[Req] - Car Rental USA.

johnnysmurfman

Hi,

Myself and a friend are going to the USA in September and will be hiring a car, probably for about a week at first and just driving from place to place. Then we'll probably rent another one and drive a bit more, we're going for 3 weeks in all and hoping to drive from New York to Nashville. Most of the sites I've checked out have been very expensive, around $100 per day and I was hoping to get something cheaper to be honest, particularly as it'll probably be parked on the side of the road for days on end while we're chasing cheerleaders around some random public house. Does anyone know any cheap sites or just some general tips on car renting in the USA. Someone was saying to me that generally speaking if you rent outside big cities it's cheaper.

Thanks.

mickoneill30

Dunno who's cheap but one tip I have is order online or over the phone before you go.

Twice I've ordered the cheapest model and got upgraded to something much better for no extra cost.
On a third occasion I went to the car rental office and asked for their cheapest model. Because they didn't have the cheapest models in stock I had to get something bigger but I also had to pay full price for it. If I'd ordered the smallest model online I would have gotten the same car but for the online price.
Of course the downside is, if they have the smallest model in stock, then that's what your going to get.

Marathon_Man

Car hire is expensive.

Try this http://www.rentawreck.com/

Our man in Havana

I have found with hertz is that they never have the smallest car in stock so you can get the next biggest one up for no extra charge. If you book a medium size car they will try to talk you into a bigger car at an extra charge, they will give you guff about the one you ordered is not ready yet and if you really want it you will have to hang around the office for hours waiting. You will only get it free if they are not due one back in the yard that day. So the smallest car strategy works 100% of the time.

I would not even attempt to rent without booking on-line first for the reasons in the previous post.

johnnysmurfman

Ok. So definitley booking online first then.

CountryWise

OP it really depends!

Im going to the states in July, originally Alamo Rent-a -car were 176 dollars for 4 days maybe a bit over 200 after taxes and that, i found that i might as well keep it for 7 days as four days same price!

I didnt book early and when i went back to book it had gone up loads and also they were charging a €100 drop off fee as my return city wasnt the same as my start.

I then tried hertz and got it for quite cheap, think it was 245 dollars for the week, shop around and avoid drop off charges.

Also when you are selecting your car might do no harm to select a right hand drive its usually no extra charge!

Voipjunkie

Yescarhire

Ro-76

try travelsupermarket.com. I booked carhire with them for NY in July, and found them to be cheaper than autoeurope, hertz, or any others I tried.

Our man in Havana

Beware the hidden extras, CDW etc.

Mezcita

I'd recommend these guys. Compares the prices of loads of different car hire groups.

http://www.travelsupermarket.com/

EDIT: Beat me too it!

pissed

The last time I was there I used www.carhire3000.ie


I shopped around and it was the cheapest at the time, also as stated above be careful of the extras. My rental was all inclusive and no hidden extras.

Ruu_Old

Try Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Ro-76

pissed wrote:

The last time I was there I used www.carhire3000.ie


I shopped around and it was the cheapest at the time, also as stated above be careful of the extras. My rental was all inclusive and no hidden extras.

Travelsupermarket.com directed me to carhire3000.ie.

Jnealon

I've used Thrifty a couple of times and found them to be quite reasonable

Ronin247

As mr bond said watch out for the extras.

LDW is another type of CDW but the form says it is not insurance it is a protection of your liability(insurance).Me, wife and two screaming kids were completely ripped off because we didnt take time to read all the small print so if you are on a "BUDGET" be careful......very careful

yygaurav

my 2 cents

www.kayak.com is new web site and seems good.