what to watch out when renting a car? [edited:]

[andylawcc]

I heard Hertz and other rental companies will nickel-and-dime you to death if you don't watch out for their fine-prints. so what are they?

(one more question below)

 

[ObiDon]

Make sure you find out what your mileage allowance is and how much they charge per mile for any miles over that limit if you plan on doing a lot of driving.

If they're like Enterprise those numbers can even vary from one location to another. e.g. At the Enterprise 1/2-mile away from me, you normally get 150 miles/day ($0.25 per excess mile) but at one that's about 30 miles away from me you would get 200 miles/day ($0.19 per excess mile).

 

[BCYL]

When u take possession of the car... make sure to check it out and point out to them any scratches/damages (and make sure they note it down)...

This way they cannot blame u for any previous damage when u return the car...

 

[Mermaidman]

I rent a lot from Hertz and Avis--they have unlimited mileage if you stay within the state (and sometimes neighboring states). Here are some pointers:
1) Make sure you fill up the gas before you return. The car rental companies have been really strict recently on this.
2) If you have good car insurance, go ahead and decline the additional coverage that they try to sell you.
3) There are often a lot of fees and taxes imposed by the government. These are unavoidable, but find out ahead of time because they add up to a lot! (Stupid NFL and NBA stadiums are often subsidized by hotel and car rental taxes :| )
4) I find that the major car rental companies are more liberal with their policies, so it may be better to pay a little more for Hertz or Avis than suffer with Enterprise. The cars are also cleaner and in better condition. Try to get a discount--Do you have AAA? Airline frequent flier memberships? Govt discount? Also, weekend rates are lower.
5) When you get to the rental booth-ask for a free upgrade--you never know . . .
6) If you are underaged--meaning less than 25 or 26 years old, you will probably have to pay a dangerous driver surcharge

edit: Regarding minor damage to the car--Hertz and Avis barely blink when you return the car. I don't worry about damage unless it's major. Again--I think the cheapo car rental companies are stricter when it comes to "damage"

 

[Cat13]

I rent cars all the time for business and personal travel so I don't have to put the milage on my car. I don't go to one particular company, whoever has unlimited milage and the best rate gets my business. Never had any problems, the amount I have paid has always been the same or cheaper than the confirmation qoute online.

Over Labor Day weekend, we rented a car to take a mini vacation. I just wanted a cheapo midsize so they gave me a Chevy Malibu. The car sucked. It rode horrible and had no pickup, just total junk and I didn't feel good about driving it 6 hours, so I took it back for another car and they upgraded me to a full size and knocked a day off my fee. This was with Alamo.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: BCYL
When u take possession of the car... make sure to check it out and point out to them any scratches/damages (and make sure they note it down)...

This way they cannot blame u for any previous damage when u return the car...

Ditto

 

[Budmantom]

When we rented a car in Reno the tax was 32% + they wanted $10 a day for insurance despte the fact that we had full coverage, then they wanted an extra $5 a day for an extra driver so we told them only one of us would drive.

 

[kranky]

If the car gets damaged while you are renting it, and you didn't take their insurance, they will charge you for the number of days the car was un-rentable while being repaired. Check with your insurance agent to make sure they would cover that possibility.

Rental fees are generally based on "days" that start when you pick up the car. If you pick up a car at 10AM and return it the next day at 2PM, that's two days because you went over 24 hours. They will often have an hourly fee which quickly adds up to a whole day. For example, if the daily rate is $30, the hourly fee might be $10. So it only takes three hours over to add up to another day. The point is to try and get as close to 24 hour increments as possible without going over.

 

[andylawcc]

whao, thanks guy, that's ample information.


anyway, I have one other question, can I rent a car from one location (for my case, Springfield, MO airport) and "return" / "drop it off" at another one (Kansas City, MO airport)?