Which car rental companies have good reputation in the US? Any you can recommend, or have had particular problems with? Recommendations or warnings welcome.
>>1056977
all rental cars are pretty miserable. That having been said I have had relatively smooth transactions with Budget, Enterprise, and euro newcomer Sixt (BMW upgrade was a nice perk) .
Stay Away from Alamo, Dollar, 2nd and third tier crap
>>1056983
I was checking Sixt for an upcoming visit to the states, it looked pretty nice. Prices were not enormous and they offered most things inclusive I believe.
Whatever we chose, I understand we should get the pre-filled fuel tank, otherwise you'll have to pay for every gallon missing when you turn it in?
I've always done Budget and despite the name they haven't been bad.
Be wary though, because no matter what the company is they WILL try to scam you. If you go for the cheapest option, there will inevitably be an issue like they're waiting on the car to show up but you can upgrade right now for only $25 a day.
Enterprise is number one/cheapest in the USA w/quality, on average. Can be expensive depending on the State/Franchise (a car that is about $30 one state is $50 in another). I have even found huge variations where there are 3 or more Enterprises in one city.
Here is a pro really talk tip. Always go for compact. Thought 2nd tier from bottom, they tend to be more fuel efficient than economy. And they are often rented all out. So ypu reserve a compact and get a free upgrade to intermediate/full size or higher. No additional charge
>>1056989
do not do the pre filled thing The price per gallon can be 2-3 times the normal amount. Just stop at the gas station before you return the car and save yourself a good chunk of money
>>1056983
>>1056989
Sixt is the way to go if you higher end cars. I rented from them a few months ago. I got a premium car for the price of a standard model at other companies. It ended up being a sporty model Cadillac, dont remember the exact model.
Other than that just go with what fits your budget.
I would suggest not paying ahead unless the pay-ahead discount they are offering is pretty big. You can reserve a car without paying anything ahead of time. Often the price you pay when you pick up the car will be lower (sometimes much lower) than what was advertised to you online.
>>1057030
Explain this a little further, I shouldn't pay before hand, because the prices may be cheaper when we arrive? One would think they would keep track of the agreed upon price.
I preferably want to feel and touch the car before I rent it, but I realize if I rent the day we arrive, its going to be a lot more expensive if we pre-order. Will this allow me to change my reservation to another car if I'm unhappy, do you think the dealers would be cool with that?
>>1057066
most websites will either have a pay it now or pay at location option.
>>1057023
My understanding is, if you return the car to an airport, any gas station you will find nearby will have hiked up prices. So unless you drive in with a gas tank in the back and refuel just outside of the lot, they are gonna fuck with you.
It's just a big convenience thing, and not that expensive.
>>1056977
OP, all the major brands have the SAME EXACT reputation, with the exception of Enterprise, who operates on a non-tourist/non-traveler kind of situation, but more like an insurance/car repair replacement vehicle, or long term business leases. Other than that, and the "downtown" or "suburbia" locations of the national brands, versus travel hub locations like airports, then they are all the same. Fact.
The thing that you need to know is that some car rental companies are franchises not corporate staffed, trained and operated (so like fees more and have lesser employee quality), and franchisees can be as big or as small as they want. Also, regional etiquette is a true stereotype thing. So, in a place where people are decent and normally great at customer service and the cost of living isn't too high to have your average joe in an average salary job make a living, then you won't get scummy underpaid people there who stick you for your coupon, less than a full tank of gas, or some accusation of a scratch.
So, how do you know who to use? You want the largest provider in both your pickup and dropoff locations, so you get replacement cars fast, upgrades more likely when it's their fault your class is sold out, and an employee who might be less of a hard ass. Could be hertz, could be avis, could be national, could be alamo. Gotta do the research for where you are going. Their #1 renter is in the club and a businessperson on business that doesn't want a crappy subcompact fit that model with your reservation. Look to see who might be the bigger deal at that airport. Have proof of insurance or credit that lets you decline the CDW (except say in iceland and ireland where you should take 100% coverage). AAA gets you discount everywhere, and might be handy if you have to do a small private company somewhere unusual like that.
