>>>they are inspecting the cars very thoroughly on return<<<
They are. I got a 6" crack in my windshield from something thrown up by another car, and had declined all the extra insurance. Fortunately my credit card covered the damage.
|
|
|
"Beware though! apprently they are inspecting the cars very thoroughly on return and will charge big bucks for scratches, dents etc so make sure you check it yourself and record out any blemishes before driving off."
I used a Chryser Sebring earlier in the year from Dollar, Miami. While it was parked someone made a huge mess of the rear "fender" - paint off, the lot.
And then I locked the key in the boot. Retrieiving it involved breaking and entering (no damage done!) then removal of a lot of interior trim around the back, which I couldn't get back on properly. I greeted my credit card bills each subsequent month with trepidation vbut so far nothing (4 months on). Maybe the additional insurance was worth it after all...
Doesn't fit your bill, but the Sebring was a nice drive and apparently is roomier, especially for luggage, than the Mustang. Only a 2.7 engine so felt a bit gutless though...
|
Hello All,
Many thanks for the replies, I was thinking of trying to specify something European or Japanese though the Caddi sounds fun. Useful feedback, thanks again.
Regards.
|
Very few of the major fleets stock Japanese cars and the European ones are most likely Jaguars which cost alot more than the equivalent American car. If you have to have a European car, you can get BMWs, Mercedes etc, but they will be from specialist car hire firms and likely to cost more than what you will spend on your flights and accomodations combined. What is it about Japanese cars that appeals to you?. I can assure you that US market Japanese cars are not the same as you would get here in the UK, as far as handling etc is concerned. The US Market Honda Accord is completely different from UK Accord and I am afraid you would find the US version just as soft and wallowy as any other American car of its class.
Tell us what Japanese or European car you would be after and we can try to recommend an American equivalent...well equivalent size and engine performance.
|
What is it about Japanese cars that appeals to you?. I can assure you that US market Japanese cars are not the same as you would get here in the UK, as far as handling etc is concerned.
>>
Hi, It is not that Japanese cars particularly appeal and I am aware that US market Hondas etc are generally different to UK spec though they are a bit more of a know quantity that the US makes. However original thought was to look to European or specify a US car that perhaps someone on here recomends.
Tell us what Japanese or European car you would be after and we can try to recommend an American equivalent...well equivalent size and engine performance.
At least Mondeo size though based on US fuel prices and auto boxes a largish 6 or V8 cyl engine is probably on the cards.
Regards.
|
A lot depends on where in the USA you are going and the sort of mileage you are covering.
In Florida which is completely flat you do not need a high powered car, however driving in the mountains is a different matter.
As said earlier, the Caddy is surprisingly good to drive as is the Chrysler 300C(Dollar have the 300C)which is not unlike a Merc E class with a downmarket interior. Some specialist depots have Hummers if you feel like getting glared at! - the anti SUV campaign is gathering momentum in the USA!
Beware some of the 'full size' class as they often have a 2.2l 4 cyl 'economy' engine than can hardly cope with a full load and Aircon operating.
It isn't always possible to stipulate the exact car you want, but Alamo let you select your own from any they have(in stock) in the class of car you have hired.
Surprised about the comments of paying for damage, you should have CDW/LDW insurance without any excess. The cars I rent are just given a cursory glance when I return them.
|
|
Don't worry too much about locating a Japanese or European cars. Domestic US cars are a lot better than they used to be and, whilst you probably wouldn't want one in Europe, are usually perfectly adequate in their home environment.
|
Interesting reading...... Usually book with Hertz in Europe and take a C Class Mercedes type group.
Finding hard to map European cars on to American groupings and would welcome some help !! Hertz have a prestige range of cars in the US - Volvo, Audi etc but have a limited mileage and any excess mileage is way too expensive.
Booked 17 days rental collecting and returning to LA for a 3 series BMW. This could also be a Crysler 300 / mid size Lincoln etc. Unlimited mileage and full insurance for £800. Came of the call and did a comparison with Avis who was charging around £500 for the same car and cover :-(
Called Hertz back to complain and they informed me that I had chosen a car group that was not sold as a package so they have now given me a higher group car for less money. Caddy Deville or Lincoln Town Car for £550 which sounds a bit more like it.
However I started off wanting a small'ish quality car and now seem to have a very large not so quality car. I thought they stopped making the Town car and Deville years ago. Are the descriptions just out of date or will I be running around in a 1980's design nightmare.
Comments welcome and any recommendations. I can easily cancel the Hertz booking....
AK
|
Something without a foot operated 'handbrake'
Not a convertible (Avis offered this to me last year at Miami Airport)
Something with a big enough boot to store all my luggage, anything on the back seat is uninsured if stolen (happened to a friend 10 years ago)
Full CDW/LDW and top up insurance are a must
I've used many of the hire companies, no bad experiences, often been upgraded to a larger car, do not recall ever being offered a hatchback, will check this out on next trip
|
Thanks Smileyman
I'm okay with the foot parking brake !! Convertible not compatible with a 5 year old and all luggage and I agree with your comments on full top up insurance.
