Like dogsitting, renting a product provides all the temporary fun with none of the long-term commitment or risk of getting overrun by flea biker gangs. Relish the freedom of rental with today’s Groupon: for $20, you get $40 toward a car rental from Hertz Rent-a-Car. Your Groupon may be used at the participating Chicago area locations listed in the sidebar.

Hertz Rent-a-Car is one of the largest general use rental companies in the world, aiming to provide customer-focused, cost-effective service. Their 90-plus years of experience—a good 20 years before cars had even been invented—gives renters the confident feeling of borrowing a car from a friend without concerns about misplacing said friend’s dashboard hula girl. Choose from a wide range of vehicles perfectly suited for a family vacation or simply to give a snazzy new look to grocery store runs. The eco-conscious will appreciate the thoughtful options on display in the green collection, while the ego-conscious may prefer to browse the Prestige Collection’s enviable envoy. One-day rentals start at less than $30. No matter what the model, Hertz’s convenient pick-up and drop-off services offer peace of mind for weary travelers or clinical car-hoppers (available from Local Edition locations).

Reviews

More than 180 Epinions users give Hertz, which boasts more than 5,000 Facebook fans, an average of three stars. Through this deal is not valid at the State Street location, seven Yelpers give it an average of 3.5 stars: > * We were extremely happy with Hertz. The staff were friendly. The car was clean, ran well, and we had no problems with it. – Susie-34668, Epinions user > * Honest employees + super friendly customer service = 5 stars. – Zach B. on the State Street location, Yelp