Cheap car hire article discussion

accorian

Thanks for the heads-up, RFB-2.

The       Hertz £1 scheme is, as you pointed out, aimed at one-way only customers -- it's basically a way of Hertz saving on labour costs in shifting cars from one rental location  to another according to demand.

The scheme is identical to that in the USA and, just like its American counterpart, is OK if (let's say) you have a burning desire to drive from Accrington to Penzance -- always assuming the type of car which Hertz Penzance needs is surplus to the Accrington Hertz rental fleet.

No wonder, as Hertz says, there are no cars available at the moment for this kind of hiring. Nor is there any 'stock shift' list available: Dollar used to maintain an updated list for this type of rental in the States, but that's quite awhile ago now.

SHEILA54

I am trying to hire aa automatic car in Milan next May / June for my daughter.  The prices from the weekend to today have gone up by about 40%.  Is there a reason for this or do you think that it is likely that they will settle down?  I have used all 4 sites suggested in the forum

Thanks

Westin

Have you looked at those (unstated) weekend dates to see if any event taking place which might be pushing the rental rates up?

That aside, I wonder if Italy is having the same issue as other countries in that car rental firms reduced their fleets during the worst of the pandemic and travel downturn, and now can not find or buy sufficient new vehicles.  Demand likely to outstrip demand in many areas.

onashoestring

CNN reported on this situation in Europe and described it as “Carmageddon “

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/europe-car-rental-carmageddon-cmd/index.html

accorian

onashoestring said:

CNN reported on this situation in Europe and described it as “Carmageddon “

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/europe-car-rental-carmageddon-cmd/index.html

CN was actually reporting on the state of play -- as it found it -- in July this year. By late Spring / early summer of 2022, the market should've settled down and the kind of prices CN quoted dropped considerably, so it's as well not to make a booking too far in advance: car rental outfits know they're dealing with a price-sensitive audience, and the last thing they want to do is lose actual paying customers after the pandemic blight of no customers at all.

accorian

SHEILA54 said:

I am trying to hire aa automatic car in Milan next May / June for my daughter.  The prices from the weekend to today have gone up by about 40%.  Is there a reason for this or do you think that it is likely that they will settle down?  I have used all 4 sites suggested in the forum

Thanks

Not sure if this will be of any help, but it's worth giving it a go because your query will be read by people including many who know Milan and some who could well be living in Milan and aware of the situation:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum-g187849-i143-Milan_Lombardy.html

We're longtime members of T/A and in the past have posted on the forum board for whichever particular destination we've been planning on visiting and asked questions including if anyone can recommend a reliable respectable local car hire firm ( it's often the case that a smaller operator can undercut the broker prices for big fleet opeators.) One small town we went to in Italy some years ago had no coverage from major renters but the local undertaker had a fleet of immaculate motors, one of which he was happy to hire out to us.

By asking on the T/A Milan forum you might also be able to clarify what if anything is happening in Milan that might've caused the spike you've witnessed in car rental costs.

bumblepop1984

Hiya! I have a question about car hire insurance... We got massively stung before by being told at the rental counter in San Diego we needed to buy extra insurance or we couldnt take the car - ended up paying an extra £800 or so...really want to avoid that happening again! 
We're going to San Francisco in August. We've booked car rental from qeeq.com and we have AXA insurance that came with the rental. I've pasted below some of the info from our rental documents and the AXA insurance... what i'd like to know is... 
1) Am i missing any insurance
2) Can the people at the rental counter tell us we must take out extra insurance with them?
3) Do we need the standalone excess insurance mentioned in this article or is that what my AXA insurance is?

Thank you!
Helen

---Car Rental Insurance Info: ---

Hertz rental Included:

• Collision Damage Waiver
• Theft Waiver
• Third Party Liability Protection
• Windows, Mirrors, Chassis and Tyres Coverage *
• Personal Accident Insurance *
• Towing & Roadside Assistance Costs *
• Loss of Leased Items & Pick-up Delay Insurance *
• Clean Up Fee and Misfuelling Charge *
• Vehicle Rental
• One Way Fee
• Rate Distance Unlimited
• Airport Concession Recovery
• Facility Fee
• Vehicle License Recovery Fee
• State Tourism Assessment
• Taxs And Surcharges
• *Covered by a master policy insured by AXA TP Insurance

• Note: There is 0 excess liability on your rental.

