Car Hire from Chicago to JFK

SunnyP9999

Hi,

I hope you can all help. We are travelling from the UK, landing at ORD and travelling over 5 weeks to JFK. I have booked a car through AutoEurope which includes the following:
* Appropriate local sales taxes at the appropriate rate(s) in
force.
* UMP (Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Protection).
* SLI (Supplemental Liability Insurance).
* Rental includes Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) with a ZERO
excess and coverage for wheels, glass, roof and underside of
the vehicle.
* Roadside Assistance.
* Customer Facility Charge (CFC), where applicable.

As Auto Europe have a 48hr refund policy up to date of pick up, I have been looking at other companies for a cheaper alternative. Yesterday I went to eBookers and found a car (FULL SIZE) for £25 cheaper than the care from Auto Europe which was only a Standard Car.

Looking through the eBookers policy it reads that the following is EXCLUDED:
Your Price Excludes:
Personal Effects Protection.
Out of opening hours surcharge. Charged and payable locally
Child Seat Baby
Underage Driver Charges are not included, and are payable locally. Underage driver ages vary from supplier to supplier, but can start at 21 and go up to 25 years of age, depending on the category of car being rented.
Fuel (Must be Returned with Full Tank or a Refilling Charge will Apply).
Road Assistance.
Personal Accident Insurance.
1 Additional Driver.
Navigational System GPS

I am not fussed my any of it EXCEPT the Road Assistance. I thought it was standard to have road assistance when hiring a car, but according to eBookers it is an add on, which means I have to pay more.
Can anyone advise if this is the case, and if so, is it better for me to go to a 3rd party recovery company.

Thank you in advance.

EssexExile

It depends what they mean by "roadside assistance". With some companies it just means help if you need to change a tyre, have locked your keys in the car or run out of petrol. You've rented a car from them, if it stops working it's up to them to get it going again or replace it. I notice Alamo now put "breakdown cover included" on their adverts. Of course it is, it always was.

SunnyP9999

Thank you Essex Exile. When I spoke to eBookers, they confirmed there was NO roadside assistance. I questioned her, but like most of these companies, they just follow a script and gave me what was written on my voucher. Like most, I assumed breakdown cover is always part of the package and like you said roadside assistance is for the flat tyres, out of petrol, etc...
Once again, thank you for your reply.

jackieblack

I don't see One Way Drop Off Fee listed as either included, or excluded :think:
It would be unusual if it wasn't an extra charge (outside of CA/AZ/NV)


Have you checked how much that will be? Could avoid a nasty surprise!

John259

Two major cost elements to check, if you haven't already:
Is it unlimited mileage?
Is there a one-way rental drop-off charge?

EDIT: Jackie types faster than me!

SunnyP9999

It is unlimited mileage, which i certainly need. The one way drop off fee is $250.00 + TAX. Its the average price for the one way fee, its a rip off but I have to pay that directly to them and not to the broker. AutoEurope have come back to me as I asked for a refund on my booking. They are seeing if they can match or better the price from eBookers. I can see a game of tennis starting between us all on. In total, the car has cost £650 plus the one way fee on top. OUCH!!!!