Inspect the car before taking it and signing (and pictures of the gas gauge, scratches, flaws in the interior, spare).
>>1057221
Not sure why you are singling out Enterprise. I always rent with them. They almost always the cheapest and service typically good. Sometimes Avis beats them on price.
>>1057222
I've never once found Enterprise the cheapest. So, you see, you have anecdotal evidence.
>>1057221
For the record we are going to Orlando, Florida and returning to New York, so we're gonna look that up a little bit.
What I'm concerned about is them going full bullshit on me and """""misplacing""""" the car I pre-ordered. How hardball can I play with these dealers? If I preorder online months ahead It will probably be cheaper than if I rent it at the spot, right? So I'd like to threaten to take my reservation to their competitors and ask them for the same or better price if they try to screw me over, but I don't know how feasible that is.
>>1057300
By preorder I mean reserve/book of course. Derp.
>>1057273
In NC and VA it averaged in the high $20 range per day, sometimes crossing into low $30s for a compact. Though GA was more expensive, closer to $50, so I know it can vary. I didn't check in GA to see if rivals were similarly priced. All franchises I seen have the $9.99 per day weekend, but you pay for mileage over 100, or so. But if you're parking and walking local, not a big deal.
>>1057300
If you a preorder a car, and they don't have it, they upgrade you to the next level available at the cost of the lower vehicle. At least that's what Enterprise does. One of the reasons I suggested requesting a compact earlier. I'very only been screwed over twice.
1. This actually happened a couple time, reserved compact and ended up with a pick up truck. Good to drive, but if your gas budget is an issue... Once I went from a compact to an Explorer
2. This was with Avis, but went to Europe, reserved an automatic, got a manual. Happened in Spain and Italy. Avis, both times
This is a pretty good deal from Enterprise. Am I missing something and am I going to get bamboozled? I'm not seeing any fee to return it at different location, no airport surcharge. I'm getting suspicious, was suspecting to pay at least double this amount.
>>1057300
>For the record we are going to Orlando, Florida and returning to New York, so we're gonna look that up a little bit.
Orlando is competitive rental central. Note that there is a big fee to return to another location, ask specifically about that with each one, because it will run from "not allowed at all" to "$40-75 for the convenience fee. Also research the Auto-Train rates for some of your trip.
>What I'm concerned about is them going full bullshit on me and """""misplacing""""" the car I pre-ordered.
This is really common. They give it away all the time, but if you are a customer paying for mid-size and nothing less than that, is what I typically do (because I like full size + luxury comfort). About 50% of the time I get an upgrade to the better car when I complain about some shitty model they are calling "midsize" when you reserved the best midsize and they want to give you some low end foreign (unsuitable for tall ppl). Notify 800# immediately of late flights or change of plans, of course, and input flights into the reservation.
>How hardball can I play with these dealers?
Very hardball. I sometimes walk over to the competitor to see if they will beat a rate before I even show up to the counter of the one I am actually reserved with.
>If I preorder online months ahead It will probably be cheaper than if I rent it at the spot, right?
Not at all. It is probably high when you try to rent on the spot, but the ahead thing isn't a bonus. You pay whatever coupon rate you were lucky enough to find. Check ur Allstate bill, Entertainment book, Orlando websites. But old fashioned cold calling to every single one can be fruitful.
> So I'd like to threaten to take my reservation to their competitors and ask them for the same or better price if they try to screw me over, but I don't know how feasible that is.
Try it. Just know if your reservation is cancel-able or not before you start acting horsey with them.
>>1057330
Gotta call them and verify if you can. As you ask the questions, just do not cough up that Credit Card No. and you're not reserved,
Specifically ask "or similar" means what makes/models other than the Sante Fe in their fleet at that location, because it might matter to you for a long road trip. I'd actually prefer a Traverse over a Santa Fe. My sister has a fully loaded Santa Fe, and it's luxurious inside, but I assure you the ride is not unbumpy smooth compared to my Tahoe, and the gas MPG is huge, but if I had to be 30 minutes in a RAV4, I'd need back surgery :P Maybe you're young! So, understand what is the same rate as your class, and if you'd rather go luxury with good trunk space that has privacy for your belongings in hotel parking lots and such, orrr if you want an inferior version of that class make/models. Just a friendly heads up.
