Should we rent a car?

[dsmith72]

We are driving to WDW from OKC in May. My minivan has 100,000 miles on it and we will do a tune up before we go. Would you pay to rent a car or just pray your own van makes it there and back without any problems? My van doesn't have any real problems and I would like to save the money and not worry about my DS 8 and DS 6 spilling something in a rental. But I would also hate to be out in the middle of nowhere and have a breakdown. WWYD?

 

[Brian Noble]

My van has about 120K on it, and I'm still using it for road trips. But it's also a Honda, and in good repair. The only work done related to engine performance has been a new catalytic converter and EGR valve---both more or less expected by this age.

If you have a good mechanic, ask him or her what they think when you get the tune up. They'll know more about your specific car than we will.

 

[jmartinez1895]

I would agree with the other poster and recomend having someone you trust check it out and see what they think, but if you are very concerened with it then I would say the extra money is worth the peace of mind and rent. We fly ( we drove one year it it was almost a 10 hour drive) but if we chose to drive again we would rent because I would not want to put the extra miles and wear and tear on my van. I hope that either way you have a safe and wonderful trip.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

I say roll the dice.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I would rent. Why put more wear and tear on your car. Why risk you car breaking down during your trip. Then you will have to find a mechanic who may or may not do a good job. Not to mention the added expense you will have to add to the vacation to have a repair done. Plus the time spent waiting for the repair to be done. What if the part that is needed for the repair is not available and you have to wait a day or two for the mechanic to get the part. Who wants to spend vacation time waiting for a car to be repaired.
I say rent that way if something happens the rental agency will take care of you.

 

[cranbiz]

Do a google search on your minivan to see what type of repairs happened at what mileage.

I had a 2002 GMC Sierra that ate a fuel pump on the NJ Turnpike at 117K miles while the family was on its way to a funeral in NC. Truck was always maintained and I found out (later) that that problem at around that mileage was common. That little thing cost me an unexpected $700 and 6 hours of time in a truck stop. (and I was really lucky that the shop was able to get right to it and the parts supplier was willing to run over a new pump quickly)