Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with carrental

Any difference for renting a car in Toronto if you are a foreigner or a local?

khregs — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:26:16 -0800

Car rental advice please! I have a group of relatives coming from overseas to visit me in southern Ontario for the holidays. We need to rent a minivan to cart everyone around. What is the best approach - for me to book the rental under my name, for them to book the rental under their name, or is there be no advantage either way? Bonus notes ... driving duties will be shared between me (canadian) and my brother-in-law (brazilian). I will be meeting them all at Pearson Airport where we will pick up the vehicle and then BIL will likely drive it from there. BIL has an international driver's license.

Help me fight Italian car rental scammery!

COBRA! — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:02:32 -0800

I am being badly ripped off by Maggiore, an Italian rental car company (with a strong assist from a cab driver in Lucca). Please help me. Executive summary: I worked with a company called Europe By Car to book a car rental in Italy for the past week; they set me up with a rental through a company called Maggiore who rented us a bum car, are sticking me with thousands of dollars of undeserved charges, and we're pretty sure that one of their workers colluded with a cab driver to shake us down.

Details: We picked up the car at the Pisa airport, and drove just past Lucca. On the Autostrade, just before the Capannori exit, the clutch went out, forcing us to push the car off of a busy freeway. After getting off the freeway, we called the Maggiore roadside assistance number, and a tow truck was sent out. We were towed to a garage in Lucca, where we called the Maggiore desk; they told us to bring paperwork from the man who towed us and take a cab from Lucca to the Pisa airport.

We did so, and were told the cab fare (which was supposed to be reimbursable) was 70 Euro. We paid it and got a receipt for the
reimbursement. We gave the paperwork to the Maggiore people, and they gave us a different car, and everything seemed OK for most of the week.

Yesterday, then when we returned the car, the cab driver was standing at the Maggiore desk, and the man running the desk (he said his name was Alberto, and wouldn't give us his last name, which does not exactly fill me with confidence) said we had never paid the cab driver, and could not leave until we did. This is simply not true; we remember paying the man, and have a receipt to prove it. During the ensuing discussion, "Alberto" also started accusing us of breaking the first car (not possible-- we simply did not have the car long enough to burn out a clutch, even if we were driving poorly. Which we were not) and denting the second (also not true-- we were extremely careful, and returned the car in good condition). In the end, we got worried about missing our plane, and paid the cab driver another 70 Euros just to get the hell out of there.

This morning, my credit card is showing charges from Maggiore for $1177.04 and $1469.38.

So, my complaints are manifold: a Maggiore worker colluded with a cab driver to scam us, and now appears to be sticking me with thousands of dollars of undeserved charges.

What recourse do I have? I've sent an email to Europe By Car, the booking company we worked with (the text of that email is pretty similar to this post). I would love more information on how to fight this.

car comfort

jenfu — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:16:42 -0800

Looking for cheapest rental car that will be comfortable for my extremely tall (6 foot 7 inches) boyfriend. He's stocky too. Any larger folks have recommendations? We're renting in Indiana and driving to Florida and then back so comfort is pretty important, but we also want to spend as little money as possible.

Thanks for your help.

Why can't I rent a convertible?

pollex — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:58:14 -0800

Why can't I find a decently-priced convertible rental out of SFO the in September? I've searched all the sights, and the lowest is Dollar/Thrifty, which has a Sebring/similar for $140/day. This is absurdly high when compared with the price/rental ratio of other rental cars. No one else even has them available.

I read this thead, but no help there, and we're talking about California! If I can't rent a convertible there, then where can I rent one?

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

SLC Mom — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:53:39 -0800

Please recommend a simple route on public transportation to go from JFK airport to White Plains Airport (Westchester County). Something cheaper than a taxi is desirable, but I don't want to change buses a dozen times either.

We are flying into JFK, but I don't want to rent a car at those prices. We'll be staying near White Plains, and their airport has much cheaper rentals.

Thanks!

(I asked a couple of weeks ago about cheaper rentals at JFK. Thanks to all those who offered suggestions then, too!)

