I'm moving to the US (east coast) for a year and require a car for work.
I've been quoted $ 966.75 per month to rent a Hyundai Accent (with insurance included) for the year. I'm thinking that it may be cheaper to buy a second-hand car, arrange insurance, and sell it on when I leave.
Has anyone any experience of renting a car/buying one in the US and what would you recommend?
Second-hand gas-guzzlers are cheap to buy and cheap to run (relative to here).
For a lot less than half the $11.6k you've been quoted you'll get a perfectly serviceable reliable car / truck / SUV that will still have some residual value when you finish up. The only issue may be insurance (with only an Irish licence?) Maybe arm yourself with an [broken link removed] from AA Ireland before you go. We used to have to get these in the good old days before Irish licences had a photo.
Ask a friend / soon to be colleague / employer's HR dept to get you addresses of local newspapers / local car mags / websites to peruse before you go. Maybe they could view / vet likely purchases for you.