Over the life of a car tens of thousands of dollars isn't that hard to build up though if the car cannot do anything. And there is value in having the vehicle that does what you need when the inspiration strikes.

Not having any rental cars is very common in my experience. I'm often renting in smaller cities though (like the rental car place just a couple miles from my house), I've never heard of problems in big tourist destinations or large cities.

There's also the convenience of having the car more appropriate for day-to-day use.

E.g. a family with two cars, where the smaller car is preferred because it's easier to park in the limited space available in a European city.