Not all people have cars. Some people who own them find themselves in positions where they don't have access to their own car. Like, if you go on a vacation to Hawaii, you won't have your car. Tough luck. Sometimes people don't want to drive their own car on a long trip, if you catch the airlines just right, you can save money by flying, but you'll be without a car unless you rent one. Imagine that you live in the suburbs. But the city is where you have your job. Your home is within a few blocks of a bus stop. Since you spend so much of your time at work, why have a car sitting in a paid parking space? That space is costing you $50-100 a month at least. Return it on Sunday after riding around town, doing the shopping, even driving to a restaurant for dinner. That adds up to about $20 for all the necessary car use. Over the course of a year that's about $1040, a lot less than owning a car with all the associated costs. The car rental is a bargain. Sure buying a car is the better idea if you use your car all the time. Owning a car can be terribly convenient or even a neccesity. For getting groceries and running errands, you might need to own a car.Then again in some cases with a little planning there's no purchase necessary, just rent for the short term use. if you only got groceries or major items on the weekends you could rent a vehicle for one day to go do those things. also, you could maybe borrow a vehicle from a friend or family member. Renting just for when you need the vehicle can make a lot of sense in a lot of cases. For example, hauling a lot of heavy stuff. If you don't own a truck, you can just rent one. That way, you don't have a very expensive truck payment each month. A rental vehicle really is a way to save some money when you use them correctly. The biggest thing to understand when renting a car versus buying a car is to know that in many cases, you don't necessarily need your vehicle all the time. Usage should dictate your buying decision. Thus, if you only rented a vehicle when he needed it and avoided a monthly payment for owning a normal car, you would save a lot of money. Just make sure that you do your math before actually renting or buying a car. That way you make sure you make the right choice. Regardless of renting vs buying a car, being informed before making your buying decision will help. Keep your options open and be a smart consumer when it comes to big ticket purchases. You'll always come out ahead that way.