When the mrs and I got our last vehicle, I wanted to get a minivan to haul sheets. The mrs. didn't, and consequently, we spent more than $10,000 less than we would have on a minivan going downmarket to a scion XB.

I have gotten wood and sheet goods (that wouldn't fit in the scion), up to 200 miles away, about a half dozen times and probably spent a rental total of about $600 in five years. I've rented vans from enterprise and uhaul, depending on how far I've gone, and I'm not sorry I did. The difference in gas and insurance (due to the lower value of the vehicle) has more than paid those rental fees, and at this point, my wife now thinks we should have a bigger vehicle and I'm convinced we should stay with what we have.