Has anyone rented a car for an entire day just to leave the airport and explore a city on their layover?

I'm a college student with a tight budget and most of my roadtrips have been to nearby cities. For Spring Break I'm finally going to a beach city that's 3+ hours away from me and I'm excited but it's outrageously expensive to fly into this city so I found an option that has an 8 hour layover and at an airport that's pretty close to the downtown of a big city. <br><br>I've never rented a car before but I'm seriously considering it for the day. I wanted to get opinions on what the logistics would be like. I know I'd have to figure out a way to get through airport security before my layover starts, and I'd have to figure out a way to get to the car rental place. <br><br>The only thing I can see being a problem is the timing. I only have 8 hours, and the airline isn't allowing check-in for the second flight until 1 hour before the flight, so that takes an hour off my layover and I also will have to get through security again which takes a ton of time. I know airports are outrageously expensive and so are car rentals but for a student I think it would be worth it for the ability to visit this city, that may be a while before I get to visit again.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>Edit: I just looked at the airport I'll be arriving at, and they have car rentals already in the airport. So that takes care of the biggest issue. Also, in the city I'll be visiting, the downtown and the airport is on a downtown loop so you can drive in a circle and end up back at the airport so I don't have to worry about finding my way around. I will also be flying with a carry-on so I'll be able to avoid baggage claim entirely.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>Edit 2: I think I'm going to do it. I've done some research and I saw a comment about roadtrippers and I checked it out. I can see the whole loop and all of the stops I can make along the way. I'm thinking it'll most likely be a museum, a big landmark, and a famous restaurant. It's not a lot of time but it'll be enough time to walk through a museum and eat a meal in a city I may not get to visit again for years. I'm very excited to take the chance to do it. I'll edit in after the trip to let you know if it goes well.