Options for 6 week car rental in or arounf NYC over the holidays
July 30, 2020 12:14 PM Subscribe
We're looking to rent a car for 5-6 weeks in December - January to drive (possibly) across the USA and back, starting and finishing in NYC. What are our best / cheapest options?
With the family spread out across the country, we're going to have to suck it up and rent a car to see folks in the midwest, the Rockies, and possibly the west coast (flying, train, bus, etc. are out of the question due to the pandemic). We're in NYC and looking to rent something reliable and reasonably priced from early/mid-December to mid/late January.
Is there a 'best time' to rent ahead? That is, is it better to reserve something now, or in 2 months, or 2 weeks before the trip? Are there options other than Avis/Hertz/Enterprise, etc?
With the family spread out across the country, we're going to have to suck it up and rent a car to see folks in the midwest, the Rockies, and possibly the west coast (flying, train, bus, etc. are out of the question due to the pandemic). We're in NYC and looking to rent something reliable and reasonably priced from early/mid-December to mid/late January.
Is there a 'best time' to rent ahead? That is, is it better to reserve something now, or in 2 months, or 2 weeks before the trip? Are there options other than Avis/Hertz/Enterprise, etc?
Christmas and Thanksgiving have traditionally been the busiest times for car rentals, I would make reservations as far in advance as possible.
Car rental companies are selling off inventory since car rentals are down, but I suspect you are not going to be the only people who are wanting to drive for their entire trip instead of renting at their destination, so I would expect it to be much more difficult than usual (usual=no cars available at all if you are looking a week before Thanksgiving) to get a car closer in to those holidays.
Some companies require you to notify them if you are taking the car out of state (or maybe it varies by state, IDK).
posted by yohko at 12:40 PM on July 30, 2020
Car rental companies are selling off inventory since car rentals are down, but I suspect you are not going to be the only people who are wanting to drive for their entire trip instead of renting at their destination, so I would expect it to be much more difficult than usual (usual=no cars available at all if you are looking a week before Thanksgiving) to get a car closer in to those holidays.
Some companies require you to notify them if you are taking the car out of state (or maybe it varies by state, IDK).
posted by yohko at 12:40 PM on July 30, 2020
Historically, Costco's travel site would get very low rental rates in most cases to the point that renting a car for a week would result in enough savings to pay for the membership.
Right now they are so starved for business that you can probably call the local rental places and ask if they want to cut you a deal.
Hertz is currently in chapter 11 bankruptcy. I believe they have a clear path forward at this point, but definitely investigate to be sure if you go with them. I'd also check the fiscal health of any company you consider renting from, especially if they're pushing for prepayment.
For a cross-country trip in the winter, make sure that you have good insurance coverage. Amex has an optional plan that adds cheap insurance to rentals that's worth looking at.
posted by Candleman at 12:43 PM on July 30, 2020
Right now they are so starved for business that you can probably call the local rental places and ask if they want to cut you a deal.
Hertz is currently in chapter 11 bankruptcy. I believe they have a clear path forward at this point, but definitely investigate to be sure if you go with them. I'd also check the fiscal health of any company you consider renting from, especially if they're pushing for prepayment.
For a cross-country trip in the winter, make sure that you have good insurance coverage. Amex has an optional plan that adds cheap insurance to rentals that's worth looking at.
posted by Candleman at 12:43 PM on July 30, 2020
Renting a car in NYC proper is almost always a way to pay way more than you need to. I would definitely look at New Jersey and Connecticut locations. You need unlimited mileage for a trip that long.
I tend to rent from Alamo/National for weekly rentals with unlimited mileage. Join their frequent renter club for sure to see lower rates.
Alas, an enormous number of people I know are planning driving vacations, including over winter break, for the same reasons you are. The used car market is hopping. The new large SUV market is hopping. The camping trailer and RV rental business is hopping.
I’m not so sure traveling by car is actually safer anyway. You have to stop to sleep and eat and get gas and pee. It adds up to a lot more hours of total exposure to strangers than you might get on a flight. But I’d get everything lined up really soon, including campground or hotel reservations. You are part of a trend.
Also just as a side note, Enterprise supplies the unmarked vans used by DHS agents to round up peaceful protesters and there is a movement afoot to boycott them over this.
posted by spitbull at 12:45 PM on July 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
I tend to rent from Alamo/National for weekly rentals with unlimited mileage. Join their frequent renter club for sure to see lower rates.
