Car Hire USA

onway

Hoping to hire a car in California next month and am totally confused by the whole insurance issue . Do I buy CDW or not and if I do, do I buy it here or there? Any advice?

Duff

I did the same last year. Definitely get CDW and get a policy here before you go and just show them it at the hire desk.

Elvisjuice

Duff wrote: »

I did the same last year. Definitely get CDW and get a policy here before you go and just show them it at the hire desk.

yep and don't let them talk you into buying their insurance , dollar tried to do this with me in San Fran , showed her the insurance i had purchased and she still tried to con me into buying theirs , what happens if the car breaks down sir , it was all covered , then tried the return car empty routine and we will fill it up all bull**** , basically looking for her commission. I used axa insurance

onway

So does a certain amount of insurance come with the car and then I buy CDW here before I go ?

naughtysmurf

The easiest thing to do is book your car hire through a broker on this side of the pond where all your insurance is included so avoiding the upselling nonsense at the desk on arrival

I've used these guys for Florida since 2011, find them great, ALL INSURANCE is included in your quote, you can use them in California too

https://www.uscarhire.com/california_car_hire.aspx

Skittles80

Has anyone used Argus car hire in Orlando? Or can anyone make any recommendations? I'm looking for an Alamo rental as they seem to have cheapest sunpass charges. Thanks

naughtysmurf

Skittles80 wrote: »

Has anyone used Argus car hire in Orlando? Or can anyone make any recommendations? I'm looking for an Alamo rental as they seem to have cheapest sunpass charges. Thanks

Haven't used Argus but my earlier post I can recommend highly for Orlando, you can select Alamo with them

Are you planning a lot of driving? If staying around International drive, Lake Buena Vista or Kissimmee where most tourists stay & mainly doing the parks, just pay your tolls as you pass them, they will be mainly to & from the airport if you take the south exit from MCO, probably won't even come to $15 over a couple of weeks

Skittles80

naughtysmurf wrote: »

Haven't used Argus but my earlier post I can recommend highly for Orlando, you can select Alamo with them

Are you planning a lot of driving? If staying around International drive, Lake Buena Vista or Kissimmee where most tourists stay & mainly doing the parks, just pay your tolls as you pass them, they will be mainly to & from the airport if you take the south exit from MCO, probably won't even come to $15 over a couple of weeks

Thanks naughtysmurf. Yes driving down to the florida keys and back up.

gripcasey

I recommend USCarhire as well, I have used them the last 5 trips to the States. Never had a issue at all. Full insurance except breakdown which you can get from them for $12.50.

Manic Moran

Note that often times credit cards will cover the damage if you hire with their car, also your own car insurance from home may cover it. It's well worth looking into before needlessly paying fees.

thebiglad

Insurance in USA is not like here in Europe - their cover is limited.

CDW covers your liability to the vehicle - if you choose not to take it (or take a policy from Carhireexcess.ie etc) you will be liable for damage to the vehicle (however caused) up to a set amount. They will also debit your credit card for a sum to cover the excess.

If you have a low credit limit and intend to use the credit card to pay hotels etc this may be an issue so take the CDW and reduce your liability for the vehicle to zero.

Then they sell what is known as Liability Insurance Supplement (or something like that) - in America typically peoples personal motor insurance extends to hire cars for damage to third party persons or property - therefore the basic insurance supplied with your car hire may be just $10k - you would be liable for any claim from a third party in addition to that sum (in Europe your cover is unlimited).

I am not sure if carhireexess insurance cover the LIS or not - check carefully and ensure how it works.

You do not need Personal Accident Cover/Personal Effects Cover (this is covered for you in your travel insurance).

If you want a hire it, drive it and forget about it holiday - then take the CDW and LIS offered by the hire company.

Pick up a sat nav with US maps off e-bay or when you arrive in a Walgreen type store - the sat nav hire is poor value. Similarly a toll pass is poor value unless you are passing a lot of tolls.

naughtysmurf

With uscarhire & a couple of other brokers I'm aware of, CDW / LDW & SLI are included so no messing with holds on credit cards or upselling at the desk, you don't need to even go to the desk if using Alamo in Orlando, straight to the garage, pick car, drive to exit, pre pay for fuel if you wish & drive away

discountfloridacarhire is another both highly recommended

ollaetta

Just booked a car for Nashville with this lot CarFlexi.com. Picked them because they offered full insurance cover up front.

In general, I found car hire in the States to be more expensive than I would have thought with lots of add-ons you mightn't expect. Sat Nav, for example, is still an extra which I think is a bit much nowadays.

faceman

thebiglad wrote:

Pick up a sat nav with US maps off e-bay or when you arrive in a Walgreen type store - the sat nav hire is poor value. Similarly a toll pass is poor value unless you are passing a lot of tolls.

Re the toll pass it may be worth checking it out if you're going to be driving a lot. I spent a few weeks roadtripping Florida and the toll pass worked out the better option.

naughtysmurf

It's also worth noting that there can be significant differences in cost between different hire companies toll pass options so look at the costs carefully, it's not that really inconvenient to pull to the right & pay the tolls as you go imo , it doesn't take much time at all but if you're going to be going through a lot of them maybe look at it for convenience but not to save money

Manic Moran

We have started moving to personless tolling. For example, at the Golden Gate Bridge, it’s online payment from the license plate reader if you don’t have a tag.

We also occasionally have cheaper tolls for those who use tags. The difference isn’t necessarily large (I think it’s about 50c on a $7 bridge crossing, but, again, it can add up. Do research for the area you are driving in. The East Coast seems far more toll-happy than the West coast.

julio arca

Does anybody have any experience with additional fees with one way drop off? I am looking at hiring in Seattle and drop off in LA for an upcoming trip and worried I will incur a $300 fee for returning the car in a different location.

We have previously rented from Alamo in San Fran and dropped off in Vegas with no additional fee. The info on different websites seems to be inconsistent.

ollaetta

julio arca wrote: »

Does anybody have any experience with additional fees with one way drop off? I am looking at hiring in Seattle and drop off in LA for an upcoming trip and worried I will incur a $300 fee for returning the car in a different location.

We have previously rented from Alamo in San Fran and dropped off in Vegas with no additional fee. The info on different websites seems to be inconsistent.

Heading over to Nashville shortly and wanted to drop the car in Charlotte, North Carolina. Got one way drop off fee quotes between $100 and a crazy $350. Saw somewhere that the big companies like Hertz don't charge those fees but that wasn't my experience.

onway

Got a quote from UCcarhire.com for an Intermediate SUV(Toyota Rav4 or similar) for €540 for 11 days. The following are included

Unlimited Mileage
CDW (Collision Damage Waiver)
$1 Million Liability Cover
Sales Tax
State Tax
Airport Fees
CFC (Subject To Location)
Gps Unit
Mechanical Assistance
NO Credit Card Fees
Collect full and return full

There is no insurance excess

Does this sound like a good deal and is it adequate insurance coverage?

naughtysmurf

Don't know about the price, sometimes car hire rates fluctuate like airline prices but as regards insurance, you are well covered, all uscarhire rentals come with Collision Damage Waiver (CDW), Supplementary Liability insurance (SLI) & Unisured Motorist Protection (UMP)

You could take out a roadside assistance policy if you wanted but yes you have plenty of motor insurance, make sure you have good travel & medical cover also