US Car Rental -Am I on the right path??

pompeyrich

neilbond007 wrote: »

Even though i now live in the US i still use UK brokers (normally netflights) as they are much cheaper and I know I'm covered. I had an accident once in LA. Some !!!!!! ran in to me. I took it back to Dollar and once they knew I had netflights full coverage there was 1 form to fill in and I was away.

I would buy a satnav when I got to the US and sell it on ebay when you get home. You can get them for less than $100 at most stores (walmart, target, best buy etc).

Hi Neil, after looking through the T&Cs for Dollar I came across this one that may affect your cover as a US resident, "All drivers must possess a valid driver’s license in their country of residence. Drivers with a USA or Canada driver’s license will NOT be accepted at time of rental". I'm sure you already know this but in case you didn't.

I too had a slight knock in Florida, reversed into a metal pole, scratched the back of the car, Dollar called it "severe" damage but had their insurance and just signed the form and that was that.

photome

Have you looked at carhire3000 a standard SUV (chevy blazer or similar) is £455 for your 15 days inc all drivers, insurances and a tank of fuel.

I know you say, under CA law that additional drivers are free, but does that include UK drivers or is it just drivers witha US license.

I have rented many times in the USA inc CA and have always gone ith a UK broker and paid for an all inclusive package

If you have a smart phone running android you can get copilot USA (i think its called) for £3 and a little bit more for the i phone

pazza2000

That is the price for 1 driver plus + no gas. Maybe your seeing something different? 15 days from Aug20th... If you could provide a breakdown it be much appreciated

photome

http://www.carhire3000.com/SearchResults.do?country=USA+-+California&city=Los+Angeles&location=4178&puDay=20&puMonth=8&puYear=2011&puHour=12&puMinute=30&dropCountry=USA+-+California&dropCity=Los+Angeles&dropLocation=4178&doDay=3&doMonth=9&doYear=2011&doHour=12&doMinute=30&driversAge=25&serverName=www.carhire3000.com&locationName=Los+Angeles+Airport&dropLocationName=Los+Angeles+Airport&promoCity%246203=819&promoLoc%249420=4659&x=79&y=16

From the 20th to the 3rd sep is £455 all in (or is it till the 4th) £494 till the 4th

Could you let me know if the additional driver law applies to UK drivers?

Edit first link didnt work, the above link gives all results and it is half way down

What is your best price doing it with seperate insurance, although I am sure that I read somwhere that US car hire companies wont recognise insurance bought in the Uk

neilbond007

pompeyrich wrote: »

Hi Neil, after looking through the T&Cs for Dollar I came across this one that may affect your cover as a US resident, "All drivers must possess a valid driver’s license in their country of residence. Drivers with a USA or Canada driver’s license will NOT be accepted at time of rental". I'm sure you already know this but in case you didn't.

I too had a slight knock in Florida, reversed into a metal pole, scratched the back of the car, Dollar called it "severe" damage but had their insurance and just signed the form and that was that.

I was aware. Just chose to ignore. I'm here on a 3 year Visa but still have my UK driving license / current account in my parents address back in the UK.

I have a 7 week old daughter now , so road trips are pretty much off the cards for a while

ferf1223

photome wrote: »

Could you let me know if the additional driver law applies to UK drivers?

'licensed driver' isn't a defined term that makes reference to holding a US license...though I suppose there could somewhere else in the California Civil Code that might restrict the term in some way, but it's not immediately obvious at least.

http://law.onecle.com/california/civil/1936.01.html

(5) A rental company may not charge any fee for authorized drivers
in addition to the rental charge for an individual renter.

(3) "Authorized driver" means (A) the renter, (B) the renter's
spouse if that person is a licensed driver and satisfies the rental
company's minimum age requirement, (C) the renter's employer or
coworker if he or she is engaged in business activity with the
renter, is a licensed driver, and satisfies the rental company's
minimum age requirement, and (D) a person expressly listed by the
rental company on the renter's contract as an authorized driver.

pompeyrich

neilbond007 wrote: »

I was aware. Just chose to ignore. I'm here on a 3 year Visa but still have my UK driving license / current account in my parents address back in the UK.

I have a 7 week old daughter now , so road trips are pretty much off the cards for a while

Nice on Neil, congratulations, wish I had up and gone for it years ago but probably too late for me now, my lad is training to be a teacher and wants to move there, so maybe some cheap hols in a few years. Really cant blame anyone for getting out of here, Hope it all works out for you.

samsonious

Just a heads up as you've mentioned both LA and Dollar car rental. I've recently been through there and rented via Dollar.co.uk and was initially impressed with the price.

We were picking up in LAX and dropping off in San Diego and after hearing people having problems about pre arranged differences in locations i wanted to make clear that they understood that we were dropping it elsewhere.

As part of collecting i specifically asked them to confirm there would be no additional charges and the man confirmed everything was paid up front and there would be no further charges, they just needed my credit card details for potential damage costs.

Dropped off fine in san diego after a great holiday but upon return i've noticed that after dropping it off theyve charged me $150. I've been in touch with customer services who didn't seem to care i'd been charged without consent/notification and said it was for PPP and Roadsafe. Looking up what roadsafe is, its breakdown cover. As i hadnt actually signed up for breakdown cover, i had no idea about it and had i actually broken down, wouldnt have known i had it and wouldnt have called whatever special number i needed or jumped through the appropriate hoops. Both seem to be insurance thats been added after drop off, therefore completely useless as products, and without prior consent.

Googling it seems to be something fairly common with dollar but specifically with dollar at LAX.

Something to bear in mind. Trying to get refund but not holding my breath.

photome

samsonious wrote: »

Just a heads up as you've mentioned both LA and Dollar car rental. I've recently been through there and rented via Dollar.co.uk and was initially impressed with the price.

We were picking up in LAX and dropping off in San Diego and after hearing people having problems about pre arranged differences in locations i wanted to make clear that they understood that we were dropping it elsewhere.

As part of collecting i specifically asked them to confirm there would be no additional charges and the man confirmed everything was paid up front and there would be no further charges, they just needed my credit card details for potential damage costs.

Dropped off fine in san diego after a great holiday but upon return i've noticed that after dropping it off theyve charged me $150. I've been in touch with customer services who didn't seem to care i'd been charged without consent/notification and said it was for PPP and Roadsafe. Looking up what roadsafe is, its breakdown cover. As i hadnt actually signed up for breakdown cover, i had no idea about it and had i actually broken down, wouldnt have known i had it and wouldnt have called whatever special number i needed or jumped through the appropriate hoops. Both seem to be insurance thats been added after drop off, therefore completely useless as products, and without prior consent.

Googling it seems to be something fairly common with dollar but specifically with dollar at LAX.

Something to bear in mind. Trying to get refund but not holding my breath.

Exactly the same thing happened to me at the dollar desk at LAX.

I did sign for it as they showed me a photocopy of it when i disputed the charge. I was so tired when I rented it ,I told them I had prepaid in full and they confirmed verbally that there was nothing else to pay. Where I signed the writing was so small it was difficult to read.

I didnt get a refund .

I have rented with dollar many times from Vegas and never had the problem

NewStart09

You might also want to check the small print some of the US Car Rental companies are now requiring an international drivers license, which you can purchase at your local Post Office for less than £20 I believe.

Only mention this as I am in the states in March and saw this in the small print for my hertz booking....:)

Have a nice trip, just get the insurance that covers you no matter what happens its worth the peace of mind............

NewStart09