Alas, an enormous number of people I know are planning driving vacations, including over winter break, for the same reasons you are. The used car market is hopping. The new large SUV market is hopping. The camping trailer and RV rental business is hopping.
I’m not so sure traveling by car is actually safer anyway. You have to stop to sleep and eat and get gas and pee. It adds up to a lot more hours of total exposure to strangers than you might get on a flight. But I’d get everything lined up really soon, including campground or hotel reservations. You are part of a trend.
Also just as a side note, Enterprise supplies the unmarked vans used by DHS agents to round up peaceful protesters and there is a movement afoot to boycott them over this.
posted by spitbull at 12:45 PM on July 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
And to add, dozens of people I know planning driving vacations, looking to buy a used or new car, or to rent an RV or and SUV are in NYC, where of course car ownership is rare even among people who could afford a car (which is the class of people I’m mostly talking about here). You really are part of a crowd. And that may end up being true on the road too. I just had to visit a NY DMV — upstate. The wait was 4 hours. A lot of that was people with new cars to register too. And this was an area where most people own and need cars.
posted by spitbull at 12:48 PM on July 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by spitbull at 12:48 PM on July 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
I've had good luck with Hotwite for renting a car in NYC. Generally the best prices seem to be at the airport or in New Jersey although I know people know have gone as far as CT to rent a car at a better price (of course now you have to factor in safely getting to any of those places).
A lot of the car rental places will let you reserve now and cancel later. I would advise locking in a reservation now and then keeping an eye on the price and canceling if you find a better one.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 1:40 PM on July 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
A lot of the car rental places will let you reserve now and cancel later. I would advise locking in a reservation now and then keeping an eye on the price and canceling if you find a better one.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 1:40 PM on July 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Right now they are so starved for business that you can probably call the local rental places and ask if they want to cut you a deal.
I paid 450 to rent from budget for a week (last week) in Brooklyn. There was a line to pick up when I got the car and dropped it off. I’m not sure how effective the above strategy will be.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 3:11 PM on July 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
I paid 450 to rent from budget for a week (last week) in Brooklyn. There was a line to pick up when I got the car and dropped it off. I’m not sure how effective the above strategy will be.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 3:11 PM on July 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: On the insurance front, since you don’t own a car now you may not grasp this. This is my personal AskMe Secular Sermon. I’ve said it before. Eveyone who rents a car needs to know this and misunderstanding of it is widespread and very risky.
Normally when you rent a car the expectation is that you have personal automobile insurance that includes liability coverage and possibly collision and comprehensive coverage for rental cars. Every policy is different so check and don’t assume. Make sure it’s good if you rent a car and travel interstate too.
But since you apparently don’t have a car this is really crucial. There are two kinds of “insurance” that matter: A) insurance against damage to your rental car and B) insurance against damaging someone else’s vehicle, property, health, or life.
When most people ask or talk about “rental car coverage” — including on AskMe — they mean type A. If you damage the rental car (and even a scratch or a small dent can cost more than you think to fix, again if you don’t own a car you may not think of a branch scratch as a $1500 repair, but it easily can be and rental car companies make bank charging for minor damage at absurd rates) who is responsible?
Many major credit cards offer coverage for this scenario, which kicks in only after you claim the primary cost on your personal auto insurance. Thus really the card covers your insurance deductible, and a claim may raise your personal rates. If you don’t have personal auto insurance, most cards (key: as long as and only if you use them to charge the rental!) in theory cover the first line of claim, but with absurdly low limits that won’t replace a compact SUV, let alone a bigger vehicle. They are notoriously rather hard to collect on too, and reimburse you rather than paying the rental agency repair bill directly, so you’re always out of pocket a bit. Personally I would never rely on standard credit card “rental car coverage” as a first line of defense.
Here’s the thing though. Your least concern is actually the cost of the car you’re renting. Your liability there maxes out at the price of the car, so let’s say $40k if you rent a standard 3-row SUV. For some folks, that may be a hit but it won’t bankrupt you. So maybe it’s a risk you’re willing to take because you’re sure you’ll never be at fault in a accident that totals or does does major damage to the car. (This by the way makes you a fool. No matter how well you drive. No matter how perfect your record.)
No credit card policy covers any liability beyond the cost of the car you rented. None.