The Fun Can Not Be Halted.

indiebass — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:21:59 -0800

Going to Milwaukee for a wedding next month. Need to rent a car, and would love to try a Nissan cube. Is this even possible? Whenever I have rented a car, it has always been utilitarian, and of course: American. So I've ended up with some Ford Focuses and the like. But I wanted to try something cool for a change, and I'll admit that those commercials have worked on me. I'll be driving to Lake Geneva from MKE, and the gas mileage seems pretty decent. I can't seem to find a way to search for a rental by vehicle, and I admit my Google-Fu may be weak. Any help from the Hive (or Milwaukee-based MeFites)?

(Any additional advice on the trip are welcomed, too. Never been to WI before, and already know I need to try 'cheese curds'. But the CUBE was the real question here)

La Belle Fontaine

vernondalhart — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:27:46 -0800

A friend and I are looking at going to boulder in Fontainebleau, France in the early part of August. We don't have a car. What's our best way to get around? We'll be flying from the UK, with the intent of landing in Paris and taking the train to Fontainebleau. We also plan on camping while we're there, which as near as I can tell leaves us near Milly la Forêt.

It seems that our best options are either renting a car (if we rent one from Hertz at Charles de Gaulle, I think it's around 350 Euro for a week), or renting bicycles, or walking around. As I understand the area to be fairly large, that last option seems to be not the best one.

So what's our best bet? Would it be utterly ridiculous to try and get around completely on foot, or to carry a crash pad and whatever other gear we have on a bicycle? Should we just suck it up and rent a car for the week?

Also, is this completely dumb to do in August? All of the guidebooks and advice that I've seen suggest that it's best in the winter, that the warm summer temperatures make the rocks there... iffy to climb on, other than morning and evening.

Is there anything else that I should know about before going? Any advice about the area? Rocks I Should Not Miss Climbing On?

A good time to be a car-less driving non-American in America

almostwitty — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 07:35:40 -0800

I'm trying to hire a car for two days in the US, and have found it's far cheaper for me as a Brit (US$40), than if I was an American (US$120). Is there any particular reason for this? Taxes can't be *that* huge a mark-up, surely?

How to cheap out on car rental?

asciident — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:09:32 -0800

Looking to find a way to save money renting a car, with a few wrinkles... Boyfriend and I are wanting to rent a car to go from Oregon to Michigan, one way, over the course of 2 days. He'll be driving the car, and he's not 25 yet, so we know there'll be an "underaged driver" surcharge. But while comparing rates online, it's obvious that otherwise identical service (unlimited mileage, same car, etc.) is crazy less expensive for a round trip rental than a one way, to the tune of over $100/day difference. (Example: Hertz economy car renting at $30/day if dropped off at the same location vs $140/day dropped off at another location).

Reading some previous AskMeFi questions, it seems some people go the route of renting round trip but dropping it off and saying the trip was cut short, much like buying round trip and only using it as one-way makes for cheaper travel in other areas. Are we just asking to have ourselves surprised by extra fees when we drop off the car if we try that? What other options do we have to make this cheaper than $140/day + surcharges?

Do I have to pay for something I didn't agree to?

Badmichelle — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:46:14 -0800

Can a car rental agency charge me for a rental I didn't agree to pay for? This spring, my mechanic took longer to fix my car than he had expected, and offered me a free car rental one night when I showed up to take my car home and it wasn't ready (again).

The rental was fine, the car was eventually fixed, and I didn't think about it much until this month, when I noticed an unfamiliar charge on my credit card, and then received a letter from the car rental agency.

The letter says that the shop never paid for the rental, so they had put the charge through to my card. They included a copy of the contract, which clearly says "Shop pays." I never agreed to pay for this rental. I called both the mechanic and the car rental agency, and pointed out that I had not agreed to pay for this. My mechanic said no problem, they would take care if it and have the charge reversed.

The charge has still not been reversed.

What will happen if I contact the credit card company and say that I didn't agree to this charge? Will they just reverse it? Am I stuck paying this bill? It's not a huge amount, but it's annoying. I don't see why I should be stuck with it: I didn't agree to it.

Any thoughts?

Should I rent a car in Chicago/Evanston?

Flakypastry — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:38:30 -0800

Flying into Chicago with my daughter to check out colleges. Should I rent a car? I'm flying into Chicago (Midway) on a Thursday evening to check out University of Chicago and Northwestern. We're staying in downtown Chicago for two nights; visiting U of C on Friday, Northwestern on Saturday, and flying back home on Saturday evening.

