American car hire

sarahgail

Hi there,
We are going to America in a few weeks and are planning to hire a car in San Fransicso and return it to Las Vegas (we are still shopping around for the best deal). I have never hired a car overseas before so I don't know how the insurance works etc - can anyone advise? Is the level of cover given by the hire company enough or do I need extra cover? (it will only be me driving) If so, what do I do?

Any help would be hugely appreciated!

Thank you

Dan_S_3

Use someone like netflights and all the cover you require is included.

Mr_Lahey

sarahgail wrote: »

Hi there,
We are going to America in a few weeks and are planning to hire a car in San Fransicso and return it to Las Vegas (we are still shopping around for the best deal). I have never hired a car overseas before so I don't know how the insurance works etc - can anyone advise? Is the level of cover given by the hire company enough or do I need extra cover? (it will only be me driving) If so, what do I do?

Any help would be hugely appreciated!

Thank you

Something from my blog which should answer your question:

Car Hire advice

Insurance – If you have hired a car from the UK then UK law requires that the price you paid include all the insurance you need. It is basically CDW (Collision damage waiver) LDW (Loss damage Waiver) UDW (Uninsured driver waiver) which covers you for theft and a crash. The car hire companies tend to allow for a maximum of one chip per day, so don’t worry about the odd few stone chips, scratches etc. Previous experience has proven that the car hire companies couldn’t really care that much.

Pick up

Ok, you’ve got off a long flight, the kids have done your head in, well get ready for the hard sell. Everything from fuel pricing plans, to a Sat Nav to accident assistance to an hour with their wife. The best thing to do is simply say “I am not interested in anything other than what I already have thanks” If you are convinced you need the sat nav, then go to Wal-Mart and buy one. You can pick a cheap one up for $89 maybe less.

Payment

You will have almost certainly prepaid for your vehicle. Increasingly in the US the car hire companies have started to levy a tourism tax upon drop off. Its a few dollars. But you will need a credit card to hire. They usually secure the cost of any extras, for instance on my current hiring they have secured the cost of the one way drop off ($250) In terms of Debit cards I am led to believe that you will struggle if you are from the UK. Cash deposits are accepted I think it’s about $500 but you should check with the hire company.

Car Seats

Kids under 6 in the US need a car seat and the hire company will provide these – at a cost. Well, at the time of writing this I don’t know of an airline that will not carry a Childs car seat additional to your luggage allowance and at no extra cost.

Problems

The cars always tend to be nearly new and in very good condition - In my case without exception. If you have a problem simply take the car to the nearest location of the company and they will either fix it for you on the spot or exchange it for another.

sarahgail

Thanks for the advice, very detailed and very helpful!
Thanks

jeanna_2

we booked with carhire3000,we paid £235 all inc extra driver for a 7 seater for one week san fran to las vegas in june.
I looked tonight and the price is £213

ferf1223

we've also used Carhire3000 for a rental picked up in CA and dropped off in NV. Be sure that there's no one-way fee (some companies do charge between CA and NV)...at least Carhire3000 will confirm for you if there is a one-way fee and if there is, they will look for the best price without a one way fee and change the reservation for you (they did for us) but normally you don't know for sure until after you've made the reservation - so it's important to check.

I do think that for UK drivers renting from a UK company offering fully-inclusive rates is a much better idea than renting direct with a US rental agency where the coverage will be a lot more complicated and will be in addition to the price quoted.

cubegame

If you fancy a bigger car you'd be amazed how a $50 bill will make the car hire agent realise the car you'd booked is actually not ready for pick up.........

We got a mid size SUV instead of a compact.....

;-)

photome

cubegame wrote: »

If you fancy a bigger car you'd be amazed how a $50 bill will make the car hire agent realise the car you'd booked is actually not ready for pick up.........

We got a mid size SUV instead of a compact.....

;-)

Where when and who with?

Alt

jeanna wrote: »

we booked with carhire3000,we paid £235 all inc extra driver for a 7 seater for one week san fran to las vegas in june.
I looked tonight and the price is £213

You should be able to cancel and rebook at the lower price

ferf1223

when I noticed the price had gone down with CH3000 I just emailed them and they adjusted the price.

Murphy_The_Cat

hello Sarah

I've used USRentacar several times and I will heartily recommend them.

The car that you hire will have all relevant insurances included and you will be 'good to go' - but only you can decide if you want to take up the upgrade option, additional insurances, sat nave etc that they will try and sell you at the desk. If you do fancy a bigger car, then it will be cheaper to hire one at this end, than pay the extra at the other end.

If you do use US rentacar, then be sure to hire a Dollar car with them - that way you will avoid a oneway hire charge. Which will leave you with a few more $$$s to spoil yourself with.

Just as a final thought, most people have found that San Fran is a fairly car unfriendly place, with limited (& very expensive) public parking and some/a lot/ most ? hotels charging quite a bit for valet parking. Just be aware that the costs may rack up whilst you are there.