Also, in most cases your personal medical insurance (If you have it) likely covers you If you’re injured. It may not if there is another source to tap — a driver who is at fault injuring you, for example. And know how it covers out of network stuff, as you may be 2000 miles from your home network when you need that $3000 CT-scan.
But the thing is, when you pilot a couple of tons of steel through the world at a high rate of speed, your real risk is OTHER PEOPLE GETTING HURT. A broken pelvis can easily cost the price of four big SUVs. A totaled Porsche because you hit a patch of black ice can run you $200k. A dead person can result in judgements in the millions. Hitting a building can be a $30,000 mistake.
The Amex “insurance” coverage mentioned above is better than most. You pay an annual fee (like $100 as I recall) and then use the card to rent the car, at which point you’re charged $25 for the entire rental as a surcharge, whatever its length. The claim limits are more robust (I have this but haven’t used in a long time) and the big selling point was that it was first payer policy, and didn’t require you to file a claim against your own car insurance policy first. I don’t know what they say if you don’t have a car policy though. Always always read the fine print on insurance policies.
This is the real reason you need “insurance.” And it scales proportionally with your assets. The more you have, the more you have to lose. In a 3 -way accident where you’re the second guy and 40% at fault and the third guy is 60% at fault, and he’s driving uninsured and hasn’t got a cent to his name, the first guy with the broken pelvis (or his insurance company) is coming 100% after your assets. It’s a cold, cold world when you operate a motor vehicle on a public right of way. You are completely exposed to ruinous risk in situations that happen every day to the best drivers. Really.
In many states, under law, rental cars automatically come with the state’s bare minimum liability coverage. In some they have no liability coverage at all. You are asked to attest that you carry it on a personal policy, and in my experience, prove that. Even where the car has built in basic liability, your own auto policy is the first line of attack if you get sued.
State liability minimums are absurdly low in almost all states. They barely cover minor injuries or damage. Hit a Porsche and you’re SOL. Big time.
Therefore, assuming you have assets worth protecting, you MUST obtain liability coverage, irrespective of whether you obtain protection for the rental car (which is called “insurance” by *neither* credit card companies nor rental agencies, which of course are very happy to sell you extra liability, damage, and breakdown coverage at the time of rental at a daily rate that easily doubles the cost of most rentals and is clearly a profit center and still isn’t that good as liability coverage if you have, say, a nice house to protect).
So you either pay the rental company’s daily rate for extra liability coverage, which in my experience gets you $100,000 of coverage for like $400-500 a *week,*, or you do the smarter thing for a big long multi-week rental and ask an Insurance agent to write you a “non-owner” auto liability policy. Cost will depend on your record and other factors, but will be far less than insuring a vehicle you own. Then max out the limits for liability and uninsured motorists, the great scourge of risk management on the road. They. Are. Everywhere. And you will pay dearly even if one of them is at fault in an accident in which you are also involved and someone gets hurt and you have deeper pockets (uninsured drivers also tend not to have assets, that’s why they often can’t afford insurance, which is a policy disaster but more pertinently a huge risk of a financially tragic outcome for you).
When the trip is over cancel the policy. You’ll end up paying less than half of what the rental company wants as a daily rate for far better coverage from an insurance company that sees you as their customer.
If you have serious net worth, you should also carry a personal liability policy that insures most of that net worth far and above even the highest liability limits you can set on a standard auto policy *before you ever get behind the shell of any motor vehicle.* Period. You can do a million dollars of harm to someone in a car wreck. Easily. It happens every day. Picture a few months of ICU after a brain trauma.
And buy enough insurance.
posted by spitbull at 3:31 PM on July 30, 2020 [15 favorites]
Normally when you rent a car the expectation is that you have personal automobile insurance that includes liability coverage and possibly collision and comprehensive coverage for rental cars. Every policy is different so check and don’t assume. Make sure it’s good if you rent a car and travel interstate too.
But since you apparently don’t have a car this is really crucial. There are two kinds of “insurance” that matter: A) insurance against damage to your rental car and B) insurance against damaging someone else’s vehicle, property, health, or life.
When most people ask or talk about “rental car coverage” — including on AskMe — they mean type A. If you damage the rental car (and even a scratch or a small dent can cost more than you think to fix, again if you don’t own a car you may not think of a branch scratch as a $1500 repair, but it easily can be and rental car companies make bank charging for minor damage at absurd rates) who is responsible?