I'm not concerned about getting to U of C on Friday; what concerns me is getting to Evanston on Saturday morning, and then getting back to the airport. I want my daughter to be able to see the area around Northwestern, so is it best if we rent a car? Or are the logistics of getting in/out of the city too much of a hassle in a rental to justify that choice?

Any insight from Chicago-area residents (or former students) would be appreciated!

Looking for experiences with Zipcar or similar services in NYC.

GilloD — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:26:31 -0800

Renting a Zipcar in NYC: Good idea, bad idea? Looking for experiences, anecdotes and suggestions. More inside. My wife and I just moved into a new apartment with a couple of folks from Europe. As a result, they're bed-less. What's more, in a few weeks we'll have to move our own Queen sized mattress as well as a couch and some other large-sized furniture items.

This usually wouldn't be an issue except we're car-less and in New York. Now, I'm not against trying to get a mattress home on the subway, but 3 mattresses and a couch? No way.

We're considering Zipcar because it's relatively inexpensive, they carry large vehicles and we don't have to manically schedule everything into one trip ala UHaul. A lot of our furniture is becoming available at different times, so being able to do a trip this week and then two months from now would be a huge benefit.

I snooped around a bit and got a lot of different opinions. Some people adored Zipcar, others made it sound like a DIY Chinatown Bus. More, a lot of the opinions seemed to come from 3 or more years ago.

What I'm looking for are recent experiences with Zipcar or alternate suggestions for getting large pieces of furniture to-and-fro in NYC on mutliple dates without breaking the bank.

Car Rental in Philadelphia

gravelshoes — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:41:48 -0800

Recommendations for car rental in central Philadelphia? I'm coming over from the UK at the end of the month and need to hire a car for a couple of days to drive from Philadelphia to Long Island and back. I'm staying in the business district, wherever that is, and it would be nice to find a nearby company for easy collection and drop off. Thanks in advance.

Rental cars for unpaved roads, Las Vegas

thirteenkiller — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:12:36 -0800

We want to rent a car in Las Vegas, and drive it on dirt roads in Arizona and Utah. What is the cheapest company that allows this (or who will be unlikely to notice we've been doing it)? Bonus points if they provide reasonably-maintained cars. Also, should we get a "Standard SUV" rather than "Mid-Size"? Do they use GPS tracking, and if so does it just check that we stay in permitted states, or do they also check that we stick to paved roads?

Is the MasterRental benefit all it's cracked up to be?

mr. creosote — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:42:36 -0800

Question about the "MasterRental" rental insurance benefit that most of us have on our MasterCards. I was looking through the MasterRental benefit that came with my credit card and was thinking "joy! now I can decline the costly LDWs when I'm renting a car."

However I got to reading the fine print and saw "coverage is secondary to any other applicable insurance or coverage available to you." So it sounds like what would happen is if I do damage the rental car or the rental place blames me for some ding that I didn't do, MasterRental would tell me to use my own insurance, leaving me holding the bag and having to either pay cash or get a black mark with my insurance company.

Is this the case? Can anyone shed light on this?

Cross-Canada trip: mode of transport?

ndicecco — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 20:26:24 -0800

My girlfriend and I are planning a trip across Canada. Should we rent a car or take the train? We are currently living in Toronto and want to visit my family in Kelowna, British Columbia. Currently, the big question is how to get there. We've agreed we're not interested in air travel. Neither of us owns a car, so if we went that way we would have to rent. The train seems promising, but is it more or less expensive than renting a car, once you factor gas in and extra km? Oh, and food/accommodation, of course.

I think the train would be less of a headache and probably (in the end) less expensive. But we would have more flexibility to see different places with the car... time is not an issue btw. We have about 9 weeks for the trip, and we're happy to make a sizable portion of that about enjoying the process of travel.

Our travel budget at this point is somewhere around $5000.

So. I turn to the hive mind to share experiences, insights, potential oversights, things to look out for, things to consider - any and all input that will help us have the most pleasurable travel experience possible.

Driving Sydney to Perth via Alice Springs in 3 weeks?

