No, this isn't a joke.
For the time and effort I'm going to spend interviewing, not to mention the days off I need to take to do so, I'm not going to walk in looking like shit.
I want a suit that looks sharp, and fits well.
I currently do NOT wear a suit to work, and I've lost a lot of weight since a year ago, so the one I have probably doesn't fit too well anymore.
If I get a new job that does require wearing suits to work, then I'll probably want something cheaper for an every day thing. I AM targeting an 80 - 100K base salary job, so I don't mind spending 2 - 3K on a nice interview suit (maybe more depending on how many rounds I need to go to), and 5 - 10K after that to buy a new wardrobe for everyday wearing.
Renting a suit seems like a crappy idea. I'm not doing just one interview, I'll probably be doing many, so it's not like I'm spending 2K on something to wear just once.