Many major credit cards offer coverage for this scenario, which kicks in only after you claim the primary cost on your personal auto insurance. Thus really the card covers your insurance deductible, and a claim may raise your personal rates. If you don’t have personal auto insurance, most cards (key: as long as and only if you use them to charge the rental!) in theory cover the first line of claim, but with absurdly low limits that won’t replace a compact SUV, let alone a bigger vehicle. They are notoriously rather hard to collect on too, and reimburse you rather than paying the rental agency repair bill directly, so you’re always out of pocket a bit. Personally I would never rely on standard credit card “rental car coverage” as a first line of defense.
Here’s the thing though. Your least concern is actually the cost of the car you’re renting. Your liability there maxes out at the price of the car, so let’s say $40k if you rent a standard 3-row SUV. For some folks, that may be a hit but it won’t bankrupt you. So maybe it’s a risk you’re willing to take because you’re sure you’ll never be at fault in a accident that totals or does does major damage to the car. (This by the way makes you a fool. No matter how well you drive. No matter how perfect your record.)
No credit card policy covers any liability beyond the cost of the car you rented. None.
Also, in most cases your personal medical insurance (If you have it) likely covers you If you’re injured. It may not if there is another source to tap — a driver who is at fault injuring you, for example. And know how it covers out of network stuff, as you may be 2000 miles from your home network when you need that $3000 CT-scan.
But the thing is, when you pilot a couple of tons of steel through the world at a high rate of speed, your real risk is OTHER PEOPLE GETTING HURT. A broken pelvis can easily cost the price of four big SUVs. A totaled Porsche because you hit a patch of black ice can run you $200k. A dead person can result in judgements in the millions. Hitting a building can be a $30,000 mistake.
The Amex “insurance” coverage mentioned above is better than most. You pay an annual fee (like $100 as I recall) and then use the card to rent the car, at which point you’re charged $25 for the entire rental as a surcharge, whatever its length. The claim limits are more robust (I have this but haven’t used in a long time) and the big selling point was that it was first payer policy, and didn’t require you to file a claim against your own car insurance policy first. I don’t know what they say if you don’t have a car policy though. Always always read the fine print on insurance policies.
This is the real reason you need “insurance.” And it scales proportionally with your assets. The more you have, the more you have to lose. In a 3 -way accident where you’re the second guy and 40% at fault and the third guy is 60% at fault, and he’s driving uninsured and hasn’t got a cent to his name, the first guy with the broken pelvis (or his insurance company) is coming 100% after your assets. It’s a cold, cold world when you operate a motor vehicle on a public right of way. You are completely exposed to ruinous risk in situations that happen every day to the best drivers. Really.
In many states, under law, rental cars automatically come with the state’s bare minimum liability coverage. In some they have no liability coverage at all. You are asked to attest that you carry it on a personal policy, and in my experience, prove that. Even where the car has built in basic liability, your own auto policy is the first line of attack if you get sued.
State liability minimums are absurdly low in almost all states. They barely cover minor injuries or damage. Hit a Porsche and you’re SOL. Big time.
Therefore, assuming you have assets worth protecting, you MUST obtain liability coverage, irrespective of whether you obtain protection for the rental car (which is called “insurance” by *neither* credit card companies nor rental agencies, which of course are very happy to sell you extra liability, damage, and breakdown coverage at the time of rental at a daily rate that easily doubles the cost of most rentals and is clearly a profit center and still isn’t that good as liability coverage if you have, say, a nice house to protect).
So you either pay the rental company’s daily rate for extra liability coverage, which in my experience gets you $100,000 of coverage for like $400-500 a *week,*, or you do the smarter thing for a big long multi-week rental and ask an Insurance agent to write you a “non-owner” auto liability policy. Cost will depend on your record and other factors, but will be far less than insuring a vehicle you own. Then max out the limits for liability and uninsured motorists, the great scourge of risk management on the road. They. Are. Everywhere. And you will pay dearly even if one of them is at fault in an accident in which you are also involved and someone gets hurt and you have deeper pockets (uninsured drivers also tend not to have assets, that’s why they often can’t afford insurance, which is a policy disaster but more pertinently a huge risk of a financially tragic outcome for you).
When the trip is over cancel the policy. You’ll end up paying less than half of what the rental company wants as a daily rate for far better coverage from an insurance company that sees you as their customer.