>>1057304
>2. This was with Avis, but went to Europe, reserved an automatic, got a manual. Happened in Spain and Italy. Avis, both times
Europe problem. In fact, it's pretty hard not to get a manual rental in any of the countries no matter what you reserve. I suggest people actually learn both if given the chance.
>>1057348
It seems like price does not include DW, which its very unspecified with. 15-35$ per day, depending on state. Do I need a DW? I do believe however if I rent here from Europe, either my card company or my personal insurance will cover this in travel package. I need to contact them for specifics but I might not need to cough up extra for that.
Yeah the car comfortability is very important, as a tall person, and single driver, I'm going to want to touch and feel. If I don't like the car they are presenting me, can I ask for another, or switch my reservation over to some other class of car?
Also on the same note, is it worth renting GPS directly from the dealer? Enterprise is asking for $70 a week, I'm pretty sure I could buy a decent GPS for the three week period for that price.
>>1057353
You contact your credit cards and local car insurance first, and get it printed out what they will cover. I have used an umbrella policy for liability once too. I've had to actually have it faxed to the car rental site a couple of times when they argued with me. After your own coverage research, then contact the car rental for specifics. If you are a foreign driver, might need to have license they approve. Know that agents receive actual commission for scaring you into the CDW, so expect high pressure sales from them. I will pay for it some places, like I said, Iceland and Ireland, so you can physically just walk away from a rock-dinged windshield and get on your flight without hassle.
$70/wk is standard GPS. Paid that years ago and still the going rate. Bring your own GPS. I have lifetime updates on two of my models, and I download an update before a trip if I've never been there beforehand. You can also do alright with Google maps turned on, and a good backup because sometimes you can fight with the "connecting to satellite" stuff. Get the paper map from the counter, too and make them mark it up as a run through. Second only to GPS (and good to use both) is the Waze app and turning on your phone location (might be trickier with a foreign phone, maybe someone will contribute how they SIM card and all that), but it's heavily used in Florida, and all up and down the eastern seaboard esp from DC to NYC (cars communicate traffic, radar, red light cameras and police spottings). Awesome to avoid traffic jams, construction, and radar traps. When driving an unfamiliar car or finding an address, it's good to know the light has a camera coming up LOL.
>>1057360
I do have an non-carrier locked smartphone, and I've been looking into SIM-card dealers. Black Wireless is offering unlimited data and calls for about 80$ per month, no subscription required. So that would be great for us as travelers. I use Waze and Google Maps quite often here as is. I do believe though you can dowload the google maps for offline mode, and then GPS is free to use even if roaming mode is turned off.
>>1056977
Hertz and National are good if you habe CDP number
>>1057023
Prepaid full tank is not expensive poorfag
>>1057330
3 weeks? Wtf mate?
>>1057349
Manual its pretty easy mate
>>1057371
From which shitty country are you? I used Waze amd/or Google Maps. Data usage was fairly cheap and low
>>1057066
When you reserve the car you dont pay a deposit and can cancel at any time. The idea is that you can shop around when you get to the airport and see what the going rate is for the model car had planned on renting.
Its one of the few remaining industries where you dont necessarily have to be nailed down to a price for months in advance.
I reserved a car to drive from Toronto to Detroit once. I reserved it for like $140 but was pleased to find out it would only be $65.
>>1057400
I havent seen an option to rent a manual car even if you wanted one in years. It might be illegal now? Or insurance companies stopped supporting them?
>>1057802
Two years ago in Ireland I'd specified automatic -- I can drive stick, but with everything on the "wrong" side I didn't want one more thing to worry about keeping straight.
They didn't have one, of course, when I got there -- so I think sticks are still out there..
I used to travel for work a lot, and they rented me a lot of cars.
Top tier:
National
>pick any car you want(within the category you paid for)
>very friendly service
>lots of cars to choose from
>even the lowest tier has great choices
Middle tier:
Enterprise
>picks you up
>friendly service
>has better than average cars
Meh tier
Hertz
>just about average everything
I've used Firefly, Thrifty, and Advantage too, but I honestly forget how they were, so I can't give a fair review. I do remember the last time I used Firefly I got a free upgrade to an SUV. And Advantage gave me a free upgrade to a minivan once...for some reason.
