im looking around for 3 weeks car hire in los angles, i need a meduim(prefer american car) size car with any insurance to keep me legal
can anyone suggest any companys /sites
ive found if i search brandx.com then search brandx.co.uk it comes up with completly differant prices and car models
i just cant afford to waste money right now, but dont want to make a booking then find i have to ££££ in extras/insurances when i get the car
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I used to rent from Hertz when I was over there. The actual cars are pretty cheap to rent. Hertz would let me take the car for just the 30$/d or so the car cost (for a Ford Taurus or similar). So I assume that was all legal. There are, however, two levels of optional cover you can take - and they will put on the hard sell. These are:
3rd party insurance. Can't remember what they called it but it was about 10 dollars a day and covered you in case you ran someone over or hit another car. If you don't have this and you run someone over you'll almost definitely end up being sued.
Loss Damage Waiver. This covered the car so if I damaged it or had it stolen/vandalised I didn't owe Hertz anything. This was about 15 dollars a day. Without it I was liable for anything that happened to the car.
Ultimately, Hertz make their money on these insurances moreso than the car hire itself. They are a rip off, and everyone knows that, in fact they double the cost of hiring an average car over there, but I always took them. They were peace of mind, knowing how the Americans love a good court case.
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Life is complex; it has real and imaginary parts.
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I've found Budget pretty competitive. Used them in my last two visits to the USA.
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Try www.usrentacar.co.uk/- they're the DIBB www.thedibb.co.uk/ sponsors and are usually found to be very competitive. I generally find that these agents are way cheaper than going to the car hire companies direct.
You get a fully inclusive rate, so nothing else to think about. There are others mentioned on the DIBB, but some only rent in Florida.
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For two years I've booked through Airline Network tinyurl.com/apkbs - cheapest, additional drivers are cheap and I took all insurance. Majortravel at tinyurl.com/8hp2a were also competitive.
There is a price comparator website at www.kelkoo.co.uk which compares a number of suppliers. Useful for other things too but don't entirely depend on it - sometimes better deals can be found.
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I usually use National/ Alamo. My company have a corporate deal with them, but I've found they can also be very competitive for private rentals especially for longer term deals (3 to 4 weeks).
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As I mentioned in the previous thread on this same subject, If you can it is far cheaper to hire the car once you are out there. Get a transfer to the hotel then the next day start phoning round the rental companies, most will be alot cheaper then if you pre booked before you fly, Or you could just use a search engine to find the phone numbers and then call them from the UK to prebook, I think you will be surprised just how much you can save. I know I was.
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thanks for the replys guys...so far airline network and carhiredirect are looking okay
does anyone have any discount codes they can share?? virgin give out ocdes with their flying club...comes up with the same price anyway..thanks virgin
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For me Dollar booked through a UK travel agency worked out cheaper than booking locally or on-line, approx £200 p/w for a 4.7ltr Grand Cherokee Limited on the Platinum package which includes 2nd driver, and all CDW etc etc etc.
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With airline-network you will get a Dollar car. I spent hours searching for codes once and none of them came out any cheaper. And when you think about it, it's pretty cheap anyway...
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As I mentioned in the previous thread on this same subject, If you can it is far cheaper to hire the car once you are out there. Get a transfer to the hotel then the next day start phoning round the rental companies, most will be alot cheaper then if you pre booked before you fly, Or you could just use a search engine to find the phone numbers and then call them from the UK to prebook, I think you will be surprised just how much you can save. I know I was.
I've found that, while the basic car hire cost can be much cheaper in the US, all the insurances (which you don't always need) tend to be a lot dearer. If you are the sort of person that takes all the insurances, then booking an all inclusive rate from the UK tends to be cheaper. And it's invariably cheaper (sometimes a *lot* cheaper) to use an agent, than to go directly to the hire company.
Also, it's probably costing you a lot to be in the States, do you really want to spend half a day phoning around for a car, plus the cost of the airport transfer etc?
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As I mentioned in the previous thread on this same subject, If you can it is far cheaper to hire the car once you are out there. Get a transfer to the hotel then the next day start phoning round the rental companies, most will be alot cheaper then if you pre booked before you fly, Or you could just use a search engine to find the phone numbers and then call them from the UK to prebook, I think you will be surprised just how much you can save. I know I was.
