[Tim Uden]

I was looking at car rental websites for a quote on a small manual car rental in North America (it doesn't matter if it is rented in Canada or the US as long as I can drive it in both countries), however no rental company seems to have want I am after.

The car absolutely positively has to have a manual transmission. There is no way I am driving an automatic.

It has to be a small car. They are cheaper to run, easier to park and more fun to drive. However what most US car rental companies call a compact is what I would call a medium to large car.

Why can't I just get a nice manual Renault Twingo? I would even go for something as big as a Clio.

As an alternative I may buy a car and sell it when I have finished. Do many US used car dealers sell cars to travellers with a guarranteed buy back price?

[Tim Uden]

Also are some states cheaper than others for rental cars? My guess is that states with no sales tax would be cheaper.

If I were to buy a car, which would be the cheapest state/province to register and insure a car?

[musicdisciple]

Originally Posted by Tim Uden

Why can't I just get a nice manual Renault Twingo?

Because Renault hasn't even attempted to sell cars in North America is the last 20ish years?

You're not likely to be able to rent a car with a standard transmission. Too many people used to rent a car just to learn to drive standard. With a little practice it's pretty easy to learn to drive an automatic. It'll feel funny until you get the hang of it, once you figure out how much to accelerate and where it shifts you'll get a great ride and it's more fuel efficient than a standard.

Registering and insuring a car usually requires having a local address, so you're going to have trouble. People do manage to do it, but often they're on a WHV and stay in one place long enough to have a permenant address and insurance there.