>>1057820
Ever use Avis?
>>1057808
Lyck buddies. Manual transmission is standard in the world. Only amerifats could think that manual is illegal or banned. Why are you so centered about Burgerland?
>>1057882
They have to try harder.
>>1057914
No. Manual is the standard in Europe. Get it straight.
>>1057925
Manual is standard in Latinoamerica, Europr, Africa and Asia.
>>1057802
>I havent seen an option to rent a manual car even if you wanted one in years. It might be illegal now? Or insurance companies stopped supporting them?
Manual cars is pretty much a European thing. I have seen rental places offer them in the US, but it's usually a premium kind of sportscar only. Think german car, typically.
In europe though, I've encountered it several times that I reserve an automatic and they simply don't have it when I get there. Happened London, Prague, Ireland, Iceland, and I think happened in Italy twice. I typically don't get a car in major cities, too. It's for scenic drive vacations only.
>>1057927
I'm in the Middle East, which is Asia, and it's not standard outside of UAE, sort of. Officially, yes, if you are trying to get licensed, but most expats long term rent.
Enterprise has always been really nice for me.
If you're under 25 just rent with a USAA code and they don't charge an underage fee
Same for hertz, but I usually rent with them at LAX and they've gone downhill in the past 2 years
being an employee at enterprise id say if you went through us make sure you go to one outside of a major city or airport because its like double the cost just for that
Hertz is fine.
Pretty much all car companies use PlatePass for electronic tolling which usually charges $5-$6 a day (even on days where you do not pay any tolls) plus the non-discounted cash rate of all tolls. Avoid that.
>Sixt
Sixt can get you a premium rental car at a lower price but if you are depending on credit card benefits to protect you if the car gets damaged, rental car coverage on them usually excludes luxury cars in the name.
>pre-filled fuel
Almost universally a bad deal. They will charge you for an entire tank of fuel even if you return it with 7/8 full. If you return it mostly empty then it's not horrible but keep in mind that the price per gallon is the price per gallon you'd pay if you emptied the entire tank - the value equation can change quickly with even a quarter tank still in there.
>Enterprise
I haven't used them but I hear they generally have better quality cars, at least for people with eltie status.
>>1057023
It's like ten bucks a gallon if you don't prepay the fuel and return it to the airport without filling the tank yourself. Prepayed is usually competitive per gallon price but they charge you for an entire tank whether or not you use an entire tank.
>>1057074
Gas stations near airports depend. The one near one airport I frequent is five cents higher than one miles away. Detroit was pretty bad, it was about a dollar per gallon higher. 10 miles back on the highway you could exit, fuel, and re-enter easily.
>>1057300
>one way rentals
One way rentals are typically expensive because it means one location loses a car while another gets one. Demand is not 100% even so sometimes they have to load cars on trailers. Managers will usually try to pawn off shitty cars they don't want on their lot off on another location (high mileage, base trim) and one way rentals are typically a charge per mile rather than a rate for unlimited daily miles.
>>1057330
Customer facility charge is an airport fee.
Priv Fee recov charge is an airport fee.
>>1057330
>>1058036
>looking your rate over
$139.65/wk for unlimited mileage is a damn good deal, even with the airport concessions, for an SUV going one way. I would book the Enterprise reservation after trying Autoslash.
If you book a reservation (either through Autoslash or directly with the company) Autoslash can track your reservation to check for pricedrops and automatically cancel/rebook you if the price falls.
>>1058036
>Managers will usually try to pawn off shitty cars they don't want on their lot off on another location (high mileage, base trim) and one way rentals are typically a charge per mile rather than a rate for unlimited daily miles.
Enterprise seems to offer unlimited milage on one-way rentals at least. I am a bit concerned about being dumped with a shitty car though. What is a good mileage I should keep an eye out on rental car? How much is ok, how much is too much?