If you have serious net worth, you should also carry a personal liability policy that insures most of that net worth far and above even the highest liability limits you can set on a standard auto policy *before you ever get behind the shell of any motor vehicle.* Period. You can do a million dollars of harm to someone in a car wreck. Easily. It happens every day. Picture a few months of ICU after a brain trauma.
And buy enough insurance.
posted by spitbull at 3:31 PM on July 30, 2020 [15 favorites]
I’ll mention also that not all insurance companies write “non-owner” policies. When I had one years ago it was from State Farm and it cost me like $300 a year for quite robust coverage. I had it for 6 months and canceled (bought a car). So it was actually half that in the end.
Another big benefit of a proper policy of your own is that you can get coverage for towing (and a replacement rental) in an accident or breakdown situation, and sometimes also roadside assistance, for a very low additional premium that will be less than AAA membership (which I don’t recommend for reasons I won’t go into) and waaaay less than the rental agency wants as a daily surcharge for covering roadside assistance. (“But it’s their car, isn’t it their fault if it breaks down?” — take a wild guess why they charge you $15 extra a day and try to scare you into worrying about whether you could change the tire — if the spare is even in the car and fits right — or jump start the battery on your own, or are willing to risk a few hundred for a tow if you can’t.) Pay $15 extra a month on most auto policies and have far better nationwide towing and roadside and new rental support in any car you break down in. Forget AAA.)
Rental car companies suck. All of them. They are in the business of lowballing you up front and charging a fortune in extra add ons. Some of them are notorious for finding “damage” they say you caused and charging through the nose for it (always photograph the entire car carefully before you ever drive it, with accurate date and time stamps and close ups of any existing damage, which you should declare at time of rental using the diagram form in the binder). Their “insurance”-style products, purchased with the rental, are far more expensive for far less coverage than you could get from a local insurance agent.
posted by spitbull at 3:54 PM on July 30, 2020
Another big benefit of a proper policy of your own is that you can get coverage for towing (and a replacement rental) in an accident or breakdown situation, and sometimes also roadside assistance, for a very low additional premium that will be less than AAA membership (which I don’t recommend for reasons I won’t go into) and waaaay less than the rental agency wants as a daily surcharge for covering roadside assistance. (“But it’s their car, isn’t it their fault if it breaks down?” — take a wild guess why they charge you $15 extra a day and try to scare you into worrying about whether you could change the tire — if the spare is even in the car and fits right — or jump start the battery on your own, or are willing to risk a few hundred for a tow if you can’t.) Pay $15 extra a month on most auto policies and have far better nationwide towing and roadside and new rental support in any car you break down in. Forget AAA.)
Rental car companies suck. All of them. They are in the business of lowballing you up front and charging a fortune in extra add ons. Some of them are notorious for finding “damage” they say you caused and charging through the nose for it (always photograph the entire car carefully before you ever drive it, with accurate date and time stamps and close ups of any existing damage, which you should declare at time of rental using the diagram form in the binder). Their “insurance”-style products, purchased with the rental, are far more expensive for far less coverage than you could get from a local insurance agent.
posted by spitbull at 3:54 PM on July 30, 2020
Oh also get your own EZ PASS in advance. Don’t rent one!
posted by spitbull at 3:58 PM on July 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by spitbull at 3:58 PM on July 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Oh, since you’re driving cross country with family, I’m guessing you’re planning to share driving duties.
Rental car companies will add a charge per day for each additional driver beyond the renter who signs the agreement (in which you agree nothing is ever their fault). Nothing you can do about that. You have to bring all the other drivers with you when you rent. With their licenses. (Maybe you can just bring the license, but not at airport rental counters I don’t think).
If you get an non-owner policy you need to also add any members of your household who have a driver’s license to it. You won’t avoid the extra-driver surcharge, but each driver will be covered by the policy.
This assumes all drivers are in one household.
If not you get into all kinds of nightmare scenarios of differentially insured drivers.
Sorry to write a novel. I am strangely passionate about this subject. People get into real trouble not understanding it.
posted by spitbull at 4:22 PM on July 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Rental car companies will add a charge per day for each additional driver beyond the renter who signs the agreement (in which you agree nothing is ever their fault). Nothing you can do about that. You have to bring all the other drivers with you when you rent. With their licenses. (Maybe you can just bring the license, but not at airport rental counters I don’t think).
If you get an non-owner policy you need to also add any members of your household who have a driver’s license to it. You won’t avoid the extra-driver surcharge, but each driver will be covered by the policy.
