Have some things going on and am looking at renting a car this fall for a trip. Any advice or tips??? Rental place told me the weekly rate is so much and it seemed fair priced to me. I don't usually rent a car very often but do not want to put miles on mine and they are also slightly older. Rental car is a 13 or 14 modle year. YES I HAVE A PHOBIA OF BRAKING DOWN 5 STATES AWAY WITH OLD CAR!!!!!! Also I have AAA for what its worth. Thanks to any advice given.
- Thread starter JOCCO
- Start date
Ted in NE-OH
Well-known Member
Don't rent at an airport if you can help it as there are airport surcharges. Check your own car insurance and credit card as both may cover you. If so decline ALL insurance. They will use scare tactics to get you to buy their insurance , that is where they make their money.
RCP
Well-known Member
- Location
- Grove City Pa
There are significant discounts given to AAA and other organizations and businesses. As an example, Enterprise will give me the rate with unlimited mileage for General Electric because I am a GE employee. This is the best deal I have found for my rental needs.
Good Luck
Rich
Good Luck
Rich
earlschieb
Member
I use Enterprise. I use my insurance, and I have used them for years, I am an Enterprise Plus, user, and get decent deals. Look in advance, rates change for the same rental period every few days. I don"t have a bad thing to say about them, they have taken good care of us.
Like the others have pointed out you will need to "shop" around to find the "best" value. That usually will be away from heavier use areas. Example at a major air port verses a more suburban area. The Air port will be higher.
Make darn sure your insurance covers rental cars. Mine does not as I do not carry full coverage as I just carry liability on my cars/pickups. So when I have rented vehicles in the past I have found that the rental insurance is slightly higher than the rider would have been on my personal insurance but the hassle factor is easier to just use their insurance. The last time I rented a car I think the insurance was only $20 difference. To me it was just easier to use the rental places insurance.
Make darn sure your insurance covers rental cars. Mine does not as I do not carry full coverage as I just carry liability on my cars/pickups. So when I have rented vehicles in the past I have found that the rental insurance is slightly higher than the rider would have been on my personal insurance but the hassle factor is easier to just use their insurance. The last time I rented a car I think the insurance was only $20 difference. To me it was just easier to use the rental places insurance.
MarkB_MI
Well-known Member
- Location
- Motown USA
When you get the rate, make sure the quote includes all taxes and surcharges. These can add 20-30 percent to the quoted rate. Usually the add-on fees are higher at major airports.
Do you have collision insurance on your personal vehicle? Make sure it covers rentals as well. Also, if you charge with a gold or platinum Visa, these normally have some sort of rental car insurance as well. You want to avoid paying for the very expensive Loss Damage Waiver, which can be almost as expensive as the rental itself. I have heard some real horror stories about people being involved in accidents with rental cars and being charged outrageous sums for repairs and loss of income.
Will your route take you over any automated toll roads? That is, ones which don't have toll booths? You might have to drive just a few miles on a toll road, but the rental company will charge you a small "convenience fee" for every day of the rental, even if you used the toll road only once. So avoid automated toll roads with rental cars.
Do you have collision insurance on your personal vehicle? Make sure it covers rentals as well. Also, if you charge with a gold or platinum Visa, these normally have some sort of rental car insurance as well. You want to avoid paying for the very expensive Loss Damage Waiver, which can be almost as expensive as the rental itself. I have heard some real horror stories about people being involved in accidents with rental cars and being charged outrageous sums for repairs and loss of income.
Will your route take you over any automated toll roads? That is, ones which don't have toll booths? You might have to drive just a few miles on a toll road, but the rental company will charge you a small "convenience fee" for every day of the rental, even if you used the toll road only once. So avoid automated toll roads with rental cars.
We rent from Enterprise every year to go on vacation. The wife had one for two weeks in March to go to Va when her dad was dying. We just rented another one two weeks ago to drive on the 127 Yard Sale. I don't know where you're located,but when we rent here in Michigan,mileage is unlimited most anywhere east of the Mississippi,even though it doesn't make that clear on their website.
