PARSIPPANY, N.J. -- For leisure get-aways, consumers often look beyond their garages for vacation transportation, according to a new survey conducted by Budget Rent A Car.

In a survey of more than 500 leisure renters, 39% said they rented their leisure get-away vehicles from a downtown or suburban rental location near their home. According to the survey, the top three reasons consumers rent cars locally for leisure get-aways are:

1. To save miles on their own personal vehicles (24%)

2. They needed a larger vehicle to accommodate family members (22%)

3. They desired more reliable transportation (21%).

"We have long recognized that consumers rent vehicles in the local market for a variety of reasons, particularly for leisure travel, but we really wanted to understand what motivated them to rent a car rather than drive their own," said Scott Deaver, executive vice president of marketing for Cendant Car Rental Group, parent company of Budget.

With more than 700 downtown and suburban locations, Budget has been serving the local market for more than 45 years.

So just what are these renters doing and where are they going on these get-aways?

"We found that the reasons for a local get-away rental vary widely," said Deaver. A total of 52% of survey respondents took their rental vehicles on a trip out of town to visit friends or family members, while 41% took a sightseeing trip or a mini-vacation.

Rounding out the reasons for local leisure rentals were honeymoons and romantic getaways (7%), sporting events (6%), outdoor recreation activities such as skiing (6%), visiting a college (4%), or other special occasions (13%). These special occasions included anniversaries and out-of-town shopping sprees.

Nearly half (48%) of the trips taken by renters exceeded 500 miles round trip. One quarter said their adventures would take them between 250 and 500 miles round trip, followed by 18% who planned to drive 100 to 250 miles.

Survey data were collected from online subscribers to the Budget Hot Deals e-newsletter between Feb. 24 and 26.