Prompted by Tim's post but not wanting to hijack it...
I'm off to Vegas in September and I was thinking, just for the sheer hell of it, of hiring a Mustang - even for a couple of hours. By then, I'll be 21.
Reckon it'll be possible?
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Watch the film "Vanishing Point" if you haven't already done so, that's the sort of thing you need to be doing. Plus topless motorcycle chick, natch.
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Hired a Camaro in San Fran and drove it around California and up to Yosemite Park when I was 26. Close enough I reckon.
You?ll have no probs, especially if you invite me.
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Hertz have given me a Mustang several times without me even asking for it. Just rent a midsize and it's one of the options when you go to pick it up.
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Buy a car and sell it when you leave. Might cost less in the long run unless you're only going for a week or two. Even then I suppose if you were oldman or HJ... Anyway if you want to get down and dirty in the US that's the way to do it.
Or am I out of date?
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Adam: beware the weasel words "or similar".. I don't know what Vegas is like though, but Hertz at San Francisco seemed to have lots of Mustangs available. Also seemed to be the only company renting Fords... As another poster indicated the new Camaro (and I don't know who is renting those) is VERY pretty... and is anyone going to rent the Thunderbird? but for those of us with a certain approach to American culture it has to be a mustang, doesn't it. Must be Bullitt...
Tim{P}
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Well when i was in vegas a few years back i rented a car from "rent a wreck" I ended up in a 1.6 auto suzuki baleno that was approx 5 years old. It was cheap and did the job so no complaints from me. They did also have a Chevy Camaro available if that takes your fancy.
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There are several places on the Vegas Strip that do short term rentals of exotic cars. I'm sure you can Google up their websites.
There's a good general Vegas messageboard at www.travel2vegas.com which gave me some good tips before I visited there.
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try www.dreamcarrental.com they have everything from mx5's up to vipers and ferraris
drive out to redrock canyon or hoover damm...avoid the strip, it full of drunk tourists and mad taxi drivers
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As truckosaurus said theres loads of places on the strip with porsches, hummers, big Jeeps, ferrari's etc for short term hire, getting a Mustang will be no problem its a pretty standard rental car in the US. Me and my mates opted for a Jeep for 2 weeks while we travelled about it was pretty good, think it cost us $680 for the 2 weeks? Enjoy vegas fella its awesome!
Lee
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If you are only 21 you can pretty much forget it. 25 is the entry for most of the big companies, if you hunt round the smaller ones you might get someone to take you, but expect to pay double the regular rate.
Car hire is very cheap in Vegas, I recommend www.airline-network.co.uk for car hire because you get all the insurance included in a prepay package. I just had a Dodge Magnum for 6 days in LV for £111 all-in.
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My folks are off to Canada for a long holiday in a few weeks, primarily timed to occur before Dad is seventy years old; not one of the many rental companies he tried would rent him a car after this milestone. That Dad drives with more ability than most of my thirty-something friends and has the state of health of someone younger counts for nought.
Out of interest, does any BRer know of any of the global rental companies who make exceptions to this rule, perhaps on a person-by-person basis backed up by medical report?
I ask as Mum and Dad are fit and active and spend much of their retired lives globetrotting; the "over 70" rule will cramp their style for future holidays.
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I hired a car from Shoshani's (SP?) on Sunset Boulevard in LA when I was 19. It wasn't a problem, they seemed to be pretty flexible about age etc, and it wasn't massively expensive. They were pretty worried about how I would cope with a 'stick shift' tho, and had signed photos of all the hollywood stars who rented all the flash stuff from them. Might be worth a try if you're in that neck of the woods and fall outside the corporate limits.
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SJB
A quick Google produced tinyurl.com/okpwd amongst many others.
Jack
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Thanks UJ; Amongst others I found the same article before posting but it contradics my parents experiences; None of the big names would quote for my parents Canadian holiday whether contacted directly (so not via any franchise outlets) or via the travel agent as part of the overall holiday booking. The result was that the holiday has been brought forward to occur before Dad's seventieth birthday.
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Thanks gents.
I'll go on a Google hunt later but I'll bear in mind the age thing.
I love them. I honestly think that if I had the money, that's exactly what I'd buy.
Should be fun - especially seeing as BBD's paying.
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Thanks gents. I'll go on a Google hunt later but I'll bear in mind the age thing. I love them. I honestly think that if I had the money, that's exactly what I'd buy. Should be fun - especially seeing as BBD's paying.