However I'm still interested in whether they really do still make the Towncar and the Deville.... I can't believe they do. I remember being "fitted up" with a Towncar about 12 years ago as a rental and was automatically morphed into an 80 year old complete with condo in Florida. It was awful.
AK
|
I was given a Towncar at LAX in '94 ... drove it to Las Vegas, felt something 'special' turning up at the MGM Grand in such a
large vehicle. Driving it around California was very nice, from memory the ride was very soft, with armchairs for seats, power windows, locks, CC and many other toys, but the window winder switches were not illuminated in the dark (not sure if this was a feature or a fault)
Car very unsuitable for use in the UK, just too big.
|
Audikid,
Just read my post above about the performance of the Caddy I rented in Atlanta. It had only 2900 miles on the clock and I had a choice of half a dozen.
Just Google Cadillac de Ville and have a look but certainly I would hire another like a shot and probably will when we return to Memphis next year.
Luxury motoring is so cheap in the States why not treat yourself?
|
I had a Cadillac DeVille as a hire car about 3 months ago and it looked pretty much like the 80s version but with rounded off edges and 4 exhaust pipes. Interior is a mixture of cheapo leather and dodgy plastic trim but very spacious and the boot is really enormous.
Loads of bottom end torque and lovely V8 rumble, so great fun to accelerate from standstill and very easy to smoke the rear tyres. Handling not great though, I had to keep correcting the steering whilst on the Interstate to stop it wandering across the road. I previously thought Cadillacs only did that because the owners are all 90 years old.
As with most big American Cars, the ride is smooth in a bump-steery sort of way and it's quiet on a long journey.
Last time I had a Lincoln Town Car on hire was about a year ago. Most of the above comments apply.
|
Not sure the Caddy you had was a DeVille, Bagpuss, as the Devilles are Front wheel drive...unless you were using the parking brake to smoke the rear tyres.
Foot operated parking brake. Not sure why this is an issue. All the main fleet hire cars are automatics so the parking brake is redundant. If you don't like the foot parking brake...don't use it...problem solved.
DeVille and Town Cars are still made and while they are a huge improvement on "80's nightmares" in regards to design and equipment, they are not much different chassis and suspension wise. Though I will say if you had driven an 80s TC or Caddy then driven a new one you would think that the suspension was light years ahead on the new one. Again, this won't be a problem on American roads and I think the soft floaty ride is actually an advantage.
As has been said before, when in the US drive a car that is suited to the US. Get a big Caddilac, Town car or 300C while there for the same reasons you would get a small hatch for driving over here.
|
Go to San Francisco, stop at red lights half way up one of their famous hills ..... the creep in D is not able to prevent the car roll backwards so engage the foot operated handbrake.
Now try to pull away .... need 3 feet
1st foot on the A pedal to pull away
2nd foot on the B pedal to prevent the car roll backwards
3rd foot to gently release the parking brake whilst increasing the pressure on A pedal and reducing on B pedal. Oh dear, only got 2 feet, so quickly stab at A whilst releasing parking brake and hoping car does not roll into the car behind.
A normal handbrake would have been so nice to use.....
|
"the creep in D is not able to prevent the car roll backwards so engage the foot operated handbrake. "
Still no need for the parking brake. Left foot on brake, (lets not start that one again!!)right foot on accelerator. When lights change, loaded the torque convertor with right foot and release brake held by left foot. Yes, exactly the same sequence as you do everyday in your manual car, no need to learn any new skills.
You know you are doing it properly if you pull away from the lights in a cloud of tyre smoke. 8-)
|
Loads of bottom end torque and lovely V8 rumble, so great fun to accelerate from standstill and very easy to smoke the rear tyres. Handling not great though, I had to keep correcting the steering whilst on the Interstate to stop it wandering across the road.
With Front wheel drive and lots of electronics to stop wheelspin it is quite an achievement to smoke the rear wheels!
Not sure that poor straight line stability equates to poor handling.
|
With Front wheel drive and lots of electronics to stop wheelspin it is quite an achievement to smoke the rear wheels! Not sure that poor straight line stability equates to poor handling.
Oops, you're right about the front wheel drive, finger trouble at work here!
Believe me, you can smoke the tyres very easy though. Especially if you hold the car on the brakes with your left foot and then floor the throttle.
Biggest problem relating to the (relatively) high speed handling is the combination of poor directional stability and extremely vague steering.
As an aside, the client I was visiting in Atlanta found it highly amusing that I turned up in this vehicle. I think the word he used was "Dinosaur".
|
I always like the phrase "When in Rome...". I was in Rhode Island for a mates wedding and on hiring a car was expecting some Pontiac or something, but all they had left in the price band I chose was a Toyota Corolla saloon! Very disappointing, but the 2 litre Corolla was just as quick as the 3.8 V6 Mustang my mate hired.
When I was in Las Vegas, the only car hire place with any cars left was "Sunbelt Sports Rental". I ended up with a Ford Taurus 3.8. But they also had a couple of Dodge Vipers; the bloke said I could hire one as long as I had $5000 available on a credit card for the insurance excess if I crashed...
