Rent, share or buy a summer car - which is more economical?

Fancy having a car over the summer? Then you might want to consider buying instead of renting. A cost calculation shows that you can save thousands of kronor.

Trunks filled to the brim with sleeping bags, pole tents and folding chairs, and happy children hanging out of the windows waving to passersby. In the happy 80s, a Swedish summer holiday was undeniably synonymous with a car holiday. Now it's hot again.

Rent or buy a summer car?

For those who don't have a car, renting is the most common option, and if you're only going to be away for a couple of weeks or taking shorter day trips, it's probably also the best choice. Especially from a practical point of view. But if you want access to a car all summer, it might be worth buying, our review shows.

Car rental company Avis , like most major car rental companies, has a concept for long-term rentals. At Avis Minilease, a popular family car like the Ford Focus SW costs SEK 9,445 per month, including fuel for 1250 km. The corresponding monthly cost of owning an almost new Ford Focus SW (model year 2020) is SEK 5,000, according to the Swedish Consumer Agency .

Summer car, hello hello, summer car!

But renting a car does not require a capital investment and the price tag on the Ford Focus SW is estimated at around 163,000 kronor, which can seem like a lot if you only plan to have the car for a limited time. To make the comparison fairer, we also add the cost of financing. With 5 percent interest and a cash deposit of a more manageable 20,000 kronor, the monthly cost is instead 5,596 kronor. But even that is far cheaper than the rental alternative. 3,849 kronor per month or a total of 11,547 kronor if you own the car for three summer months, to be exact.

Fiat 500 - popular car to buy or rent

The small car Fiat 500 also turns out to be cheaper to buy than to rent. The rental cost ends up at 6,245 kronor per month while the cost of ownership is estimated at 3,500 kronor, or 3,796 kronor when financed with a loan with a 10,000 kronor cash deposit. Those who buy with a loan make a monthly saving of 2,449 kronor while those who buy without a loan save 2,745 kronor.

Could car sharing be an option?

We also looked into how much it would cost to share a car for your summer adventures, but quickly realized that it wasn't affordable. Sharing a car can be smart because you only pay for the car when you use it, but with regular use and longer trips, the costs add up. At Sweden's largest car pool – Volvo-owned M – a Volvo XC40, about the same size as a Ford Focus SW, costs 6,875 kronor per month, including mileage and fuel. Sure, it's cheaper than renting. But for that price, you're only allowed to make five trips per month, with each trip lasting a maximum of ten hours.

Rent vs buy summer car (Three months)

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About the analysis
Kvdbil has calculated the cost of renting or buying a car that is kept for three months, incl. 3750 km of mileage. In the ownership, all costs that follow from the purchase and sale decision have been taken into account, in addition to any transaction costs. When financing with a loan, calculations have been made on an interest rate of 5 percent and a cash deposit of SEK 10,000 for a small car (Fiat 500) and SEK 20,000 for a large car (Ford Focus SW). The fuel cost is based on the current fuel price, approximately SEK 20/l.