I am of 0 help.
sorry.

[Traceyd14]

my brain hurts

rent the jeep...........no, rent the car..............
back to brain hurting

I am of 0 help.
sorry.

Jon banned me from talking about it anymore after we had dinner.
I'm leaning towards car and if we really want to go off road we can make that happen for a day.

But in all likelihood it will be decided by the coin flip...LOL

[WaltVB]

I know we use our car a lot. Quick trips to get groceries, down to San Nic for the morning, off to Arashi to swim, the lighthouse for sunset, etc. We use the car a lot but we're there for 3 weeks or so. It's a convenience for sure, and we still cab downtown at night if we're drinking. Our cost is around $25.00 a day to rent a car for the whole trip. We find much more use having a car versus a jeep and it gets better gas mileage.

[Traceyd14]

.....that's the key.... and should lead to a simple coin flip! Unless your remember "BUT on our last trip we remember saying next time we are getting a jeep instead of a car, but we can't remember why we felt that way". Good luck kids.....!

Because I haven't over thought this too much already....I decided to look at my last trip report to see if I wrote anything. Here is what I found:

Rental car thoughts:
Jon: I would rather just have a jeep for a few days, we don't need it the whole time.
Tracey: we don't need a car the whole week, we didn't take full advantage of it....we drink too much.


Sooooo... maybe a jeep for 1/2 the trip is the answer. Save a little money and if we decide we want a car after we turn it in, we can just get one.

[Andrea J.]

I would say that makes sense !
Get the jeep for a few days.

Paul and I use the car just as Walt and Pam do.
Quick trips to the store, the beach, a quick chapel or lighthouse, dinner and San Nic.

We are not drinkers....we alternate who is the designated driver.....and that has backfired on us a couple of times, causing us to leave the car
at Bugaloe (2x) taking a cab back to the resort.

Follow the words of that "Aruba Story" and see how it works out!