Sorry but if you want insurance this is just not so. You need CDW/LDW, SLI, UMP and in the USA you will pay local taxes as well.
USA motorists can drive a rental car(in most cases) on their own car insurance - which is why the initial figure is low.
It is always cheaper to hire in UK. You can hire in UK for the USA from 106 pounds a week all inclusive. Show me a USA based car rental firm where you can get the same deal for $190 or so.
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Cardew is absolutely right. Full insurance is essential and it's much cheaper to buy an inclusive package in the UK. There are lots of agents - look at
http:\\www.travellersweb.com
who I have used with no problems. It's more expensive to book directly with the car hire company, compared to using an agent.
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As mentioned several times on this thread, the actual cost of car hire in the US is tiny, but the cost of insurance is high. The solution is to get the insurance over here:
www.insurance4carhire.com
The £99 USA version covers EVERYTHING that Hertz or whoever will try to get you to pay extra for.
The only problem you will encounter is the rental places reluctance to accept it, but legally they have no choice.
When I used it the guy at the counter spent 10 minutes poring over the document, trying to find a gap that he could sell me insurance for. All he came up with was 'tyre and windscreen cover' - and there was absolutely no mention on the documents that those things weren't already covered.
The result of all this was that the price limit we had set ourselves got us a convertible, instead of a budget.
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As mentioned several times on this thread, the actual cost of car hire in the US is tiny, but the cost of insurance is high. The solution is to get the insurance over here: www.insurance4carhire.com The £99 USA version covers EVERYTHING that Hertz or whoever will try to get you to pay extra for. The only problem you will encounter is the rental places reluctance to accept it, but legally they have no choice. When I used it the guy at the counter spent 10 minutes poring over the document, trying to find a gap that he could sell me insurance for. All he came up with was 'tyre and windscreen cover' - and there was absolutely no mention on the documents that those things weren't already covered. The result of all this was that the price limit we had set ourselves got us a convertible, instead of a budget.
One problem that's been highlighted with this kind of cover is the Car Hire company will look to you to sort out any claims, then you have to claim it back from the insurance company. With their insurance you can just leave them to it.
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After much investigation and deliberation I booked in May through a UK company called Sunchase recommended by Cardew.They gave me a voucher from Alamo in UK.They were the cheapest I could find and believe me I checked all the alternatives.
We got a Cadillac 4.6 litre with Gold insurance cover from them from Alamo in Atlanta for just £202 for the week plus a fiver because I used my credit card to book.
Their current rate for an intermediste four door is with full Gold insurance cover = £152 per week.
Peter Kyte at Sunchase started the company and operates the all inclusive cover because he got fed up with the 'extras' he was being charged when he hired in the States.
Why not try them at cars@sunchase.co.uk for a quote.
I am not involved with them in any way except as a very satisfied customer.
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helicopter....sounds good, i'll take a look
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is it email only...i cant locate a website??
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After much investigation and deliberation I booked in May through a UK company called Sunchase recommended by Cardew.They gave me a voucher from Alamo in UK.They were the cheapest I could find and believe me I checked all the alternatives. We got a Cadillac 4.6 litre with Gold insurance cover from them from Alamo in Atlanta for just £202 for the week plus a fiver because I used my credit card to book. Their current rate for an intermediste four door is with full Gold insurance cover = £152 per week. Peter Kyte at Sunchase started the company and operates the all inclusive cover because he got fed up with the 'extras' he was being charged when he hired in the States. Why not try them at cars@sunchase.co.uk for a quote. I am not involved with them in any way except as a very satisfied customer.
I only recommended Peter because I have used him many times and have always had excellent service and the best prices I can find. As have all my family and friends who have used him.
You can discuss your requirements with him(and book) on 01352 755759
The only difference between Gold and Silver is on the former you get a full tank of petrol and multiple drivers. Unless you require the multiple drivers it is probably better to have Silver for 2 weeks or more.
Same disclaimer as Helicopter above, it's nice to see a small firm that gives good personal service and cheap prices.
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As Cardew says, I found Peter to be very helpful and he clearly explained each and every item on the bill so that when we picked the car up the Alamo agent could not find any 'extras' to hit us with. Sunchase I believe deal only with Dollar and Alamo.
The only extra we had to pay at the airport was a 'one way' charge because we were dropping the car off in a different state and we were made aware of this by Peter before booking.
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