Insurance Package Inclusion

• Collision Damage Waiver - Excess: 0

In the case of damage to the bodywork of the rental car, it limits your financial loss to an excess, the maximum amount that you will have to pay. It usually does not cover the engine, windscreens, tyres, undercarriage, wheels, indicators, interior and towing charges, etc.

• Theft Waiver - Excess: 0

It covers part of the replacing cost if the rental car is stolen or repairing cost if the car is damaged through an attempted theft during rental. It does not cover anything inside the car, such as luggage or GPS. It only limits your financial loss to an excess, sometimes known as the deductible - the maximum amount that you have to pay in the case of theft or attempted theft.

• Third Party Liability Protection

It pays out if you are deemed responsible for damage to third party's property, injury and even death. It does not cover any damage to you or the rental car and it excludes theft of the car. The cover may be invalidated if it does meet terms and conditions of the rental agreement or the relevant local laws.

• Windows, Mirrors, Chassis and Tyres Coverage

• Personal Accident Insurance

It includes medical, ambulance and death benefits for you and your passengers in the case of accident during rental.

• Towing & Roadside Assistance Costs

• Loss of Leased Items & Pick-up Delay Insurance

• Clean Up Fee and Misfuelling Charge

Note:

• The excess(if applicable) is the maximum amount you will be held liable for in the case of damage or theft of the vehicle.

• Extended protection products/excess waiver products are available for purchase at the time of pickup. Renters may purchase them in their interests. QEEQ will not endorse any of these products.


---AXA Insurance Info:---

Session1 - Personal Accident US$20,000 -> Permanent Total Disablement, Loss of Limbs, Loss of Sight

Session2 - Rental Vehicle Excess

US$6000 =
The Motor Insurance Policy Excess incurred in the event that:
(1) Direct loss of the rental vehicle (incl. windows, glass, tyres, chassis), whilst the rental Vehicle is driven by the Insured Person;
(2) the rental Vehicle is involved in an Accident that required road rescue fee, towing fee, labor cost, lock or key replacement fee;
(3) the rental Vehicle is stolen;
(4) the rental Vehicle is damaged due to natural disasters during the Journey.

US$800 =
Loss of leased items or travel documents
Loss of rental expenses due to travel documents
Parking and replacement fees due to traffic accident
Delay of pick up due to flight delay or cancellation

US$150 =
Clean up fee
Charges due to misfuelling

Applicable =
Automatic extension of the coverage period

SHEILA54

 I booked a car hire in Milan with Free2move via the Skyscanner website for yesterday. This was for my daughter as I have a disabilty badge and cannot drive. She turned up to collect the car, with the rental voucher at a Peageot dealership, as shown on the voucher.  The company was open but the rental company within it was closed for the weekend.  I am already in Italy so I phoned their contact number but the person on the other end spoke little English and told me that someone who did would phone me back within 10 minutes.  In short, this didn't happen and my daughter as grandchildren got a cab to the airport to wait while I tried to sort it out as they had luggage and nowhere to get anything I drink.  After a couple of fruitless hours my husband drove our car to collect them and they got to us at 9.30 instead of 4pm.  The company just refunded our money paid but the cost of hire for an automatic car has now quadrupled as it was booked several months ago and I can't afford to pay that.  My husband has to fly back to England on Monday, when our car rental ends. After that we have no method of transport to get around and I can't walk far so will be confined to where we are staying. The public transport isn't good either which will mean that they can't go far and we will have problems getting back to the airport on Saturday.  I have left a message on their website but no response.  What are out rights please as it is ruining our holiday and has already caused stress and cost money The hire company has good reviews or would not have used them but the cost to hire a car for a week now is £1250 whereas I paid £300.  Please can you help me?

Albany27

What happens if your outbound flight is delayed and the car hire desk is closed by the time you get there? Would travel insurance usually cover hiring a car from another rental company in this scenario? What if you don't have travel insurance -- is that just tough?

hair47

Has anyone used  GOTRENTALCARS. Looking for 2wks in vegas September.  Coming up with £600 . Seems a bargain ?