One of the possible ways around it is to see if you can arrange something via an affinity group eg Help the Aged or Age Concern. In the US the AARP is a massive and very powerful older person lobby group that gets amazing deals on almost everything. Might be worth emailing them to see if ur parents can join (or join the canadian version) and see if there are car rental deals that are available to them as UK citizens.
The other thing is to look for smaller companies in Canada away from the big 4 or so and see if they will do deals.
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but it contradics my parents experiences; None of the big
>>
so presumably they failed when they tried:
www.helptheaged.org.uk/ShoppingServices/Insurance/...m
Fill in the online form to get a quote, or book your car rental.
Alternatively please call 0870 60 60 100 and quote reference W660401.
* Please note: 10 per cent discount applies to Holiday Saver, Discover Europe and the UK Retail Rate.
Help the Aged will benefit financially from each booking you make.
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The trouble with the big companies is they usually only have V6 Mustangs, not V8's. When I was in Las Vegas I rented from a place called Sunbelt Sports Rental which is on the Strip, they don't seem to have a website, but their phone number is 702-731-3600. The COMDEX festival was on and it was the only place with any hire cars left.
They had V8 Mustangs when I was there, but that was about 8 years ago. You could rent some cars at 21 but for the fast stuff you had to be 25. They said I could rent a Viper if I wanted, as long as I had $5000 clear credit on my card for the insurance excess (I'd just turned 25 at the time).
Don't do what I did and try to drive to the Grand Canyon, but set off late morning and spend too long at the Hoover Dam. Then have to turn back because it would be dark by the time you got to the Grand Canyon! You need to set off early morning to get there like the coach trips do!
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It's horrible thinking of my parents as "aged", but thanks for the promising link. Yes, they tried Avis but did so directly via web (and I think call centre), with no joy.
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Hi
most firms are 25 and over
a few are 23 with a little or no extra
and one or two are 21 with a little extra for your age.
my little brother went to the florida this year (22), flight delayed, literally arrived before enterprise where closing (only enterprise customer on flight) - they only had one car left (despite the fact he had opted for a compact auto(one up from an economy)) they gave him a 3.6l cadilillac CTS.
not bad for $452 dollars for 2 weeks!
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Thanks guys - Not sure Mum and Dad will be too impressed at being called aged though ;-)
I'm not going with them anyway but I'll try any crackpot idea if it means I get a Mustang. Even a V6 will do me. I'd certainly settle for a CTS though!
Thanks again,
Adam
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If you want a Mustang you will have to go to Hertz, and then you will only get a 6 cylinder. I tried to get a V8, but no chance. I really enjoyed motoring in the Mustang, we did about 3000 miles in 2 weeks.
If you go to Avis or Alamo you will get a car "similar" to a Mustang, like an Astra soft top! So if you go to Hertz you should be OK, and if I were you I would book the car at home and try to fathom out the insurance, they really got me on this!
In the USA you will need to have your ID if you want a drink, if you look under 30 they will always demand it.
While you are there have a run down Death Valley, it is fantastic, as is the Yosemite, Grand Canyon and plenty more places.
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>>I'm off to Vegas in September
Funnily enough I just got back from there. I can't say I'd go there on holiday though [I was working].
Don't look at the prices that cars are sold for, it will depress you.
You won't find any fun in renting a car and using it just in the city; you'll need to rent it for a few days and go out in the desert with it. Travelling into the city in the morning, or out in the afternoon, is a nightmare, so bear that in mind.
As for actually renting a car, then you want to use this lot. And they will allow 21 year old drivers and renters - however it does depend on the vehicle itself so you'll need to check.
www.rent-a-vette.com/
And they have more, so much mroe, than just Corvettes.
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I can't honestly say I've ever found the traffic in Vegas that terrible - it's busy but no more so than any UK or US city in the mornings.
The "Strip" gets busy as times but to be honest this is just a tourist route - everyone else uses either I15 or Paradise Road which run parallel and are less busy.
IIRC correctly, if you go out to the Canyon the route to the North Rim is a better driver's route (i.e. a lot more fun) than the South although further.
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Article in the new 'Car' Magazine re hiring mustang in US. It is a Shelby tuned GT-H and will be £70 a day. Hertz will have 500 of them at 17 'major' airports
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Sorry - I missed the last couple of replies on this for some reason.
I'm going to do some research from home rather than wait till I get there so they can't pull anything funny on me.
I heard they ask for ID for pretty much anything. We were meant to be going next month at which point I'd still be 20 but fortunately it got moved to September. I'd be the happiest man in the world if somehow I managed to hire a V8 Mustang. I'd still settle for a V6 though.
Thanks for the advice.
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