This assumes all drivers are in one household.
If not you get into all kinds of nightmare scenarios of differentially insured drivers.
Sorry to write a novel. I am strangely passionate about this subject. People get into real trouble not understanding it.
posted by spitbull at 4:22 PM on July 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Spitbull speaketh the truth. read their answers! People get fucked by not understanding car insurance on rental.
I’ll mention also that not all insurance companies write “non-owner” policies
There's more:
I rented cars a lot the last few years. I live in NYC. I got a non-owner liability policy ($1M) from Hanover through my insurance agent, it was like $50 extra a YEAR (that's like 2.5 days rental!).
Caveat: I had to switch my apt. insurance to them as it was a rider on the $1M liability of the apartment owner...... I was paying ~$45/mo with state farm, and the apt coverage was ~$60/mo thru hannover. But that's still $225 for a year of $1M car rental liability coverage, which paid for itself in about 11 days of car rental! This included my spouse who was also a named driver.
Caveat: This liability insurance only covers 30 days continuous rental......
ALSO: most "collision" car insurance thru credit cards is limited to 15 or 30 days! So your 6 week plan hits a problem. After max 30 days your credit card collision insurance and liability cover goes away. So you can switch to paying $20/day for liability and $15/day for CDW......or one solution: Rent the car for 30 days one-way on one card, then physically return it at your destination. And rent a new car on a different card one way back home.
posted by lalochezia at 4:26 PM on July 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
I’ll mention also that not all insurance companies write “non-owner” policies
There's more:
I rented cars a lot the last few years. I live in NYC. I got a non-owner liability policy ($1M) from Hanover through my insurance agent, it was like $50 extra a YEAR (that's like 2.5 days rental!).
Caveat: I had to switch my apt. insurance to them as it was a rider on the $1M liability of the apartment owner...... I was paying ~$45/mo with state farm, and the apt coverage was ~$60/mo thru hannover. But that's still $225 for a year of $1M car rental liability coverage, which paid for itself in about 11 days of car rental! This included my spouse who was also a named driver.
Caveat: This liability insurance only covers 30 days continuous rental......
ALSO: most "collision" car insurance thru credit cards is limited to 15 or 30 days! So your 6 week plan hits a problem. After max 30 days your credit card collision insurance and liability cover goes away. So you can switch to paying $20/day for liability and $15/day for CDW......or one solution: Rent the car for 30 days one-way on one card, then physically return it at your destination. And rent a new car on a different card one way back home.
posted by lalochezia at 4:26 PM on July 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah, the first insurance agent you call should be the one who writes your other business — homeowner‘s especially. I now have auto insurance bundled with home and personal liability and it makes the auto part really cheap.
The six week thing is a conundrum. One way rentals tend to be significantly more expensive than round-trips, more so over longer distances.
And now you see why 20% of professional class Brooklyn seems to currently be in the market for a decent used SUV. And another 10% are outbidding each other above MSRP on the ten new Kia Tellurides available in the NY metro area.
The rest of course are unemployed or about to
be. Sigh.
I exaggerate but the pandemic is rekindling interest in car ownership (and suburban/rural property ownership) among urbanites In my circles. At scale. And car and home prices reflect it.
posted by spitbull at 4:44 PM on July 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
The six week thing is a conundrum. One way rentals tend to be significantly more expensive than round-trips, more so over longer distances.
And now you see why 20% of professional class Brooklyn seems to currently be in the market for a decent used SUV. And another 10% are outbidding each other above MSRP on the ten new Kia Tellurides available in the NY metro area.
The rest of course are unemployed or about to
be. Sigh.
I exaggerate but the pandemic is rekindling interest in car ownership (and suburban/rural property ownership) among urbanites In my circles. At scale. And car and home prices reflect it.
posted by spitbull at 4:44 PM on July 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
When I was renting cars years ago I’d ride my bike over the GWB to Tenafly or Englewood, NJ, as the rates were so much cheaper than NYC. You could also take the PATH to Newark and get out to the airport to rent there.
Good luck!
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:36 PM on July 30, 2020
Good luck!
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:36 PM on July 30, 2020
The other issue with rental car insurance is that basically none of them will cover rentals for more than 30 days. The single exception is American Express, and then only on their extra cost insurance product that charges a flat fee per rental. I believe that one lasts six weeks, but you still need your own liability coverage.
