Rental Car Experiences?

illinidorry

I do not have AMEX, but I do have a Discover More Card that offers some insurance. Here is a link to the description on coverage. link title Does this sound good or crappy? It says to use it I must not use the rental car companies insurance so I guess I have to do one or the other.

fintail

I'd want to know what it costs vs the company provided stuff, including potential deductible - I didn't notice a price. Either one might really add up. You'll need to get one or the other.

illinidorry

The Discover insurance appears to be free? But it only covers me to $25,000 and no liability or injury or anything. So it'll cover my Chevy Aveo if someone pulls in front of me but nothing else so that could be a problem if the other insurance company wants to after me even if it isnt my fault. Think I should go for the company insurance.

Sandman6472

It might be the wise thing to do, as one never knows what'll happen & living in South Florida, sh-t happens. There are a lot of drivers here who either drive real stupid or yack on their cell phones & pay no attention...to anything. Best to get it for the piece of mind & protection...money well spent! Just factor it in to the price of the vacation...because insurance is just that...protection for the unkown!
The Sandman :sick: :shades:

lemko

...who hit my wife's LaCrosse was driving a Toyota Avalon rental car and apparently didn't get the rental insurance. The man said he was covered by State Farm insurance - the same insurance company as my wife. Well, it looks as if he may not have insurance and/or let it lapse and Toyota of America, apparently the party from whom the man rented the Avalon, has been sending my wife correspondance about the accident and wants her side. Are they trying to get my wife's insurance to pay for their car? My wife didn't send anything back to her, but submitted the correspondence to her State Farm agent for review.

Isn't the uninsured man responsible for the Avalon?
Should he not also be responsible for my wife's LaCrosse as he knowingly drove uninsured?
Did he not fail to disclose he was uninsured to Toyota of America?
Should not Toyota of America confirmed he had his own insurance but failed to do so?

By my observation, Toyota of America should eat the cost of the damage to the Avalon, State Farm pays for the damage to my wife's car, and both parties pursue the uninsured man for compensation. Trouble is, this dude looked so broke he can't even afford to pay attention.

lemko

Oh, I most definitely got the rental insurance on the Impala I drove last week to avoid such a situation. It is worth it for the peace of mind.

illinidorry

Yea I think its wise to get the rental insurance. The CC insurance doesn't sound like enough and it looks like there is too many possible loopholes, although if something happened Im sure Avis would try their best to get out of paying anyway. Thanks for the advice.

fintail

Nothing is free in this world, if it is free from the CC, it won't be useful, probably meant as a supplement to your existing insurance, if you had it. I have to agree, just pay a bit more and get the rental company insurance.

fintail

Was the Avalon rented directly from Toyota? I didn't know they did that. I know at one time Hertz had Avalons in their fleet. Looks like he didn't have adequate insurance either way...I assume your insurance company will just laugh and turn it back on them. I have to assume a rental requires some basic level of insurance, whoever provides that should fix the Lacrosse, and deal with the Avalon driver how they see fit...shouldn't be anything your wife needs to hassle with.

Today's rental report: Corolla x2, Matrix, Fusion, Avenger, I think I saw a Maxima rental too.

lemko

He rented it from a dealer known as Team Toyota in Langhorne, PA is all I know. I wonder if he wrecked his own car and got the rental and wrecked it too? Talk about supremely bad luck! :sick:

fintail

Was it maybe a loaner?

If the dealer let someone drive off uninsured in their car, where one can assume they have a responsibility to ensure someone is covered, I would assume the dealer has some liability then too. Either way, your insurance shouldn't have to pay for anything. I bet they'll fight whatever the Avalon parties try to pull.

explorerx4

ditto for me.
at least the last few have had good tire pressures.
Drove by a small Enterprise rental lot today. 2 cars parked out front ES350 and Camry.

lemko

My wife gave all the correspondance from Toyota over to her insurance company and is going to let them duke it out with Toyota.

fintail

Good, so they should - get something for the premiums you pay, that's why they exist.

fintail

I don't complain that my everyday car just predates TPMS junk.

I am surprised Lexus has dodged the rental bullet, seeing how Toyota has been dumping vehicles into fleets lately. The highline Enterprise fleet in my area usually has Infiniti G, a couple years ago they even had some of the last W203 C-class.]

I'd rather have a Camry than something like an Avenger or Sebring anyway...if either of those are my upcoming rental, I will do what I can to get something else.

fintail

I'm in ATL, got my Thrifty 'Wild Card' rental, a boring Impala. But not all bad - moderately equipped LT model with Flexfuel badge, wheels, fog lights, CD, side bags, power seat, etc. Wallowy handling, smooth enough ride on potholed local roads, iffy stereo, weak passing power, some subpar interior finishes, the norm. But here's the kicker - when I picked it up, it had 4 miles on it. I thought it must be the trip odo, but no - it's brand new, built in February. Not terrible for a pre-tax rate of $16/day.

lemko

It looks a lot nicer than the rental Impala I had for a week - plain jane road-rash affected plastic wheelcover model in that champagne gold color, filthy and banged-up, 36K miles on the odometer, 1/8 tank of gas. I brought it back in a lot nicer condition than I got it and didn't even get a "thank you."

kyfdx

I've got a Tahoe booked through Alamo in Denver.. a full week for $365, including all taxes...

We are worried about that being big enough for all six of us, plus luggage, so we've got a full-size (Impala or equivalent) on stand-by... $195 for the whole week... not a bad price!

fintail

Not a bad rate after tax, if that's what it is.