>>1058223
Generally I refuse to accept cars over 30K miles, but I have elite status and on roundtrip rentals hertz is pretty accommodating. Just check the basics for a one way long rental: make sure the interior is in good condition, car is not making funny sounds, windshield wipers aren't streaking, radio, heat, and cooling work, car has no visible external damage that is not already documented, and manually measure all tires with a pressure gauge for proper fill (lots of basic trim cars lack TPMS, and cars with TPMS can allow the tire pressure to go quite a ways from what its supposed to be before a warning comes on).
What are the dates for your trip? You included the departure and destination airports, and duration (three weeks), but not the dates. That affects price and availability.
I just got my driving license because it takes forever to get one in Yurop.
I am almost 24 years old. Is that true you have to be at least 23 or 24 to rent a car in the US?
Also, for how are you supposed to have your license before renting a car?
>>1058297
Generally you need to be 21 to rent a car in the United states (NY is 18). However, if you are under 25, they charge you a huge "age differential" fee. They usually have coupons to reduce or waive this differential if you're smart enough to search.
>Also, for how are you supposed to have your license before renting a car?
you buy a car or drive a family member/friends car to get your license. you don't need one to get your permit (that allows you to drive with a licensed driver).
>>1058302
Alright thanks. I guess it's still better for me to wait until 25. :^(
>>1058303
To get a driver's license? You'll get murdered on insurance rates. Insurance companies ask how long you've had a license and adjust the rates if you got the license within the last five years.
I rent cars all the time, I started at age 22. My company has an agreement with hertz for Hertz #1 Gold that no age differential applies and we get pre-negotiated rates that include the loss damage waiver (damage to the cars is covered). And for people without companie agreements there are generally free coupons online.
>>1056977
IME, Enterprise is best overall if you are returning to the same place. Hertz is best one way.
>>1058320
Well my permit is less than a year (just got it), and am currently 23 years old. Sorry got confused over permit and license.
>>1057882
Nope.
>>1056977
Uber/Lyft are really great options especially if you're in a big city where parking is a huge headache. Car rentals are really expensive @airport; better to get car rental ~3 miles from airport--prebook before you travel. Use one of the aforementioned ridesharing apps to get there. If you are traveling a long distance on a budget use Wanderu app to travel via bus/train.
>>1058470
He's going to Orlando, probably the most competitive city in the world for car rental. This guy is giving general advice OP, not factual about Orlando FL.
I can tell you that you can spend as little as $30-50 for an average hotel in the Orlando area if you had a car, but if you stayed with the Disney resort itself, they would pick you up at the airport (little known fact). Consequently, since they can control where you eat by you having to ability to leave, families can spend up to $600-1000/day on their stay or they can get a car and their slightly farther kississimmee hotel or downtown or something, and do what they want when they want. People like to see the rest of florida too. Heck the auto-train goes directly from orlando to DC in a simple overnight trip with meals, wine and better than first class seating.
He'll be fine. I'd say anytime you can get less than $20/day, or $150/week, you're doing well, and that's for midsize or less. Sounds like he got a rock bottom deal of a mid-size SUV for that, plus returning it half the country away without an obvious big fee. Good deal. And, yea, with internet access to download updates a fully loaded Garmin will save him the $70/day. I've used both, and the Hertz models talk the turn-by-turn directions which is really nice for a solo driver watching traffic not a map. It comes in handy in congested areas, which he won't even really have until mid-atlantic or at worst Atlanta if he tried to drive there for some reason. He'll be fine to even buy it at Best Buy and load it up in his hotel room on the free wifi, prolly.
>>1058247
I did include the dates, just removed them from the screenshot, because you know, internet.
Anyway its three weeks in the beginning of may.
>>1058484
Yeah I've made the reservation for the car. Can always change if I find something better later.
I hope phone GPS is good enough to cover me in most parts of the country. I think the ones I was looking for are using AT&T towers, they have good coverage of the east/east central?
Also, is it advisable to give them my flight information? Will that make it easier for them to have a car ready?
>>1058589
They're all the same. ATT is just fine everywhere as is sprint, verizon, tmobile, whatever...each will have little gap areas through say national parks, but you will quickly come back into service.