Spannerman8 — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:36:45 -0800

I am in the early stages of planning a trip from England to Australia and am looking at driving from Sydney to Perth via Alice Springs in March/April 2008. I have visited 40 USA States so am no stranger to driving thousands of miles. I normally simply use a hire car but feel that Australia would probably require at least a 4WD. A Motorhome is always a possibility but would rather stay in Motels. I see that between Perth and Uluru there are settlements named Northam, Merredin, Southern Cross, Kalgoorlie, Leonora, Laverton, Warakurna and Kaltukatjara. Anyone know if these settlements have Motels or Hotels? We (my wife and I) would arrive in Sydney at around 08.00. Even allowing for delayed baggage reclaim, this is very early to check into a hotel. Do hoteliers in Australia appreciate this situation as a rule and allow you to check in and get some sleep after such a long journey?

My wife and I adore a car and a motel in the U.S.A. Is the road between Sydney and Alice Springs very much like a typical American drive i.e. settlements/towns with McDonald's, Denny's, Comfort Inn, Fuel (or equivalent) etc...... spaced periodically on the Highway?

In selecting a camper (which we would love to have a bash at) we have a quandary in, if you choose a Motorhome for comfort (TV, Air Con etc.....) you lose any off road capability (less than a regular car I would think). If you choose a 4WD camper, you lose the space a motorhome provides. Do you feel it is a good idea to go from Sydney to Alice Springs by car and then rent a Camper to Perth?

We intend to go to Australia for 21 days. If YOU were setting off from Sydney on this drive (after a couple of days to acclimatize) let's say on Day 5, what Day would you target to be in Alice Springs on allowing for being in Perth on Day 19? (I am trying to plan the Permits)

Regards,

Martin.

Planes, Bikes, and Automobiles

Eringatang — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:14:20 -0800

I'm looking to rent a car, truck, or SUV and four bikes in Seattle and drive them down to Portland and back again. Rental questions inside. Is there a one-stop-shop in Seattle where I can rent a car, bikes, and a way to join the two together happily?

Are there any car rental companies offer a bike rack with the car? Or any bike rental companies that offer a rack with the bikes? Should I just buy a rack in Seattle?

How many bikes fit inside the "trunk" of a rented SUV? Is there a rule of thumb for this? Is there anyway to find this out in advance?

Finally, who has cheap but solid hybrid bike rentals in Seattle?

Thanks a million.

Car needed in Trieste, Italy?

Joleta — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 09:56:49 -0800

How to get from Venice, Italy to Trieste and back again, and do I need a car in Trieste? I'm accompanying my husband to Italy, where he will be attending a conference in Trieste from September 23-28. We're flying in and out of Venice, staying in Trieste through the night of 9/28, and then plan on going back to Venice for sightseeing until we fly out again on October 6. While he's attending his conference, I plan on exploring all over the Trieste area (maybe even going to Ljubljana in Slovenia). I need to figure out if I should have a car for getting around in/near Trieste. If so, we'll rent one at the Venice airport and drive to Trieste. Of course, we'd drive it back and return it before we start our week in Venice. If I can use buses and trains to get around Trieste and the general area, we won't rent a car, but instead take the train from Venice to Trieste and back. Trenitalia doesn't show any fares this far in advance, but there are quite a few trains each day from Venice to Trieste. Bonus points for best way to get from Venice Marco Polo airport to Venice S. Lucia train station.

Rental car agency trying to make me pay for unrelated damage?

Anonymous — Thu, 17 May 2007 07:03:02 -0800

A rental car I had rented was scratched and dented. There was damage in the same area prior to my renting the car, which was noted on my rental agreement. I am very suspicious of the way the rental company has handled this since, and I believe they are charging me for more than they should. I have no problem paying for the damage, but the situation makes me feel very uncomfortable. I was first told that the damage had been fixed and that I would have to pay $650. I asked for the documentation of the damage, as that figure seemed high and I wanted to ensure I wasn't paying to have the preexisting damage fixed as well. The loss control manager promised to call me back the next day with more information.

After not hearing back from the loss control manager for a week, I went in to the local rental office and was told that the damage was actually $500.

I asked for documentation, and I was sent the invoice from the body shop and B&W photocopied photos of the car. The photocopies were so bad I couldn't even tell which ones were before the work and which were after. I asked for the actual photos, and the loss control manager told me she'd send them, but I just received an envelope without photos but with another copy of the body shop invoice.

