Car Hire

Paula10

Hi,

Looking for any advice on best places to hire a car in the Arlington, Boston area for 2 days. We are looking to travel up to New Hampshire so a car is essential.

Just querying general things to be mindful of including insurance cover levels compared to Ireland and varying fees different companies hold on credit cards.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Thank you

thebiglad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058366889/car-hire

I did the drive from Boston to New Hampshire and back couple of years back - traffic into Boston was a nightmare but absolutely loved New Hampshire, I hired from the airport as I picked up after landing.

I used Hertz as I like to go with the recognized companies and I always take out the excess waiver insurance with the hire company (I know you can buy a policy for which you pay for any excesses and get reimbursed) but, especially in US I prefer to have the max insurance for the car (I do not take personal accident or personal effects etc. as that is covered by my travel insurance. You will have no hold on your credit card and relatively care free use of the vehicle with no scratched alloy circus when you come to return the car.

It will be slightly cheaper to hire downtown but, where are you returning the car to? Will your last stop be the airport and home or will it be back into Boston - car hire companies will charge more for dropping a car at a different location to pick up.

Downtown car rental locations will have less car selection and shorter opening hours - watch their times to ensure they are open when you need them - airport will have much longer hours.

Starting with the car at the airport may be more convenient for your route so, is it worth the cost of an Uber to the car rental at the airport to save time in Boston traffic?

I found there were a lot of tolls on the road between Boston and New Hampshire - either have a lot of quarters or accept the toll tag from the hire company - there is obviously a charge but again, convenience wins out for me.

If hiring from one of the large companies sign up to their loyalty program it may mean you can skip the queues at the desk.

Banzai600

we've used alamo a couple of times, few yrs ago albeit out of boston airport . Good outfit good value and they usually bump up your rental if you use some manners and have a bit if banter at the desk.…..worth a look. if driving in boston city, the parking guys are some shower, as one guy said, "they'd give their mother a ticket " , so beware of parking sensitive times in certain areas / depending on what side of the street gets cleaned etc on any given day. but you'll get parking fine.