Can You Use It As a Rental Car?

A Houston-based singer says she found a way to bypass excessive car rental charges: Opt for a $19.99 a day U-Haul. TikTok user Raycheal Winters (@raychealwinters) urged other folks looking to save money on a car rental to go the cargo van route. But is it a good idea to do so?

Winters begins her video by speaking directly into the camera. An on-screen caption above her head reads, “Car rental hack they’re hiding.” In her nine-second clip, she goes on to delineate how she came upon this hack and how it offered a better value than renting outright from a traditional agency like Enterprise or Hertz. “My car broke down this morning, and [Enterprise] wanted to charge me upwards of $500 for a few days’ car rental,” she tells viewers.

Instead of forking over five Benjamins to take care of her personal transportation needs, she decided to go to another rental agency instead—U-Haul. “But U-Haul? $19.99 a day, baby,” the TikToker gleefully says, showing off the interior of the van she’s riding around in.

Are U-Hauls Affordable Rental Cars?

Indeed, the price Winters references in her TikTok appears to be in line with what the popular moving business charges to rent one of its vehicles. On its website, the brand indicates its nine-foot cargo vans cost $19.95 per day to rent.

However, there are some additional charges folks should consider before taking this route. First, drivers need to check the terms of their U-Haul rental contract to see if they’re being charged mileage fees. According to this company webpage, different U-Haul locations carry different per-mile fees depending on location. Furthermore, the aforementioned link also provides a mileage charge estimate calculator so commuters can ascertain just how much it’ll cost them to rent their rides. U-Haul also mentions that if folks are planning a one-way move, a preset number of miles can be purchased. And if drivers were to go over that amount, they would be hit with a $1 per mile fee.

Another moving company, Nelson Westerberg, writes that U-Haul per-mile charges range from $0.40 to $1 per mile. So, if you are planning on getting a U-Haul to replace a rental car, consider how much driving you’ll be doing during that time.

Rental Car Mileage Fees

Unlimited miles often come with cars rented through other agencies. Enterprise indicates that it does so, as does Hertz. Budget also says, “Most of [its] rentals come with unlimited mileage,” but specifies that customers should ensure this is the case before signing on the dotted line of its rental agreements.

Still, there are limitations regarding these rentals as well. For instance, Enterprise Rent-A-Car writes on its website that cars rented through its business must remain within the country where they’re rented. So, if you’re planning on renting a car in Montreal and driving down the middle of the United States and into Mexico, you might want to see if there are any restrictions in your service agreement before embarking on a tri-national journey.

Additionally, there are some car rental shops that will append an “excessive mileage” fee against a driver, even with unlimited mileage stipulations. While this concept may seem contradictory, some car renters have shared anecdotes online about being slapped with such charges.

For instance, this Reddit user claimed Enterprise charged them $0.40 per mile after they returned their vehicle to the location where they rented it. Moreover, they stated there wasn’t any verbiage in their contract that suggested they would be hit with such a fee.

Is Unlimited Really Unlimited?

AutoSlash writes that most car rental agencies do offer boundless miles, but also exhorts that folks make sure of this prior to pounding too much pavement throughout the course of their rental.

One viral incident saw a Hertz customer slapped with a $10,000 fee after he drove 25,000 miles in a month in one of the company’s vehicles. Akin to the above-referenced Redditor, the driver contested that his contract didn’t indicate there was a cap on how much he could drive. 

If you’re planning on racking up digits on a rental’s odometer, you’re probably better off just getting a rental car, depending on how much it costs. But if you’re not, U-Hauls could be an affordable option. That is, if you don’t mind driving around a two-seater van that gets around 18 miles per gallon.

Motor1 has reached out to Winters via TikTok comment for further information.