Patchareeporn Sakoolchai | Second | Getty ImagesSummer is the season of highway journeys.A report 70.9 million People are anticipated to journey by automotive in the course of the July Fourth vacation week alone, in line with AAA.For some automotive house owners, it may be extra financially savvy to lease a car for a highway journey than use their very own, specialists stated.”It may be fairly depending on quite a lot of components,” stated Greg Brannon, AAA’s director of automotive engineering analysis.These components embody your present car’s gasoline mileage, the gap you will be driving, how lengthy you will be gone, whether or not you lease or personal and the way huge your car is, amongst different issues, in line with Toyota.Listed below are some key issues.The automotive’s specsVehicle capability is a “no-brainer” in terms of selecting whether or not to lease or not, stated Brian Moody, govt editor of Autotrader, a automotive purchasing website.It is best to say, “I’ve a five-passenger automotive and I’ve eight occurring the journey,” Moody stated.Drivers may want to match specs, equivalent to the need of a two-wheel-drive versus a four-wheel-drive automotive, in addition to space for storing for baggage and equipment.Working costsThis is the place the mathematics will get a bit trickier. There are lots of monetary prices, some apparent and others much less so.Drivers would wish to match complete rental prices — the day by day rental price and potential add-ons like insurance coverage — versus these of working their very own automotive.”Most individuals will likely be shocked at what it really prices to personal and function their automotive,” Brannon stated.Fueling prices, equivalent to gasoline or electrical charging, are a monetary consideration for each renters and automotive house owners.It could be potential to lease a extra fuel-efficient car and get monetary savings. For example, renting a automotive that will get 40 miles per gallon versus a at present owned one which will get 20 mpg would, all else equal, minimize gasoline prices in half.”When you’ve got an previous automotive that is gasoline inefficient, it’d make sense to lease one thing,” Moody stated.Rental costsThe common rental price $42 a day within the second quarter of 2024, with most vacationers searching for four-day leases, in line with journey website Hopper.The day by day price may be increased or decrease primarily based on components like rental firm, automotive sort, and pickup and drop-off location.The price of rental automotive insurance coverage may add $30 to $61 to the day by day price, relying on insurance coverage sort, in line with Allianz Journey, citing MarketWatch knowledge.Extra from Private Finance:Is inflation Biden’s or Trump’s fault?Romance scams price customers $1.14 billion in 2023FAFSA points power arduous decisions for studentsRenters who need automotive insurance coverage could not want to purchase extra protection by means of the rental firm.Automotive house owners could already get full protection on a rental by way of their very own automotive insurance coverage insurance policies, or could have some protection by means of credit-card advantages, Brannon stated.”Name your insurance coverage agent and double-check your protection,” he stated. “It can save you your self a bunch of cash by not double-insuring the car for those who needn’t.”Depreciation and mileage caps on leasesAlistair Berg | Digitalvision | Getty ImagesAdditionally, automotive house owners who lease a car ought to weigh components like mileage caps earlier than taking an extended highway journey. For instance, the standard lease imposes monetary penalties on drivers who put greater than 12,000 miles a 12 months on their car, in line with Kelley Blue E book.The associated fee for exceeding that cap is normally about 20 to 30 cents per mile, KBB stated. (At 30 cents, a driver would pay $300 for each 1,000 miles over the mileage restrict.)There are additionally depreciation prices to contemplate.Depreciation causes a automotive to lose worth over time. Automobiles famously lose about 10% to fifteen% of their worth as soon as they drive it off the lot, Brannon stated.Depreciation is “the most important expense of proudly owning a car,” Brannon stated. And that is why it issues for highway journeys, he says.”The extra miles you placed on a car the extra it depreciates,” Brannon stated.Each mile places put on and tear on the engine, tires and different transferring elements, in line with Allianz.Depreciation impacts all vehicles in another way. The common automotive depreciates at about 20 cents a mile, in line with Toyota.For shorter highway journeys — say, 1,000 to 1,500 miles in a given 12 months — depreciation may not be an enormous deal relative to rental costs, stated Autotrader’s Moody.Depreciation typically solely issues for individuals who plan to promote or commerce of their car sooner or later.State of the vehicleUnforeseen repairs may be expensive: The common restore order on the highway is “nicely in extra of $500,” excluding towing prices, Brannon stated, citing AAA knowledge.The percentages of a breakdown are decrease with rental vehicles, that are typically newer fashions, Moody stated. The common used automotive on the highway is about 12 years previous, he defined.Whereas a mechanical subject could be inconvenient for anybody taking a highway journey, renters would not be financially liable (assuming they are not at fault), Moody stated.Brannon factors out some questions drivers ought to ask: Have I finished a very good job sustaining my automotive? Is it up for lengthy days on the highway? Are the tires in good condition? Is it mechanically sound? How previous is it? What security applied sciences does the car have?Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO