My US$0.02 worth: First of all you are in America. Rent an American car built for American roads and American traffic conditions. European cars are pointless on those long highways with sedate traffic. You need the size the space the comfort and the leisurely power of the V-8, not some Euro buzz-box.
I'm amazed to find myself agreeing with Growler :)
When I hired a car in the USA, it was a two-litre job with a slushy automatic gearbox -- no meaningful acceleration, but perfect for American roads, where long-distance comfort counts for much more than the race from trafic lights
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>>>>>I'm amazed to find myself agreeing with Growler :)
Yeah occasionally people do, hard as that may be to believe LOL.
Last trip I we made to SFO, got a Lincoln Navigator which is the automotive equivalent of an aircraft carrier and built like the proverbial. I'd booked a full-size 4 door sedan for airport collection previously so a nice 350lb lady at Budget upgraded me with a lot of you have a nice day nows. Forgot what I spent but my bank manager hasn't been calling me so I must still be in the black. Trust me it was not bad for the 6 days.
This thing has this leather ambience and the interior is quiet and peaceful. It is huge. Play with the radio, oh boy some FM blues station comes on. You engage D and it thinks about that for a second then rumbles forward. All you have to do is steer it, it will do the rest.
The American experience isn't complete till we grease up, so we pull into a Burger King. Drive up to the window and ask for two Whoppers. Growlette she says hold the fries I've got my diet to think about.
We cross the state line into Nevada. Growlette says hey what about all these wedding chapels, why don't we get married. Nevada must be the only place in the world where you can combine motoring marriage and divorce all in the same morning and still be alive to tell the tale. I stop the car get out and say right you drive, that way you'll concentrate. She shuts up and says Babes why does one part of the highway go North and the other one South? Er--Women and map reading?
Stateline NV. great town. You can be in uptight PC California at one end of the street and let it all hang out Nevada at the other. God bless America.
Motoring heaven too. Just listen to those pickup v-8's rumbling down the highway.
Far too much already
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"why does one part of the highway go North and the other one South?"
A Canadian friend I met last week said that there is one particular road he uses where it has four designations in each direction - and the same stretch going in the same direction is North something, North something and South something, South something. Odd.
The Chrysler Sebring was only a 2.7, but I'd agree - go for something better than a European, something you wouldn't normally drive. My car gave me a huge Grin Factor with the top down, on I-4 from Daytona to Sebring in blazing sunshine...
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OK, I think I can actually be pretty helpful here, as I've spent the last two months trying to sort out this exact problem, and judging by your other thread, for exactly the same region of the US.
OK, standard hire rates are much, much cheaper if you go with the US side of the multinational rental company (whichever it may be)
Reasons: exchange rate & no insurance included at all.
They offer insurance seperately. But it costs a fortune, more than doubles the cost of the car hire.
There are three types of insurance since you'll be driving in California. The normal ones are SLI and CDW, but in California there is also ALI
SLI: Supplementary liability insurance. This basically insures you against any claims made against you by a third party in a crash
CDW: Crash damage waiver. This pays for any damage to the rental car.
ALI: Auto Liability Insurance. The state of California requires anyone driving on it's roads to have a minimum liability insurance to cover any injury to a 3rd party. IMPORTANT: The SLI offered by the rental companies over there will NOT cover this, hence the 'supplementary'.
OK, so basically, you're back to renting one from here through the multinationals with all necessary insurance included. Except that there is a third way.
I found a couple of companies in the Uk which will offer annual rental car insurance, in any country, for one fee, which is much less than that of all the paraphenelia in the US.
(Actually, I have to admit, these companies were brought to my attention by the helpful people here on HJ, but I then looked into it further, checking exactly what the limits of the cover were, and whether the US rental firms would accept it, this is the step that I can save you doing, as I already have)
One is www.insurance4carhire.com/telegraph
the other is Natwest - if you have a credit card with them.
The former is £99, the latter £75.
To tell the truth, even if you haven't a credit card with natwest, I might recommend getting one to take this offer. Costs nothing, saves £25, and I am much more confident dealing with Natwest than a company I've never heard of.
The insurance that they offer covers all of the three types I'ev mentioned above. Although they also call it 'supplementary' liability insurance, importantly it's supplemental to what the rental company have to provide, not supplemental to what you have to have. An important distinction which means it covers ALI (I checked this with their staff.
Sorry this has gone on so long, but I want to give you the full details. To end this, getting the insurance in this way has allowed us to rent a Sebring convertible for the two weeks, from www.thrifty.com for less than we were originally going to spend on a Hyundai Accent.
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Not certain that FiF and I disagreed about anything fundamental - it was more semantics - and BazzaBear has given a comprehensive breakdown of the types of insurance. Included in the earlier thread on this subject is the fact that car owning USA citizens can drive under their own insurance in most circumstances.
American cars don't have to be barges and are far better a few years ago. Last time I had a Chrysler 300m which is about E Class Merc size and with 285bhp was really excellent. Personally I think the determining factor on choice of car is the amount of internal room you need. For 2 people a Compact class car like a Neon with 2 litres will keep up with all traffic. The down side of the lower category cars is you get less equipment. All have Aircon and are automatic but can lack central locking, remote mirrors, CD player etc.
One thing though. I have never had a rental car with an instruction manual and on the more upmarket cars some of the controls are far from intuitive.
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BazzaBear,
I was interested to read about your "third way" of getting an annual policy to insure rental cars.
I have scoured the Natwest web site and can find nothing about this sort of policy. I have also spoken twice to NatWest and they say they do not offer this facility.
Have you(or anyone else) any more details?
Thanks
Cardew
PS
The other contact you gave (for £99) is there but like you I prefer to deal with a big organisation - and save £24
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Hi Cardew
Very sorry I didn't get back to this earlier, must have missed it.
I actually got the details from a post on this site, and after I rang for details was a bit concerned whether the insurance company was truly affiliated with Natwest.
I rang Natwest directly and asked them about it, and like you found out that they knew nothing.
As a very last thing thwe lady on the phone said: let me give you the number of our insurance people, and you can see if they've heard of the company (Strategic Claims Management Ltd) and then reeled off the phone number for that company!
Looks like it's just not been widely communicated within the different Natwest divisions.
The phone number is 0845 458 9677 and their email is strategic.claims@scml.co.uk
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BazzaBear,
Thanks for this - I'll check it out.
C
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cardew:
i think bazzabear is referring to my posts at
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=19194&...f
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....>>>>>>why does one part of the highway go North and the other one South?"
A Canadian friend I met last week said that there is one particular road he uses where it has four designations in each direction - and the same stretch going in the same direction is North something, North something and South something, South something. Odd. >>>>>>>>>>
That wouldn't be Highway 4?? something round Toronto would it?
I spent so long trying to find my way out of that I wished I'd had one of those jingle bag thingies cos boy was I bursting.
Drove Vancouver-Montreal in a Pontiac Grand-Am. Man I thought I was going to be doing that for the rest of my life. Is that one large country. And Labatt beer? How can people survive like that.
Like a pal of mine says: I like Canada but everytime I go there it's closed.
But that's a tale for another day.
The comments about US car rental insurance are very good. It is an issue. Do your homework. BR value again.
But having said all of that US highways, US cars, the motel convenience, the service, lo-cost everything, the countryside, the people (so friendly), the feel of that lazy V-8 stirring under your right boot (yup get some of those cowboy jobs to go with your 15 quid Levi's), crank up the C & W station on the radio, yee-haw.
Do it. The American motoring experience is a great way to spend a holiday.
Only sad thing is US Levis are no more. They're all made in Guangdong. Outsourcing.
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OK ... gas guzzler it is ! In fact, if you look at the hire rates for Euro cars there - I found some Volvos and Jag S Types, the cost goes THROUGH THE ROOF !
So which American barge would be nice - don't need anything SILLY BIG, but agree 2 litre 4 pot in big body + auto probably uses up as much fuel as a V6.... will be doing many miles, so perhaps a 4+ litre V8 a bit munchy .....
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Don't worry about guzzlers - although their gallons are smaller, in Florida they are only £1 each, and with cruise control, open highways and a reasonably light accelerating foot your gas will not cost you that much...
Anyway, yuou will be on holiday - if you need to watch the pennies too much you will spoil your enjoyment...
