Car Rental in California

Zonda999

Hi all

Going on holidays with a few friends to California and Las Vegas next month. I;m looking up car rental for it at the moment. There are some pretty good prices on offer from the likes of Argus & AutoEurope. They are far cheaper than the rental companies like Alamo and Hertz themselves. Does anyone have any experience of booking from sites like these or renting in that part of the states?

This is our first time doing something like this so we don;'t to get caught out

Any tips appreciated!

BuffyBot

Generally, I prefer to deal direct with the companies, as brokers have lead to heartbreak for a variety of reasons. That said, these are two of the bigger players in that market and you're probably less likely to have any issue dealing with them versus flybynightnonamecompanycarrentals.com. They've had positive mentions on this forum before.

athtrasna

Argus are great. Always use them when we travel to the US. We've always ended up with a good rate that includes insurance and a full tank of fuel. Much cheaper. Depending on the company you get through them you can sometimes choose your own car within the category, it's great to be able to check things like boot size out in person.

Be aware, most hotels in California charge for parking and it's not cheap!

Zonda999

athtrasna wrote: »

Argus are great. Always use them when we travel to the US. We've always ended up with a good rate that includes insurance and a full tank of fuel. Much cheaper. Depending on the company you get through them you can sometimes choose your own car within the category, it's great to be able to check things like boot size out in person.

Be aware, most hotels in California charge for parking and it's not cheap!

Thanks for the replies, very helpful. Good to hear you'd recommend Argus as well, they seem to get some good reviews generally. Is there any of the actual rental companies you would recommend over another? (Alamo, Dollar etc)

Yeah, its not cheap at all, but there's four of us going so at least every cost is divided by four! As well, we are mainly getting the car for two main journeys, LA to Vegas/Grand Canyon, and San Fran to LA, so we'll try to avoid the parking charges in the cities themselves!

keithclancy

Total recommendation for Auto Europe

Have used them on a few continents multiple times now and no problems.

At the moment I have an issue that they won't take payment from my credit card but i'm not sure if that's my card or them.

salad_man

Reviving an old forum here..

Any recent experiences in car rental and associated insurance in California?

Heading to San Fran in April and planning to drive south to LA ; wondering if anyone has any advise /guidance / tips

thanks

Fathom

Ancient thread. But may still be useful. When booking a rental car in California, look out for add-ons. They can drive up the price without value. Also, if using a credit card, check to see if car insurance is already covered.