Car hire in the US

[alextiefling]

Three friends and I are visiting the US next month for a friend's wedding. As part of our visit, we're going to be driving from Minneapolis to Boston, with a stop in Chicago. We've got most of the details for the overall trip worked out, but we're just at the point of fixing up the car hire

Comments

[grey_lady]

I'd suggest checking out Alamo - they were one of the few companies whose website dealt with "I'm from the UK and renting in the US" from an insurance perspective, and the price was reasonable.

[gravedirt]

I've always used travel sites like Priceline and Travelocity to compare rental costs--once, I got a car for $15 a day, unlimited mileage. Most of the time, I have ended up with Enterprise and Alamo, who are just fine, but make sure you inspect the rental car for damage first. Otherwise, they will try to blame you for any not noted, and make you pay for it.

[darkhorse43]

I've gotten great deals with priceline as well.

[thekumquat]

You may be able to get a deal via the airline you're flying with. Photograph the car (especially any dents or dirt) before driving away.
Make sure all drivers have a photographic driving licence, as they don't like the old green ones (took me over an hour to get a car with mine...)

[guyinahat]

I'm actually just finishing a touring holiday in the states. I tend to go to www.orbitz.com for findin.g my vrental car. It shows the comparative rates of all the major companies and all car types for the trip location you want. It's good for spotting if one company is discounting a particular model - I got a Durango (7 seat SUV) last time for the price of a compact. This trip I ended up with Dollar, who are OK. Expect to pay around 25 bucks per day insurance on top of the quoted price.

[spursgirl79]

If you're coming in from the UK, my advice is to definitely book with a UK provider... they have special deals for non-US residents which include all taxes, insurance etc, and it always comes out cheaper. My favourites are www.netflights.com (formerly Airline Network) and www.usrentacar.co.uk. The latter have been especially helpful with my planning, as we are hiring one way also.

www.usrentacar.co.uk also have a special deal whereby if you are hiring a Budget car through them, you can prepay for under-25 insurance, which is cheaper than the $25 a day you will normally be charged.