USA Rental Companies - Best value

[Flashback]

Thrifty are fine, you will head out to the purple zone at LAX and catch the thrifty bus , i think they share with Dollar. The Bus can be a little slow coming around, but should be no longer than 15 mins. the shuttle will take 5-10 mins to get to the Thrifty centre. and your off. I still use Americacarrental.com exclusively, they are great, . just be aware that the actual car Companies (all of them) will try and get you to upgrade the insurance, add breakdown service, sell you a toll pass etc. you dont need the toll pass and the others are up to you i never get any extras.
i have had 2 rental insurance claims in 2 years and never had any issues or costs.
happy to help with anything further in the region i know the area and the road you are heading really well

What's the thinking behind not needing the toll pass?

 

[prozac]

I'm just back from the US. I rented through carflexi.com. 18 days for US $453 (came to just over $500 when the extra airport charges etc were added). I had a GMC Yukon 4WD, sat nav (Herz branded), just over 3K on the clock supplied by Dollar at LAX. ...

Was that the 5.3L V8? Good rate.

 

[cjd600]

Was that the 5.3L V8? Good rate.

I've had the Yukon XL 5.3L, was about USD400 all in per week, in and out of DFW Xmas 2015. (hertz.co.uk)
Same trip got a crazy deal out of LAX on the Cadillac Escalade 6.2L V8, USD238/week all in....a temporary 'glitch' on hertz.fr
Can pay to play around on the various European hertz sites to hunt down some 'deals'

 

[prozac]

...
Can pay to play around on the various European hertz sites to hunt down some 'deals'

My last Euro Hertz rental was a new 200 class Merc wagon. I think it worked out at around eu1,200 for 28 days which at the time was $50/day. Some locations offer better deals than others so think about this when deciding where to start/finish your itinerary. Think about signing up to Hertz Gold Rewards via Amex. It offers a rental discount but also a class upgrade for longer rentals.

 

[AnnaB]

What's the thinking behind not needing the toll pass?

Would you recommend a toll pass? We are driving through most of CA, NV, OH, AZ and perhaps also up the west coast.... and if so, how much are they?

 

[cjd600]

Would you recommend a toll pass? We are driving through most of CA, NV, OH, AZ and perhaps also up the west coast.... and if so, how much are they?

Out west seems less necessary than the east.
From memory on one of our eastern roadtrips, renting National, it was something like the cost of the tolls + USD5 per day on any day the pass was actually used.
Best check your specific routing....better to have a toll pass than not if you fly through a cashless tollgate.
Generally if most of your driving is on interstates you might be ok, for CA,NV,AZ anyway

 

[Ric]

I just made a booking through Americacarrental. Got a Hyundai SantaFe from Thrifty, one way rental including SLI, UMP, CDW etc for about $1230 AUD

Then the fine print came with the voucher... "estimated taxes and fees to be paid at the rental counter". I thought that was all included in the rental? Anyone can shine a light on this?
This is my first rental in the US and I feel so lost...

Excuse my ignorance but what is SLI and UMP?

 

[AnnaB]

Excuse my ignorance but what is SLI and UMP?

SLI : Supplementary liability insurance - That means, if you are involved in an accident with your hire car, you (the driver) are insured against bodily injury and property damage to a third party up to a certain monetary value. SLI is also sometimes known as Additional Liability Insurance, or ALI. (Source Google)


UMP - UMP stands for Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Protection, This covers you in the event an uninsured motorist causes damage to your vehicle. (Source: USA Car hire).

Another great source for explanations are this Thrifty PDF:
https://www.thrifty.com/~/media/Thrifty/Files/CorporateRoadmap/THR Peace of Mind broc.ashx


Better to be insured for all eventualities... never know And after all... it is the US. They seem to be suing each other for broken fingernails

 

[Ric]

Thanks RoseAnna!

 

[amaroo]

Hertz! Been cruising for a few bookings I need for later this year.... lol

 

[AnnaB]

Hertz! Been cruising for a few bookings I need for later this year.... lol

View attachment 92012

LOL, great find, lets book two I got some of those results as well. Dont know how they come up with those figures

 

[jgm]

Was that the 5.3L V8? Good rate.

it was a V8 (don't know what size donk), with lazy cylinders. It got 17.6 mpg no matter what speed or config we were in according to the trip computer. The only issue I had was that the I couldn't set the Sat Nav to ignore specific roads. At one stage, we were on a road which was closed due to snow, and it kept trying to get us back on it. We ended up having to buy a road map to navigate around the block. I think we had worked out over 90% of the buttons and switches by the end. I kept having to get Mrs jgm to search the manual to find out what things were for. If it wasn't the top of the range, it was pretty near it - heated seats & steering wheel, reversing camera, tactile warnings for potential collisions, electric seat and mirror positioning with memory settings, etc, etc.

 

[cjd600]

I kept having to get Mrs jgm to search the manual to find out what things were for.

lol, we had to hit google on the phone at our first gas stop in a Chevy Tahoe once to try and find the button to release the gas tank cover

 

[raleyoz]

What's the thinking behind not needing the toll pass?

You won't need it, in CA the tolls are only for express lanes an roads you can avoid, and nothing in Nevada

Now if you are on the east coast, different story

 

[Dr Ralph]

hertz.co.uk might be worth a look rather than .com or .com.au - do you have NRMA (or other state equivalent) membership? Or an American Airlines FF a/c (free to setup)? Both of these give discount codes for Hertz

Took your advice. hertz.co.uk $80US cheaper for the same vehicle as compared to hertz.com.au

 

[andye]

Apart from a slow booking-in process at LAX, had a very good experience with Advantage booked via europcar.co.uk. Great rates, full insurance cover. Was upgraded from people carrier to a Land Cruiser in LA. Allowed an additional 30 minutes to go back and fill up when I was running late to return in Las Vegas.