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OK ... gas guzzler it is ! In fact, if you look at the hire rates for Euro cars there - I found some Volvos and Jag S Types, the cost goes THROUGH THE ROOF ! So which American barge would be nice - don't need anything SILLY BIG, but agree 2 litre 4 pot in big body + auto probably uses up as much fuel as a V6.... will be doing many miles, so perhaps a 4+ litre V8 a bit munchy .....
Just have a look at some of the websites, and see what you like. Are you planning on flying into LA airport?
This page:
www.los-angeles-lax.com/car_rental.html
lists all the car rental firms which run out of LAX.
I did have a link showing which of those could pick you up, or had their branch, rigth at the terminal, but seem to have lost the link.
Oh, here we go, I'd written them down anyway:
Advantage
Alamo
Avis
Budget
Dollar
Enterprise
Hertz
Fox
National
Thrifty
I found Fox and Thrifty to haev the best prices, but Fox is only regional, so a smaller company, and while asking all my questions I found Thrifty's customer service to be far better, so went with them.
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I'd 2nd cardew's comments on the Chrysler 300M. I had one for a week at some rediculous cheap all-in price from Dollar and, as US cars go, it was more than adequate. Comfortable, well equipped and cruised well. I ended up booking it through www.airlinenetwork.com and I think it was about £130 for 8 days all inclusive. Not bad.
I think it must have been a special offer though.
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Jese - Chrysler Sebring, about £400 for 2 weeks from Dollar ....
:-))
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OK, dumb English tourist question - after picking up in LA, where would backroomers head for, given 2 weeks stay .... ?
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OK, dumb English tourist question - after picking up in LA, where would backroomers head for, given 2 weeks stay .... ?
Firstly out of LA PDQ and with the doors locked if you get in the wrong part of town. Ditto put A/C circulation to recycle.
Depends what you are looking for on a holiday. Las Vegas is within easy range, some nice places on the coast going North toward SF - see also thread on camper for going to Northern California.
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OK, dumb English tourist question - after picking up in LA, where would backroomers head for, given 2 weeks stay .... ?
You're not going on the 22nd April are you?
It's just that everything else is turning out the same as my planned honeymoon.
We are also gettign the Sebring (or equivalent, I'm still hoping for a 'Stang instead), for a similar price, and we're also going for two weeks.
Our intention is to drive across to Las Vegas, stay in a hotel there and get a helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon, rather than driving out there.
Then we'll drive through Death valley up to Yosemite. After than we may visit Lake Tahoe (although I think probably not, our itinerary will already be pretty tight), then to San Francisco, then down the Pacific Coast Highway, back to LA, stopping partway down to go Whale-Watching in Monterey Bay.
There'll be a couple of occasions where we'll stay over somewhere for a day or two, but most days will involve a 3-4 hour drive. I enjoy driving, so not too bothered about that.
The one exception will be the drive through Death Valley, nowhere worth stopping, so I think that'll be about an 8-hour drive. Sure it'll be fine though ;)
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OH, if you do aim for Yosemite, be aware that some roads in and out will probably be closed. I thinkwe'll try to enter from the South (Fresno) and exit to the West (San Francisco), if anyone who knows the area has a better plan, I'd be glad to hear it.
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A little trick is to book a cheap car and upgrade to a better one when you get there. I booked a normal 4wd car recently at Boston but wanted the Lincoln Navigator. I could not justify the additional £580 for 3 days they wanted for the Navigator so settled on the 4wd.
When I arrived I asked about costs of an upgrade and got the Navigator for an additional $12 a day. Some difference from the $193 a day the website quoted.
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"A little trick is to book a cheap car and upgrade to a better one when you get there."
Agree with that - I've booked a dozen or more cars in Boston from various companies. Always ask if free upgrade is available, a pleasant smile and English accent will work surprisingly often. Failing that they tend to give a good rate to buy an upgrade. I've gone from a compact to a Lincoln Continental for less than $10/day extra.
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Check on the National Parks website which roads are open. One of the routes in from the North East is closed nornally until about June.
Also, when going through Death Valley, note there are only one or two places to fill up so keep an eye on the gauge out there.
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Good point about getting upgrade on arrival, but in my very limited experience if you want a specific car then you are better off booking it up front as they may not have "spares" sitting around. I booked the Sebring on the basis of a friend in the know saying it was a smoother ride with more space than the Stang. Even though I had it booked, I had to wait a few minutes while they brought it in from somewhere. Last year, the guy wanted to upgrade me but had nothing suitable.