Most rental companies also want to see the car every 30 days unless you use their "mini-lease" product. I've had luck renewing the rental over the phone before by calling the rental location directly, but only because I had been renting from them weekly for several months previously without issue, so the manager was willing to take me at my word that the car hadn't been driven into a lake or something. Had they not been nice about it, it would have cost me an extra grand to return it halfway across the country when I was unable to return as soon as I had originally expected.
At least with Avis and Hertz, the contract allows for your spouse or domestic partner to drive the car without special authorization, so long as they have a valid license. Anyone else has to be processed as an additional driver, which will cost money unless you are a member of one of the affinity groups whose contract includes additional drivers at no extra charge and you use their code when you book. (AAA and AARP used to have that benefit with some companies)
If you work for a large company, they may have a code you are allowed to use on personal rentals. In a few cases, those include liability and LDW coverage, though the vast majority only include that when renting for a business purpose. There are exceptions, though, so it is worth looking into.
posted by wierdo at 8:24 PM on July 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
Most rental companies also want to see the car every 30 days unless you use their "mini-lease" product. I've had luck renewing the rental over the phone before by calling the rental location directly, but only because I had been renting from them weekly for several months previously without issue, so the manager was willing to take me at my word that the car hadn't been driven into a lake or something. Had they not been nice about it, it would have cost me an extra grand to return it halfway across the country when I was unable to return as soon as I had originally expected.
At least with Avis and Hertz, the contract allows for your spouse or domestic partner to drive the car without special authorization, so long as they have a valid license. Anyone else has to be processed as an additional driver, which will cost money unless you are a member of one of the affinity groups whose contract includes additional drivers at no extra charge and you use their code when you book. (AAA and AARP used to have that benefit with some companies)
If you work for a large company, they may have a code you are allowed to use on personal rentals. In a few cases, those include liability and LDW coverage, though the vast majority only include that when renting for a business purpose. There are exceptions, though, so it is worth looking into.
posted by wierdo at 8:24 PM on July 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
I'll chime in as a car-less NYC who rented cars recently to add what everyone said:
1. ates are astronomical for rentals in the nyc area. It may be cheaper to get a ride somewhere afar (Philly Airport?) and rent a car there. Or ask another question regarding of costs of car ownership. It may be significantly cheaper to just buy a car and sell it afterwards.
2. Get an Ezpass-it's really free (you prepay for it), and you can get it without owning a car. Google directions on what to put as your license plate, the wait times are pretty long to get the instructions. You get discounts on tolls in and out of manhattan, and it will work in PA, OH, IL tolls as well. Many places are cashless and it's kind of stressful figuring out which and what.
3. I would absolutely get non owners insurance, but you may need to make your trip 30 days. If your assets aren't that much, I would look at Geico's. They are around $300 a year
4. If your assets are more significant, I found that car insurance limits won't go that high, you'll have to get an umbrella policy. In that case, you'll have to figure out the combo of apartment/homeowners insurance that pairs with car insurance and umbrella insurance that works (looks like Hannover it is). This one has a lot of conflicting information online.
posted by sandmanwv at 6:10 AM on July 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
1. ates are astronomical for rentals in the nyc area. It may be cheaper to get a ride somewhere afar (Philly Airport?) and rent a car there. Or ask another question regarding of costs of car ownership. It may be significantly cheaper to just buy a car and sell it afterwards.
2. Get an Ezpass-it's really free (you prepay for it), and you can get it without owning a car. Google directions on what to put as your license plate, the wait times are pretty long to get the instructions. You get discounts on tolls in and out of manhattan, and it will work in PA, OH, IL tolls as well. Many places are cashless and it's kind of stressful figuring out which and what.
3. I would absolutely get non owners insurance, but you may need to make your trip 30 days. If your assets aren't that much, I would look at Geico's. They are around $300 a year
4. If your assets are more significant, I found that car insurance limits won't go that high, you'll have to get an umbrella policy. In that case, you'll have to figure out the combo of apartment/homeowners insurance that pairs with car insurance and umbrella insurance that works (looks like Hannover it is). This one has a lot of conflicting information online.
posted by sandmanwv at 6:10 AM on July 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
I switched from State Farm to Geico for non-owner's liability; their rate was about 1/3 of State Farm's. It pays to shop around.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:36 AM on July 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:36 AM on July 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:26 PM on July 30, 2020