American Car rental

The_Bullman

Hello all,

Meself and my bro are thinking(are) going to america for 3 weeks in the summer. now i would like to hire a car for the 3 weeks to explore some of the stuff around me. Excellent, eh?

now what and where do i go for rental. I have had a quick look at hertz, avis and one or two others and have gotten a quick idea that it will cost $1000-$1300. a wee bit steep but not too bad. obviously cheaper would be better. oh and class would be better still. maybe a slightly flash car might attract the ladies!


i also wonder about car insurance, in ireland if you rent a car you have to get your own insurance, is it the same in the states? the sites mentioned insurance but i would want to be sure as to what i would be getting.

last of all i would like to get anyones experiences with car rental(maybe not even in america), things to watch out for. you know what i mean.

thanks in advance

Our man in Havana

When renting a car in the us you have to take their insurance.
This is the mandatorty 3rd party stuff.

They will try to sell you extra liability insurance for $15 a day which covers everything, car stolen wrecked etc. If you dont take it and you wreck the car then God help you, you will have to shell out the cost of the damage. I always take the extra cover becuause you never know over there.

BTW if you are under 25 there are surcharges of about $10 a day for young drivers.

Be careful when picking the car up to note and tell them of any damage before renting as they may try to pin it on you when you leave. When you return the car get them to check it out in your presense.

If you have any other questions please ask!


Enjoy your trip!

James:)

bucks73

Have a look at these:

www.budget.com
www.sixt.com
www.dollar.com
www.holidayautos.ie

You may come up with something a bit cheaper.

Also on the insurance issue they only insurance I would implore you to take is the collision damage waiver (CDW) or liability damage waiver (LDW).

These are basically the same thing, just differnet terms depending on the car hire company. By paying this daily premium, usually $15-25 per day, you will not be liable for any damage to the car.

If you have your own travel insurance you do not need to take the other insurances offered by the car hire companys. They will offer personal liability, theft protection and other liability insurances all of which are not compulsory and not needed if you have your own insurance plus the CDW/LDW.

I have rented cars in the US a number of times. I have always used Avis or Hertz and have never had a problem with them. I tend to go for a Ford Mustang as it looks the part, can move but doesnt cost as much as a convertible.

Kappar

I have Been, for some time now, trying to find a car rental company in the US to take me on for a few week. I am 18 and i have found a few these are they best i have found for my porposes hope they help


http://www.ixpres.com/globalin/roadtripEn.html
www.adventuresonwheels.com

Jackoman

A few words of warning.
As was already said, if you are under 25 you will pay a daily min charge of $10 extra.
Also watch out for mileage. Some car companies will start charging you after you go past a certain limit.
An yes you need to get insurance which the rental companies all differ in price with.

I was in the states last year and I did a 3 week road trip over at least 13 states with my girlfriend. The only advantage I had was that I owned a car over there which I had just sold but kept my own insurance. After the 3 weeks we had done over 4,500 miles, not bad when you consider the average person in Ireland does about 10,000 a year.

I rented from Enterprise
and believe me I searched everywhere and they were the cheapest. Or you could try rent a wreck, not the ost reliablew though. We payed $640 for the full 3 weeks with no limit on mileage.

And you also have to take into consideration are you going to return the car to the same rental place or another one in a different state. They will charge you a **** load more if you return it somewhere else.

Also make sure you bring youre international drivers license with you, easily gotten down at the AA. Or you could get your US license like I did. Piece o pi$$.

Plus when you are driving over there, you can always turn right onto a road even when the traffic lights are red, so long as the road is clear.

And petrol is damn cheap, so you wont spend that much, only if you use the air conditioner in the car, that eats your petrol.

Our man in Havana

Plus when you are driving over there, you can always turn right onto a road even when the traffic lights are red, so long as the road is clear.

This is not allowed in some states and where there is a sign"No Turn on Red"

Jackoman

This is true! But it's just to give a general idea so that when you are sitting at the traffic lights indicating to go right and waiting for the lights to go green why everyone behind is you is beeping at you and giving you the finger