We've found out that they'll rent anything but a pickup or full sized van on just a debit card. Pickups and full sized vans need a credit card. They charge a $100 refundable deposit on a debit. As long as it's clean and the gas gauge shows where it was when you picked it up,getting the deposit back is no problem.
I try to call a week or more ahead of time if I want a particular type of vehicle. I don't get the extra insurance. If you have full coverage on your vehicle,that will cover the rental car.
I'm like you I guess. When I'd drive my own vehicle I'd spend most of the trip obsessing over what could go wrong. The peace of mind driving a low mile rental,knowing that if something goes wrong I'll have another one with just a phone call is worth the cost of the rental alone. Once you start renting them to take long trips,you'll never drive your own again.
I never had a bad experience with Enterprise.
We've found out that they'll rent anything but a pickup or full sized van on just a debit card. Pickups and full sized vans need a credit card. They charge a $100 refundable deposit on a debit. As long as it's clean and the gas gauge shows where it was when you picked it up,getting the deposit back is no problem.
I try to call a week or more ahead of time if I want a particular type of vehicle. I don't get the extra insurance. If you have full coverage on your vehicle,that will cover the rental car.
I'm like you I guess. When I'd drive my own vehicle I'd spend most of the trip obsessing over what could go wrong. The peace of mind driving a low mile rental,knowing that if something goes wrong I'll have another one with just a phone call is worth the cost of the rental alone. Once you start renting them to take long trips,you'll never drive your own again.
I never had a bad experience with Enterprise.
omahagreg
Well-known Member
Make sure they will allow you to go where you want to go! Years ago Dad reserved a minivan to go from Nebraska to Louisiana. Went to pick it up, they would not let it go beyond any state bordering Nebraska! What a mess, we had to take 2 cars, that we did not want to take, on a 19 hour-one way trip!
johndeere720GA
Member
One thing I will add. If you don't take their insurance (I never do) take pictures (digital) of anything that is wrong with the car. Missing floor mats and any dings or scratches, chipped windshield (especially the windshield), Try and pick up the car during the day and when its not raining so you can check it out properly. Windshield chips like to hide in raindrops. The last picture you take at their lot before you leave is the odometer and fuel amounts.
When you return the car do the same thing in reverse odometer fuel then the rest of the car. Keep the pictures for at least a month.
I do this for my company rentals even though they don't ask for it.
Pick-up and drop-off at the same location as any other location may be charged a drop fee plus the unlimited mileage you started out with may change to a per/mile rate in the $0.30/mile + range.
Don't rent at an airport or big cities as there are often additional fees at those locations, either a concessions fee or an additional tax to help pay for their big new sports complex.
When you return the car do the same thing in reverse odometer fuel then the rest of the car. Keep the pictures for at least a month.
I do this for my company rentals even though they don't ask for it.
Pick-up and drop-off at the same location as any other location may be charged a drop fee plus the unlimited mileage you started out with may change to a per/mile rate in the $0.30/mile + range.
Don't rent at an airport or big cities as there are often additional fees at those locations, either a concessions fee or an additional tax to help pay for their big new sports complex.
JimB2
Well-known Member
- Location
- Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Hi, as others have said, plus if you are a Costco member they have good car rental discounts that can be found through their website. Also be careful of gold cards with car insurance coverage as sometimes the card insurance will only cover damage to the rental car and not any damage to other vehicle or property or personal injury. Cheapest is always contact your personal car insurance company.
Hope this helps
JimB
Hope this helps
JimB
Pair-a-dice farm
Well-known Member
I haven't rented one in several years but unless it's changed it's the only way to go. I rented an SUV last time we went on vacation and the rent was cheaper than the wear and tear on my car that I used the year before.
I've been planning a trip and need a car one way and so far Enterprise is the best I've found.
I've been planning a trip and need a car one way and so far Enterprise is the best I've found.