;o)
|
Big American cars are prety awful. Cheap leather and plastic and vague steering. The European and Japanese alternatives are much better (which is why Ford and GM are in trouble!). Steering can be vague and directional stability poor, especially with a sidewind, this makes them more tiring to drive than you would think. Its also easy to be seduced by the size of the engine, but with all that weight to lug around they are (mostly) not that quick.
I've had a wide variety of cars including big Chrysler (which broke down due to failed coil pack in rural New England), Mercury Cougar, Mustang, Sable etc etc. Best was the Toyota Camry.
Consider booking from the UK on your credit card, this gives additional protection against any US surcharges and 'taxes' they might try to impose. This was very valuable when I had very minor damage done to a car on the way to the airport. The US agent tried to charge me several $1000's, but I argued it was a UK booking and sorted it out with the Hertz Europe office in Dublin and I ended up paying nothing!
Stick with the big name rental companies and avoid the 'Ma and Pa' rental outfits.
I would also consider taking out insurance to cover excess - from insurance4carhire.com
|
Big American cars are pretty awful. Steering can be vague and directional stability poor, especially with a sidewind, this makes them more tiring to drive than you would think.
>>
And do keep to exit ramp speeds. A 20mph exit may seem slow but they do wallow on sharp bends.
Stick with the big name rental companies and avoid the 'Ma and Pa' rental outfits.
>>
I have only ever rented from the big boys but have had a couple of bad hires.
A badly under inflated rear tyre, that I should have noticed on a walk round.
Bodged headlights that I found out when 50 miles away in the countryside.
So even with the big boys beware.
|
I have only ever rented from the big boys but have had a couple of bad hires. A badly under inflated rear tyre, that I should have noticed on a walk round. Bodged headlights that I found out when 50 miles away in the countryside. So even with the big boys beware.
This is true. At Albany airport I picked up a car and checked it over. The oil level was below 'minimum'. I spoke to the gormless 'Wayne's World' youth who was on the rental lot and his comment was; ' Just put it in Drive and away you go!'. Not very helpful. I topped it up at the first service station.
Also I had lots of trouble with Hertz when a coil pack went on a Chrysler in Rutland, Vermont. Their US call centre operator was totally uninterested and only got me to a local rental centre after an argument. Then the rental centre made it very clear they weren't keen on swapping the car for me, even though they had rows of cars in the rental lot. Did eventually get the car swapped, but it was a 'downgrade'!
|
|
What happened to their obsession with 'Have a nice day now' customer service?
|
|
Hiring a ar is always made more expensive by the full insurance you need to carry particularly in the states. Take a look at www.insurance4carhire.com and look at the annual insurance deal that covers any hire car. This enables you to take the basic insurance usually in the price and all the big liabilities and excesses are covered by the policy. Used it for years claimed only once. Regards Peter
|
What happened to their obsession with 'Have a nice day now' customer service?
Well, I lived and worked in the US for a year and found the 'have a nice day' stuff to be irritating and insincere. When you actually want something different or something sorting out quickly then nothing happens. Most customer service staff are very polite and pleasant, but totally disinterested. HAving also lived and worked in Germany I have found German customer service staff somewhat rude and abrupt, but very efficient and knowledgable!
|
|
Style over substance, yet again...
|
Well, I lived and worked in the US for a year and found the 'have a nice day' stuff to be irritating and insincere.
Surely it is simply a 'figure of speech.' rather than insincere.
I lived in Germany for many years and when you got to know Germans well(so they wouldn't offend)they had exactly the same lighthearted comments about the 'insincerity' of spoken English.
The British say "How do you do?" and we never expect or get an answer to that question; we merely repeat the question.
The exchange to buy a loaf of bread in UK involves countless repetitions of ?Please' and 'Thank You' and 'Goodbye'.
At least in the USA someone will simply say "A loaf of bread" it is produced, paid for, and there is no other comment necessary except the obligitory 'Have a nice day'.
|
"Have a nice day" said in the US, is as insincere as "you awright" here in the north or "how are you?" anywhere else in the world. How many people saying "Good morning" actually would like you to have a good morning or even care whether your morning is good or not?.
All are just social conditioning, we do it because our parents told us we should and it is expected of polite society.
Excellent example of this is saying "Bless you" when someone sneezes. It was thought ages ago that when someone sneezes it allowed evil spirits to enter the body and saying "bless you" would prevent that. I wonder how many people still think that evil spirits enter the body during a sneeze or just say it because they think they are supposed to.
I have personally embarked on a mission to eradicate such nonsense beliefs and make it a point to not say "bless you" after a sneeze and always say "For what?" whenever anyone says it to me after I sneeze. 8-)
|
Forget 'Bless You'and polite society - I usually am very impolite and ask 'haven't you got a handkerchief ' as some inconsiderate person coughs or sneezes spreads their germs over me and anyone else within an area of ten square yards.....
It seems to be happening more and more - the last time I travelled on a bus ( tenuous motoring link) there was an old boy coughing his lungs out all over the place - disgusting.
|
One of the many reasons that the closest I get to public transport is generally a taxi.
Although I probably do subject myself to a ride on the Metro about two or three times a year...
Blue
|
|
|
