US hire car out of state charge?

jeanniebeanie_2

We are planning on collecting a car at Sanford airport but will be spending most of trip in Georgia/ South Carolina returning home via Sanford. My question is will we be charged extra for taking the car out of state even though we will return it to the original airport?

Whilst they may never know we went out of state, they have always asked and if we had a problem whilst out of Florida I guess we would have no insurance were we not to declare it.

Archergirl

We have never had a problem going into different states, make sure you have unlimited milage, it adds up.
I would mention in passing we are going out of state see what they say.
I think it would be unreasonable to expect you to stay in one state unless they mention that you must.

telly-addict

Most car rental agreements allow you to take your car anywhere in the US and also Canada, but not into Mexico. So you will be fine taking it into another state. Where the charges frequently arise, and was mentioned in the Sunday Telegraph today (misleadingly described as a charge on going into another state) is when you pick up the car in one city and return it to another - a drop off charge.

jeanniebeanie_2

Thanks. In the past we have stayed in the one state but have always been asked if we intend to go out of state. I was wondering why they needed to ask if there was no issue but considering your replies it seems not to incur a charge.

trets77

okay this happened to me .

we rented in Denver, Colorado . we had been through Nebraska, South Dakota , Wyoming , Montana , Idaho and were near the Colorado border of Utah , when i was casually sorting the car hire stuff and found a small leaflet saying that i was not allowed to take the car out of the original state without permission , and i would invalidate the insurance if i did . :eek::mad:

was pretty cheesed off with this , as the rental guy at the counter , knew we doing a fly drive tour , knew we were from UK and knew weren't staying in the state cause he gave us his thoughts on Yellowstone Park when we mentioned we were going there . yet he mentioned nothing about this dumb clause .

thing is the rental company (Advantage ) bumf may have said this , but our rental agent (Car hire 3000) said something very different when i called them there and then . he told me not to worry about it , as it did not apply to us as all their USA rentals could be taken to any state within the USA ( is suppose you take it to Hawaii ,but why would you want too ?), he also said that our insurance was with them and to just ignore what they gave me . he also said if they had a problem with any of this, they the rental company could take it up with them .

the only place we could not take the car was Mexico he said , i never asked about Canada but i think this is okay . ,

although the rental company in this case were naff IMO ( they gave us a car that had a service light on first , which we made them change , and they overcharged my CC by $100 when i left , which i made them refund ) Carhire 3000 have always been spot on for all ou rentals in USA and Europe , and it's great to have a plain speaking , 24 hour UK call centre to fall back on .


my advice go with them they are usually the cheapest anyway , but they have a better price , price match policy also , and quotes include all insurance you need for USA rentals . then double check when you pick the rental up , and get them to talk to Carhire 3000 if they give you any out of state crap

eslick

as has been said there will be no issues traveling to GA and SC from Sanford. Just wondering where are you going in GA and SC, two of our favourite states

jeanniebeanie_2

Quite a tale Trets! Thanks for sharing -will take all that into consideration!

Eslick- good to know you like the area- we've never been. Basically, we've 'done' Florida as far up as St Augustine, so we will kick off there then we want to see Charleston, Savannah, Beaufort, a beach stop at Hilton Head, take in a plantation, some Civil War historical sites and want to try "good ole Southern cooking" in particular local real pit BBQ!

Any suggestions welcome- not finalised trip yet. We will be going next April/May, so just costing at the moment although we have flights booked. Feel free to PM!

eslick

HH is a lovely island we spent 3 weeks there this year, try the smokehouse resturaunt amazing barbeque, we rent a house each time we go find shipyards plantation the best place to stop and great beach access, cycle through the golf courses at night the kids love it.

We have a soft spot for Jekyll Island in GA is beautiful, the beaches are empty even in high summer, there is a historic distict with an old country club and chapel, we actually got married there

Next to Jekyll there are some civil war sites, St Simons Island.

Savannah is lovely can be difficult to park, if you drive for the day its easiest to park here and take a ferry (free) to the town.

http://www.savtcc.com/

Have you thought about flying into Atlanta, can be cheaper than going to orlando

And this place is a must if you are in the area, huge queues and a long wait was well worth it.

http://www.thecrabshack.com/

We have been twice in April and the weather is always just right plenty of sun, in fact we are planning going again next year either over Easter or the May holidays and just deciding whether its there or Boston.

shaun_from_Africa

Have you thought about flying into Atlanta, can be cheaper than going to orlando

Exactly what I have planned for January, not because it's cheaper (which it is) but because I've an awful lot of frequent flier miles with Air france to use up, and I got a very good deal on first class tickets..

I'm flying into Atlanta, and driving down to Orlando (stopping off en-route to meet up with some friends).

I've done this a few times, and once you clear the airport area, it's very easy driving.
Atlanta airport is huge, but relatively easy to get around and out of.

eslick

Atlanta used to be a right pain but its so much smoother now, the airport has changed so much over the last few years and they have a new car rental site which you get to by train. We have done the drive to orlando its really easy as you say but last time we tried to do it in one day with 2 small kids and plenty of stops and it was so tiring

jeanniebeanie_2

Thanks for all the useful info- much appreciated!

[QUOTE=

Have you thought about flying into Atlanta, can be cheaper than going to orlando.

.[/QUOTE]

We did consider Atlanta, but for our dates we got a great price on an upgraded flight to Orlando and car hire quotes were far cheaper. Also we are travelling with another couple who are really keen to see Harry Potter at Universal as a 'special' birthday treat, so it suits to spend a day or two in Orlando.

If you think of anything else, please keep it coming! :T