You don't have to give them the info, but if you were unable to call and tell them of a delay, they can plainly see it in their system if they had the info. I don't know their rules of when they cancel or give it away, however. I've had times where I called and they gave it away anyway (franchises kind of bitchy sometimes), but I complained later to corporate that I had to pay a higher rate when I had called to explain the delay, and I returned the car so trashed, they would have had to vacuum and scrub for a couple hours and couldn't just turn it around, just to spite them. This was in Alaska, btw, where there were zero cars available at peak rental from anyone but them at that hour that I landed).
Anyway, phone GPS will be fine, you'll see. If you need a toll road SunPass, you buy them at Publix/Walgreens, call the 800number on the back and throw $5 on it with your credit card for that car's tag, and then just remember to shut it off when you leave the state on that tag. When you get up to the northeast, the toll roads work multi-state with the EZPass, from MD to NY. No idea what gouging the rental companies will do if you decide to let them bill by plate, could be a daily administrative fee far beyond the hassle of two phone calls and a $5 pass if you will be in Florida a while.
Can someone explain to me how insurance usually works? Are they going to offer me insurance costs for an arm and a leg when I arrive to pick up the car? The online booking does not seem to mention anything at all about insurance, so I don't think this is included. This is at Enterprise.
Flying there from Europe by the way, so I'm unsure if anything is covered here. Some travel websites have indicated that I should not sign insurance in the States, but I have yet to find what would cover me if damages or theft does occur(it was not through the personal insurance company, I called them and asked, they merely offer to lower the deductible )
Budget or Hertz. I used to be big on Hertz but that got very expensive. Usually check out Travelocity for deals and go from there.
>>1058747
That's exactly how it works at any place. They more or less spring it on you as you fill out the other paperwork. It's true that insurance can get a little hairy IF you should need it while driving a rental car. However, if you check your credit cards, some of them provide rental car insurance to a certain degree. I think Chase Sapphire and most airline-based cards are probably the best in terms of coverage right now, supplying both primary and secondary insurance. As long as you use that card for the rental car payment, then you're pretty much set. Other Visa cards are not bad, but just not as good.
>>1058794
My insurance company(non US based) only offers a deductable-elimination for a total of 1200USD. Same applies for any kind of visa or mastercard insurance. Not sure how the basic insurance of the car is, but we'll aim at getting the deductable down to somewhere down at 1000-2000 and then call it a day.
Do you(or anyone else) have any idea at around what the insurance will cost? Give me a rough estimate. The car we can get for $500, which is a steal, but the insurance cost is a big unknown right now, and Enterprise customer service is not helpful in providing the details. I'm going to send them a mail and insist they give me the details so I can play our travel economy.
>>1056977
The terms are CDW and LDW.
It's public record, just find it.
https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/reservation/reviewmodifycancel/templates/rentalTerms.jsp?KEYWORD=LDW&EOAG=CZMT50
It's scary stuff. And, it's expensive.
Here's how it goes...it's tax against the poor. Basically, only fools allow irresponsible people to take responsibility to borrow $30,000 and bring it back safely unharmed. People who can well afford whatever happens, will have insurance and umbrella policies and great credit cards (and high credit limits), so THEY save money. The poor broke guy pays fees, because he's got some debit card that they can't place a hold on, and he has zero savings and no credit card perks. So, the scare tactic works on him, and they really are miserable about scratches and whatever else may happen.
Twice I had insurance that I made good on. Once was in Iceland, where everyone pretty much gets dings in windshields. I paid extra so that I could walk away from it with no more than $100 deductible.
Another trip, I was in Ireland, and while I wasn't driving, it was advice given to us to got full coverage, and boy was it needed there. The roads are very narrow in towns, and on lanes, and you can very easily get scrape damage on hedges as you hug the road's edge. On one occasion, though, hit a pothole and blew out 2 tires at once, so yea, spare didn't work to do both tires. Needed to call a tow, and the truck driver was like 'uhh, this is actually an road hazard accident, and I've had two motorists hit that hole in the past week, so call Hertz" and I got a car repaired overnight, totally at their cost. Paid nothing. When you don't take their insurance, they are far more crappy on the phone when you call in stranded vehicles, funny sounds coming from the engine etc. You need to be on your toes.