The body shop invoice includes: "Refinish for Front Bumper Cover(1)," "Repair for Front Bumper Cover(1)," "Repair for Right Fender Panel (2)," "Refinish for Right Fender Outside (2)," and "Clear Coat (2)," and then $110 for paint. The numbers in parentheses are labor units at $40/hr. Since the damage the car sustained when I had it was limited to a single panel (the area above the right wheel), the front bumper panel stuff seems unrelated, and yet they are charging me for it.

Am I reading the body shop invoice correctly? What can I do to ensure I am not being charged for preexisting damage?

Will my rental car be towed if driven by someone else?

vprzebinda — Mon, 14 May 2007 13:00:29 -0800

I recently rented a car for a trip. I was told that if anyone else was stopped driving the car it would be impounded at my expense (even if I am riding as a passenger at the time). Does anyone know if this is for real? Seems very steep. After all it's perfectly fine for anyone else to drive a car that I own.

Should we fly or drive from Indiana to Florida?

web-goddess — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 19:38:36 -0800

Overseas visitors planning to travel from Chicago to Orlando in the US. Which will be less hassle/expense, driving or flying? (Are one-way car rentals *really* that expensive?!) Okay, I'm an American but I've been living overseas for the past seven years (since pre-9/11). I've been home to Indiana a few times since then, and it just seems like the airports are more and more of a trial each visit. My Aussie husband and I are planning our next visit home to Indiana in April. I'd also like to visit my grandparents in Florida as well. Our original plan was to drive a rental car from Indiana, and then fly out of Orlando. We kinda like the idea of a road trip, especially as my husband's never seen that part of the country before. I've been pricing one-way car rentals though and it's just ridiculously expensive (around $100/day). So I've got some questions:

- Is there any way to get a cheaper one-way car rental? I have some sort of vague idea from the Internets that there are websites and message boards in the US where you can potentially find someone who needs a car transported cross-country. Or am I barking up the wrong tree here?

- I've found some great (non one-way) car rental deals with "unlimited mileage." How likely is it that they'd let us drive to Florida and back? If they forbid it, how much trouble would you get in if you did it anyway?

Basically, I guess I'm just torn because friends in the US have said that they prefer to avoid airports and flying whenever they can these days. Given unlimited time (but not unlimited money), what would you do?

Hotel Seattle/SanJose?

lalochezia — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 12:20:26 -0800

Cheap (<$120, ideally much less) hotel in Downtown Seattle and in San Jose. Must have internet access. Cheapo car rental in San Jose - and places to look to live? I'll be in Seattle and then San Jose over the weekend of 2/3 December. I'll be preparing for an academic interview in San Jose and will need a room that is quiet (to practice talk and for last minute studying), has good internet access and is cheap. Any suggestions?

Bonus points: my interview's in San Jose: potential relocation there next year. Is there a car rental place like hire-a-heap so I can drive around and check the place out? Are their neighborhoods within commute distance to look around or mustn't misses to see and get a gut feeling if I like San Jose as a place to live? Do you know of any links about the San Jose area that give me an idea of what's good and what's not?

Get Me Out of Denver

extrabox — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 18:42:26 -0800

Help me Denver MeFi's!!! I'm flying into Denver tomorrow (Wednesday) for a friend's wedding in Ridgeway Colorado on Thursday only I forgot to make a car reservation, and I have just learned that ALL the car rental companys (hertz, budget, avis, enterprise, alamo, thrifty, advantage, dollar, payless, national) serving the airport are sold out until Thursday morning.....
Three questions:
1. Anyone know a local car rental place in Denver that conventioneers can't track down so easily on the web?
2. I might have to stay in Denver till Thursday morning, and all the major hotels are sold out too - anyone know a funky "off the beaten track' hotel or bed & breakfast I could try to book?
3. What the heck is going on in Denver tomorrow!!@$)!#@*$()#@$

Help a 20-nothing rent a car!

ThFullEffect — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 17:45:53 -0800

I need to rent a car in Chicago! Caveat: I'm only 20. I am 20 years old and am a regional support technician.

I travel for a week pretty much on a weekly basis and I need to rent a car when I arrive. Most say 25 yrs+, some say 21 yrs+, but I'm having a real tough time finding a place that will rent to me if I am under 21. I know that there are additional costs involved and my company is more than willing to pay those costs, but I really do need a vehicle.

I arrive in Chicago on Monday, but will be jumping around the country after that. Hopefully (but not required), I'd like to find a company thaters nation-wide service.