Should we rent or buy our first violin?

​My daughter is in the fourth grade and just began taking a violin class at her school. We will need to bring a violin from home to each class. Should we rent or buy the violin for her?
 
If you are brand new to the violin, you might want to rent your first instrument for a month or two (or three!) to see if it will be something that your child will take to and continue. After that amount of time, it is probably less expensive to buy than make monthly payments. Violin shops in general are very aware that young violin students will “grow out” of their current size instrument, and may have options available for “trading up” to the next size. This means you will be able to swap your smaller instrument for a larger size instrument of equal value. I would recommend talking to someone at your violin shop of choice and asking about the rental and buying options they have available for student instruments.