>>1058885
So what would you recommend? We are travelling quite the distance and through several states, so a damaged vehicle could be really annoying. At the same time, with Hertz rates, a LDW would be more expensive than the cars rent itself.
>>1058894
Gotta take your own risks, man. It's costly to feel protected. It's why you do your own insurance/credit card research first, so you'll know if you can decline the charges or if you want them.
Have made a reservation through one of those renting middle-men that find good deals for you, and include a lot of insurances as part of the price.
I called them up and they lowered the price a little bit even as a special deal(about $50). I told them I had to talk it over with my friend, and they offered to send me a reservation that would be viable for 48 hours, and I could chose to pay it or not.
Thing is when the email arrived, it was not $50 cheaper, it was more like $200 cheaper. I think the rep must have done a digit or so wrong when he converted the numbers. I was pretty happy with the price they offered me before, but this is even better. Should I pay for this or can they start fucking with me since they gave me the wrong price?
The dealership is through Budget, but everyone in the thread that have mentioned them seems to think they are a-ok.
>>1059155
>Should I pay for this or can they start fucking with me since they gave me the wrong price?
I wouldn't pay for anything in advance when it comes to cars. No experience with a middle man either way though.
My experience with travel agents on cruise lines is that they don't want to do shit for you as far as room changes or issues you experience at check-in, but for you to call your travel agent instead. My experience with expedia and other pre-pay hotel sites is the same. They are taking less money and paid out a commission to someone, so they aren't interested in being your representative like they would when you book directly with them. Take this with a grain of salt, I'm not being negative, but the middle men run a little risk. Since you seem like you need a load of extra costs, then maybe it's absolutely a great financial risk considering the alternative high prices. Right?
>>1059158
It seems so, but you may be right on the middle-man thing. Though plenty of people seem to have used them without a problem, so I guess YMMV.
Eitherway, if I get it for this cheap(even cheaper with their fuckup of the price) it might be worth the risk. If they would start fucking with us at the dealership, I'm sure it would be possible to complain to the middleman, and sort it out that way.
>>1058897
Alternatively, there seems to be third party insurance companies, that offer far cheaper Collision Damage Waivers and Liability Insurance than the rental companies. Might be worth it.
http://www.insurance4carhire.com/usa-canada-car-hire-excess-insurance
>>1056977
If you want a good car rental company try Enterprise. . . . . they'll pick you up.
>go to Hertz
>am a Gold Plus Member (free to join I believe)
>when reserving an intermediate or higher car, if you don't like the car they assigned to you, you can swap it out with any other car parked in the "gold plus zone"
Now OP i've done this exchange twice, and my local Hertz just has Nissan. Nissan Nissan Nissan Nissan Nissan Nissan Nissan Nissan. Altima's and Sentra's up the ass. I mean don't get me wrong, they're great cars, but fug m8... gimme a little more variety. Only ONCE have I actually "exchanged" for a much better car: a 2015 Chevy Cruze with 8k Miles. Such a beautiful car.
To be honest however, I haven't tried any other rental company, so I can't say which is best. I do like how with Hertz, picking up your car and returning takes like 2 minutes each. Go to your stall, get car, drive off. Then park car in the drop off area, and leave. The rewards are pretty alright too I guess, but whenever I've gotten a rental, my company's covered me, so again, I can't really justify if it's a fair deal or not.
>>1057984
The airport fee isn't that much IMO. I often use the LAX/Ontario car rental hub. It's only like $7 or something.
Of course, make reservations online cause if you just walk in, the price is a huge difference.
>>1058036
I don't know how it is with most places, but at Budget, they will list the refill cost per gallon in the contract. And often times its within a few cents of the lowest gas prices in the area. This can be a great convenience, but of course, know the local gas prices to compare.
Terrible experience with Alamo. Hertz and Enterprise have always treated me very well but they're definitely pricier.
Usually I try to avoid the cheap ones but I've rented from Fox twice and both times went just fine and saved me some dollars. Second time I dented the front bumper and they didn't even notice.
