Renting a car -- advice?

June 26, 2023 2:02 AM

I have not rented a car in a long time and it always makes me anxious -- what insurance do I need? What does my (Bank of America) credit card cover? Am I being tricked into a car I don't want? Why is this so expensive?

So I'd love all advice on how to avoid the above in the US in 2023-- how do I get a good price and know which add-on insurances, etc. to buy? (I do not have a car or insurance myself.)

I should note that this is a longer rental -- about 2.5 weeks.

Thanks!

posted by caoimhe to Grab Bag (18 answers total)

Thanks for posting; following also. I recently looked into car rental and is DID seem like prices had soared from what I last remembered; surpassing my hotel costs even.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 5:08 AM on June 26, 2023

> how do I get a good price and know which add-on insurances, etc. to buy?

I've got a basic credit card via my credit union, but I've been meaning to get a costco one that includes car insurance - maybe an rei or amazon one in the US. If I had to rent a car quickly, I'd call my card provider and bump up a tier to a card that includes insurance.

> What does my (Bank of America) credit card cover?

Call them or look at a statement. BofA, like many credit card providers, has gotta have tiers where silver or gold card have car insurance, whereas tin, aluminum, and lead aka basic entry-level cards do not.
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:36 AM on June 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

Check to see if any local car dealerships have a rental business on the side. Where I live I always rented from one of those instead of the big players (Hertz, Avis, etc.). It was always cheaper, and it meant I could avoid an airport pickup and drop off, and the extra fees associated with that.

Credit card coverage will vary and I think you just need to compare. I always look it up again each time in case coverage had changed, but generally my cc coverage plus personal insurance combined provide better coverage than the rental company's. I see you don't have your own insurance. Credit card companies are usually happy to walk you though your coverage in a phone call if that would clarify it.
posted by cocoagirl at 6:17 AM on June 26, 2023

Prices went up significantly as demand soared again when Covid restrictions were lifted. Rental firms had sold off a lot of their inventory and were struggling to rebuild it fast due to global supply chain issues.

Things seem to have calmed down some since then but the overall price level remains higher than it used to be.

It may make sense to make a cancellable booking and revisit it close to the actual trip date. Sometimes prices go down because demand at that location turns out to be lower than expected. That means you can get a better deal by cancelling and rebooking. But I wouldn't count on that.
posted by koahiatamadl at 6:19 AM on June 26, 2023 [6 favorites]

This seems to cover the basics of the type of insurance offered with rentals.

https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/insurance-services/rental-car-insurance/

Check your home insurance policy (if you have one) to see if it covers personal liability. Look at the terms for the Damage Waiver and Personal Effects coverage that your credit card offers. those vary a lot from card to card.
posted by TORunner at 6:23 AM on June 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Generally speaking, there are THREE levels of rental car insurance: liability, own vehicle, and contents. They go by different terminology, but that's roughly what they cover: anyone or anything you hit, any damage you do to the rented vehicle, and any contents inside the vehicle. Each level is extra cost. You *can* decline all of them if you have your own auto insurance (which would apply to rentals) but often the rental staff will upsell you by claiming their insurance is less hassle and have less deductible), however, there's probably fine print, like extra driver have to be listed (and paid for) to be covered, and stuff like that.

As for whether your credit card covers rental insurance, you'll have to call the customer service or check your annual benefits paperwork.
posted by kschang at 6:48 AM on June 26, 2023

If the insurance charges really add up, and/or you think that you might take additional trips this year, you might also look into a non-owner's insurance policy. I did some research on this a few years ago but found that it was too expensive for my purposes as an infrequent renter.

I sympathize with your anxiety. After many years of relying on credit card coverage, and never quite being able to shake the worries about what *might* happen in the event of an accident, these days I am inclined to just suck it up and take the LDW and liability coverage offered by the rental company. Sometimes it's worth the expense to have peace of mind.
posted by Call me Ishmael at 6:58 AM on June 26, 2023

I recommend searching for reservations through Autoslash, which searches coupon codes. It's often (but not always) cheaper than the standard search engines, and it's way simpler than searching around yourself.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:59 AM on June 26, 2023

I was renting in Canada last July and it was a nightmare, but after a lot of fuss I made arrangements via AMA and all I can say is: would recommend. Not sure it was the cheapest, but it was very streamlined.
posted by elkevelvet at 7:49 AM on June 26, 2023

They'll always try to sell you on pre-paying for your last tank of gas. DON'T do this. It's super expensive, and it's difficult to time your tank so it's mostly empty when you return the car. There are plenty of gas stations near the car rental places, so just give yourself time to fill up right before you return the car.
posted by hydra77 at 9:01 AM on June 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