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Excellent advice from everyone here who has clearly been there done that. I would just say make your car rental booking in advance THEN get the upgrade when you check in (you'll be offered it anyway). As said above much cheaper that way. Get the biggest Yank tank they have, gas is cheap, you have long distances and the marginal cost increase is not that great. Stop thinking about Volvos and things, pointless, this is Cadillac and Lincoln country. Hey it's a lifetime experience, right? Let's not be a cheap Charlie.
Yes in Death Valley do watch the gas gauge. Also make sure you have plenty of mineral water with you. It's a very dry climate and easy to get dehydrated. Drink more H20 than you normally would. Just take off and do it. You'll have a great time. Kick back, find a soft rock station, set that old cruise control and let it roll.
The great thing about America is that all the services are pretty much wherever you want them so there isn't that compulsive need to plan everything in advance. It's truly a motoring-oriented country. And with the Nelson vs Ben Franklin forex rate right now you're looking at some bargains.
You've got me thinking about my next trip stateside dammit. N'Orleans methinks.
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"Stop thinking about Volvos and things, pointless, this is Cadillac and Lincoln country."
Copy that!
"N'Orleans methinks."
Sun night I'll see you in Emeril's in the Warehouse district if you like.
Best yellow fin tuna ever!
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Actually I was thinking about some of that blackened Cajun chicken or maybe red beans 'n rice! Place on Bourbon Street which I can't remember the name of but it's Bayou heaven. Must brush up on my Creole too.
Back to the thread. I don't know anyone in America who bothers with the parking brake. Just leave it in P.
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Me too!
Always used Budget and always got something American. Watch out for the parking brake pedal, though!
I knew having an XM would serve me in good stead some time:o)
Terry
"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand"
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Me too! Always used Budget and always got something American. Watch out for the parking brake pedal, though! I knew having an XM would serve me in good stead some time:o) Terry "Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand"
OK, someone has to ask:
What parking brake pedal?
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Just back from a trip to the US. Arranged car and flight using expedia.co.uk and all done on the net in five minutes. Car was booked with Alamo and I was delighted with the ease and convenience, they were really very good. It included all the necessary insurances with no irritating hard sell of extra insurance. I carefully checked what was required using the search facility on this site (thanks to all concerned for that btw). We booked a compact (ie cheapest) with the intention of upgrading if it turned out to be unacceptably cramped or tinny. Ended up with a chevrolet cavalier - 4dr, auto, aircon, cd etc so plenty of room for us both and it only cost $20 to fill the tank each time as well! Having seen these venues mentioned for what it is worth, we flew into Las Vegas and went up to Death Valley, enjoyed the Furnace Creek Ranch (booked on the net as well), and can confirm the need to drink plenty. A very dry heat which shrivels you up. We picked up several gallon containers of water at the store at Stovepipe Wells, I commented to the guy serving that it was 100 degrees in the shade outside, he replied "yes, but it gets hot in the summer". Then drove up to the Grand Canyon, not a great fan of helicopters or planes with one engine, and stayed a couple of nights there. If going I would suggest staying just outside the Lodge area in a hotel as it was very crowded and rather too busy for us. I can recommend the Yippee-Ai-O steakhouse, permanently crowded and fantastic food.
I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did, MGs
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"What parking brake pedal?"
Basically the handbrake, but operated by a pedal where our clutch would be - and (usually) released with a hand lever.
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Basically the handbrake, but operated by a pedal where our clutch would be - and (usually) released with a hand lever.
Isn't it the other way round?
[cue crunching noise as car rolls away while patently tries to work it out...]
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I had an automatic Mercedes-Benz as a courtesy car once and it had the same handbrake system. Absolutely crazy. I had to sit with my left leg crossed under the seat to remind myself not to stomp on the handbrake when approaching a junction.
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I done 15000m during my last 8 fly drives, from Oregon to Florida. All in Chevy Cavaliers/Corsicas or 2.0 Corollas.
Never go for the smallest car. I don`t care what I drive in USA I just enjoy the views!
Anybody seen Crater Lake in Oregon?
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