Yet another car rental rip off

iltisman

Just back from Las Vegas I booked a Dollar car on their UK site and paid the extra for their platinum rate which supposedly covered all the insurances except personal injury. On arrival at their desk they said people from the UK are not covered for breakdown recovery or recovery of the vehicle after an accident and bits of paper with fine print were waved infront of my travel weary eyes explaining what I was not covered for.
I just paid up the $5 a day plus tax of course and told them I would not be using Dollar In future.

Has any one else on here come accross this new rip-off?

richardw

iltisman wrote: »

On arrival at their desk they said people from the UK are not covered for breakdown recovery or recovery of the vehicle after an accident and bits of paper with fine print were waved infront of my travel weary eyes explaining what I was not covered for.

Yes Alamo do it aswell.

phill79

Airline-network do an "all in" price, so no extras await you. They use Dollar.

trets77

yeah Alamo sprung this on me in Boston.

personally i think it worth the risk of not taking it , as you would expect the car to be in good condition.

they have a emergency number on the documentation for break downs as well

Erikin_2

Interesting point about breakdown cover in USA.

Can see that Airline Network provides 24 hour emergency breakdown cover in their price.

But cannot find any reference to breakdown cover by Holiday Autos - just a condition that you must inform the car hire firm of any mechanical problem within 24 hours.

And I tend to use Holiday Autos – must ring and clarify next time I hire. Unless of course anyone knows!

Armbase

iltisman wrote: »

Just back from Las Vegas I booked a Dollar car on their UK site and paid the extra for their platinum rate which supposedly covered all the insurances except personal injury. On arrival at their desk they said people from the UK are not covered for breakdown recovery or recovery of the vehicle after an accident and bits of paper with fine print were waved infront of my travel weary eyes explaining what I was not covered for.
I just paid up the $5 a day plus tax of course and told them I would not be using Dollar In future.

Has any one else on here come accross this new rip-off?

I have just been told by 2 separate people on the phone at dollar .co.uk that their car hire includes breakdown cover eg AAA.

They are also cheaper direct than with Airline network today.

cheers
Bob

steveo3002

hmm intresting , im about to book with dollar

surley its thier problem if their car breaks down on you?

Armbase

steveo3002 wrote: »

hmm intresting , im about to book with dollar

surley its thier problem if their car breaks down on you?

Hi Steveo

Yes I didn't believe them at first so I waited then called back. I even mentioned that I was meaning breakdown cover similar to AAA or AA her in the uk and they said. Yes it is included.

I then told them I would go online and she said that she was the online help desk so couldnt sell anyway (probably more impartial).

As another tip. I've been on their site and some of their models are old-style. Seems like the sebring is the most modern.

Cheers
Bob

pompeyrich

I used US car hire this year as they worked out cheaper than Airline Network. Alamo tried to sell me the breakdown cover but as Steveo said if it breaks down I would expect them to recover and replace it anyway. Got this info from the US car hire site:

Is free 24 hour roadside assistance included?

• Free 24 hour roadside assistance is included with all car types. There are some exceptions to the cover where you may be expected to pay a call-out fee as follows:
  • Running out of fuel
  • Locking yourself out of the car
  • Windscreen replacement
  • Tyre Replacement
  • Key Replacement
  • Flat Battery
  More often than not the rental company will not charge you for call-outs for some of the above, although Alamo and Dollar offer (a non-compulsory) 'Roadside Service Plan' payable on collection of your car at approx $6 per day. Note, you are not required to accept this service if offered, and you can not claim back the fee charged if during your rental you do not use the Service Plan.

photome

I have used

Airlinenetwork

Yescarhire

and

Carhire3000 to hire cars in Vegas and always paid for the platinum rate, tank of fuel extra drivers etc and have never been asked for extra at the hire desk

pompeyrich

phill79 wrote: »

Airline-network do an "all in" price, so no extras await you. They use Dollar.

Check the airline network site under terms and conditions it states

"Our rates do not include Road Safe, this is an optional insurance that can be taken out on collection of the vehicle to cover you for lost keys, flat tires, fuel services and battery services".