car rental in the USA

K-town · 31-03-2008 2:33pm #1

Hey

I am travelling to texas in September and have to rent a car for 5 months. I was just wondering if anyone knows if the car rental price includes insurance. I have treid lookin on the car rental websites for information but i cant see anything.

i have my test nearly 5 years and i drive my mums car so i have had insurance of my own- will that make a difference

thanks

keefg · 31-03-2008 2:47pm

Hi,

Have you done your homework on the cost issue?

In my personal experience, hiring a car in the US is not cheap and not many rental companies include insurance as part of the price.

What you would normally get is a basic rental price, then a load of different add-on insurance options such as CDW (about 12-15 bucks a day), personal accident insurance, contents insurance etc etc......and these insurance options can really load up the overall coast of the car hire.

I think the very basic insurance you get with the bigger rental companies is the equivalent of our Third-Party insurance where, if you have an accident, the cost of the other vehicle is paid for....but thats it, you will be liable to pay for the rental car and you have to take into account that you may also be sued by any other party involved if you are unlucky enought to have an accident.

Maybe another option for you is to contact one of the insurance companies over there and ask them to quote you as a temp resident? I am not sure how it will work with an Irish driving licence but it has to be cheaper than paying top dollar through the rental co.

whippet · 31-03-2008 2:51pm

have you thought about the option of buying a car and selling it when you leave?

Stevie Dakota · 31-03-2008 3:02pm

Just back from the States, the rental did not include insurance which was more expensive than the actual rental. Be wary of cheap headline rates.

helimachoptor · 31-03-2008 3:04pm

Where are you going to? Some states will have a mandatory minmum of insurance (I think) But again this is very very basic.

zilog_jones · 31-03-2008 3:06pm

Is it even possible to buy a car in the US if you're not a resident? Vehicle registration is with the owner over there, not the car like here and the UK.

SoBe · 31-03-2008 4:15pm

as zilog said there could be issues over buying a car and insuring it here,when i bought my truck it was just easier to put it in my wife's name because the dmv wernt being very helpfull.i didnt bother looking into the regulations fully and just said putting it into her name would be the most straight forward road.
on the insurance front if you do buy a car the insurance companys will ask for an american driving licence number before they will insure you.most insurers wont accept an irish licence at all.
in michigan they changed the rules recently that to get a us licence you have to prove lawfull residence and status before you can get a licence.

i dont know the best route for you to go but i do know renting a car for 5 months is going to be costly.

car rental in the USA

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