Mark - IN.
Well-known Member
Check with your current insurance company. Car rental agencies will try and sell you insurance to make sure that their vehicles are covered by insurance as they should, but often one's current insurance on their own vehicle might extend to cover the rented vehicle, which would then allow one to avoid the additional cost of insuring the rented vehicle through the rental agency. May cover it. I've got full coverage on everything that I drive, and it seems to me that my agent has told me before that I'm covered on rentals. Give them a call. Might save you a $ or two.
Good luck and enjoy your trip.
Mark
Good luck and enjoy your trip.
Mark
I have rented cars few times for vacations and for bussiness. I have full coverage on my owen cars and you can use it but I still use their full coverage. There's one thing that your full coverage won't cover is that if the car is in an accident and is put out of service you have to pay car rental till that car is put back into service and most Insurances won't cover that. Thats why I take their ins. because it covers that.
I just returned for 18day trip to west coast. I used a Hertz rental. My personal insurance covered me and my mastercard covered anything the insurance wouldn't, like deductables! I had a great experience but did have to keep an open mind on some of the policies. Since I rented on a Friday and my traveling partner wasn't there, when I rented. I had to find an open agency to get her signed on. AAA discount was big and also her work discount coupon helped. The best buy I found was the mid sized SUV. great rate, fuel mileage, lots of room, handled great in wind and mountains. KIA sorento. I rented from the local hertz in Lincoln NE
One thing to consider is the contract with rental car company not only tells you that you will be charged the rental until put back in service, the agreement contains language that you will return vehicle as it was. Your insurance is actual cash value insurance, not replacement, so after an accident, car fixed back like it was originally and rental car co bills you for another $3000 to put the car in original condition. The car now has a car-fax report on it and is worth 2-4,000 less than without car-fax. They will keep that credit card maxed until paid. Be careful and read the contract, don"t just sign until uyoou understand.
Mathias NY
Well-known Member
I try to always rent from an airport if possible. It has been my experience that the rental companies try to keep the newer, lower mileage cars, at the airports. The farther you travel from the airport, the worse condition the cars seem to be.
Good luck!
Good luck!
TomH in PA
Well-known Member
I always rent for long trips. Same reason as you - if it breaks down I can just call the rental company and tell them they have a problem.
One thing to watch is the "entertainment" tax in the county you rent it in. It can be quite a bit in a big city versus a rural county just a few miles away. Make sure the quoted price is what you will actually pay, not just their rate without all the extra taxes and fees they"ll pile on.
Also make sure you do the "walk around" before taking the keys. Any scratch or dent needs to be explained when you return it.
One thing to watch is the "entertainment" tax in the county you rent it in. It can be quite a bit in a big city versus a rural county just a few miles away. Make sure the quoted price is what you will actually pay, not just their rate without all the extra taxes and fees they"ll pile on.
Also make sure you do the "walk around" before taking the keys. Any scratch or dent needs to be explained when you return it.
Ted in NE-OH
Well-known Member
I rented from Payless. The are crooks. Tried to intimidate me into taking their insurance. When I returned it the bill was for more than my confirmed price. Had to argue with them , and I won.
I just went to Hawaii and rented a car while there. Everything listed was $650 and up. Even on the travel sites. I went to priceline and submitted a bid for our car. I had it out the door for less than $200 for the whole week. I couldn't believe it. All the similar sites (orbitz, etc) were $650 and up.
We've always used Budget, seemed to have the best deals on line. Usually rent a full size car so we can stuff in lots of luggage and goodies from the shopping trips (like LL Bean in Freeport, ME, the wife's favorite place!). Last couple of times we had an Impala and before that a Kia Sorento. Was leary of the Sorento but it turned out to be a darn nice ride, better than the Impala. Got a GMC Terrain as an upgrade on a trip out west, it was fancy, but the driving experience wasn't as good as our Surbaru. We have high mileage daily drivers too so renting for a driving trip is the way to go in my mind.
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