I've used Turo to rent a car on two recent trips and was happy with the experience. I called my car insurance company before I booked and they confirmed I would be covered because I carried collision and liability on my personal car. I also used a credit card that had coverage for rental cars so I figured I was double covered. The per day fee was definitely cheaper on Turo versus Hertz, Avis etc. and they brought the car to the airport for me. Definitely check it out.
posted by victoriab at 10:33 AM on June 26, 2023

If you've got a Costco membership and are okay renting from the mainstream/major rental companies (meaning you're not looking for the absolute lowest possible price) then using their travel website to look for rentals is my preferred way of finding a decent deal. Usually significantly cheaper than going directly through the rental companies' website and you can reserve (and cancel or neglect to cancel which I've occasionally done) without putting down a credit card - no charge. Also, after booking a reservation and as you get closer to your rental date, you can sometimes redo the search for the same reservation you've already book and if prices have fallen, re-book at that lower price and cancel the other reservation. I've sometimes saved like and additional $50 over my original price doing that.
posted by flamk at 10:34 AM on June 26, 2023

Regarding Turo... If you're tempted to rent using them please double check with your insurance company because I've checked with mine and they explicitly do not cover what they call "peer to peer" services like Turo.
posted by flamk at 10:36 AM on June 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

never quite being able to shake the worries about what *might* happen in the event of an accident, these days I am inclined to just suck it up and take the LDW and liability coverage offered by the rental company

This is me as well. This will vary from person to person, of course, depending on how risk-averse you are. I will say that I've had to report damage at times when I've gotten the maximum insurance from the rental company, and I have to admit it's a huge relief when you literally just walk away and never have to worry about it again.

In Australia, I dinged a car while returning it in the airport return lot...boy was that embarrassing. But, I had bought the max insurance, I got a cheery "No worries mate" from the guy in the kiosk, was able to go in and catch my flight with nothing really injured except my pride.
posted by gimonca at 10:54 AM on June 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Call your insurance company first. Tell them you are thinking of renting a car and give them some details of your trip. Ask them what is explicitly covered under your policy. Ask them for advice on how to handle the car-insurance rental question.

Then call your credit card company. Tell them the same thing. Ask them what (if any) coverage comes with your card. Ask them what they recommend doing.

In my experience, the car insurance company and the credit card company gave me essentially similar advice, and that's what I followed (which meant declining the rental car company's insurance), but it's always best to check before a trip because rules and regulations change and the location where you rent the car may play a role in what you should do.
posted by sardonyx at 11:09 AM on June 26, 2023

Cars generally are more expensive, the rental companies aggressively sold their inventory during their Covid collapse and now more people are renting, like me, for the occasional trip to the office. I remind myself that just the lease for a Camry is over 400$ a month, and insurance is almost 200$. So a rental might feel expensive but I weight it against that against the few times I need it and the much higher costs of owning something that would see limited use*.

I’ve found the prices through costco to be better or about the same as my work discount.

Your long rental time means that your options are more limited and that means you aren’t going to get much of a deal. Folks who haven’t been on the car market lately will be surprised that it’s mostly those ugly little tall wagon things now. The smallest/cheapest option might seem attractive to your wallet but I always book a ‘mid-size’. When I get to the rental office I let them know I’m flexible, and about 1/3 of the time I get a ‘better’ vehicle, but that’s less likely for your duration.

I have a cc with rental insurance but I just pay for the extra insurance just for peace of mind. I also take pictures of each side of the rental.

*still I want to get a fun two seater like a Miata and live the dream.
posted by zenon at 11:13 AM on June 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Short answer from a similarly carless person: if you do not have your own insurance, you'll need all the insurances as listed in kschang's comment. Check your credit card to see what it covers, and if you own a home check your homeowner's policy, because the contents of a rental car might be covered under that. But at the very minimum you'll need liability and own vehicle (sometimes called "collision" or something similar") from somewhere.

Ideally that'll be through your CC, but worst comes to worst the rental company will sell you any insurance coverage you need.
posted by pdb at 3:44 PM on June 26, 2023

My CC covers damage to the car I’m renting. I do not have home nor auto insurance so generally I pay for the moderately egregious liability coverage when renting. It is not cheap but If someone were to get injured while I was driving - a real possibility bc cars are dangerous - I’d rather not go bankrupt paying for massive hospital bills or worse.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:53 PM on June 26, 2023