I still can't get over how new this rental is, but the car is really showing its age. 3500 and a 4 speed just isn't modern anymore. New car smell is nice though.

fintail

The Thrifty fleet here seems nice enough, lots of Fusions and Taurus along with blander stock like what I got. I was hoping the Taurus parked next to mine was going to be my chariot. but in their membership scheme, your car is assigned and labeled when you arrive.

And yes, I washed it as it got dirty in the morning here :shades:

berri

I don't really mind getting an Impala rental from Avis or Hertz because they are generally loaded - leather, sunroof, etc. while the newer models like Altima or Malibu often now even lack power seats.

berri

A middle aged crazy red sedan buddy!

kyfdx

Yup.... all taxes and fees included...

I reserved the Tahoe, back last July.. Otherwise, close to $700 to reserve one now...

slorenzen

I think the REAL issue is that you're comparing it to your own daily driver, and of course, it won't measure up!

an E55 is a TOUGH act to follow...

:shades:

fintail

Even my 9 year old example vs a brand new car...this place makes me appreciate what I have in a few ways. The torque and sporty ride of that car have stood up well.

All good things must get a monkey wrench thrown at them...rental car was hit and ran in the parking lot overnight, ~8" scrape on bumper and the inner fender liner is out of alignment. I already filed a claim with Amex insurance and called the rental company...will be interesting to see how it pans out.

berri

Hotlanta has always been one of my least favorite places to drive. Ironically, their airport works better than a lot of large ones despite the number of flights (except for when its time to find something eat there - yuk!). ATL runway and approach operations puts places like ORD to shame.

kyfdx

It was probably my boss that hit you.... he is down there for the basketball tournament...

Seems like something he would do...

slorenzen

that's a shame about the rental.

Do you know if they'll come after you for "loss of use" while it's in the body shop?

stever

Dollar tried that when my sister hit my rental car a few years ago. They wouldn't provide any documentation of the loss of use so no one paid that part of the claim.

slorenzen

I added the coverage for loss of use. it adds about $50 per year, but it can be a real time saver if needed.

fintail

I'll eventually rant about that on the other thread, but yes, this is an insane place to drive. I've driven in many parts of the US/Canada/Europe, but never in the southeast. It's a different world.

fintail

Shame it happened to a car with 100 miles on it. Although it's a dull generic rental box, I like to think I am a considerate person, and have been going fairly easy on it for the break in period.

I don't turn it back in until Monday - I don't know what they do. Already called Amex and the rental company - if they hassle me I will refer them to Amex. It's pretty much just cosmetic damage, so I'm not too afraid.

fintail

Turned in the Impala this morning - got it at 4 miles, gave back at something like 714 miles, so I got my money's worth. Lady who looked it over didn't even notice the damage...I stupidly piped up "it got a scratch but I've already filed the claim"...oh well, maybe it would have been noticed later. I also didn't return it totally full as I couldn't find a gas station near the airport, so it was at just over 7/8ths. I wonder what that will cost me. The blandbox served me well and was perfectly comfortable for 70-80mph highway cruising. No regrets.

I did notice some odd brand rental agency, one I can't remember, had a fleet of new Toyotas, mostly white. Everything from Corolla to Venza...Toyota is really fleeting it up.

fezo

That bit with the lot guy not noticing any damage was the case with that G6 I returned. Never should have opened my mouth.

That said nothing ever came of it.

I guess as long as they stick with US made Toyotas they'll keep moving them into rental fleets. The Japan amde ones will be scarce for a while.

kyfdx

When we got to the 7-passenger SUV aisle, there was a Ford Expedition EL (Suburban sized).

It's an 8-passenger with a 65/35 folding 3rd row... Two in the front, three in the second row, one in the third row, and the other side of the 3rd row folds flat...

Piece of cake for the six of us, plus luggage... All for $365 for the week.

Ironically, the vehicle has a 2WD option, and we may never use 4WD.. lol

fintail

Well, it's been 2 weeks since I turned in my damaged rental - no contact from the Amex insurance or from the rental carrier, no weird charges to my card, nothing. I wonder if they just settle it without my involvement? I'm not complaining mind you, I just expected more drama. If the Amex insurance is actually this pain-free, that's pretty amazing.

fezo

That's what happened to me in November. Still ahven't heard back. Guess they wrote it off.

kyfdx

Ironically, the vehicle has a 2WD option, and we may never use 4WD.. lol


Scratch that... got 10" of snow on Sunday night... 4WD is good!

fintail

Maybe that happened. I'll probably call sometime to be sure...I want to know what happened. I also hope it somehow doesn't put me on a blacklist to get horrible cars if I rent from them again - I was more than happy with the experience from Thrifty and would rent again from them.

stever

Never been stopped by a cop while driving a rental, but do they really check the contract to see if you're an authorized driver?

The List: 6 Car-Rental Tips For A Dream-Car Road Trip (Straightline)

fintail

I doubt they check.

Speaking of rental cars, heading for 3 months since my scrape with a Thrifty car on Amex insurance. No charges put on my card, no claims filed, looking more and more like it wasn't enough for Thrifty to bother. It irked me anyway, almost brand new car scraped by a hit and run idiot.

I'll be renting a car for almost 2 weeks later this year, already starting to think about what I want. I think I am going to go at least "premium" class.

slorenzen

Years ago I was in Switzerland for work, and had a Ford escort wagon. I ended up having 1 day to be a tourist, so I headed from Winterthur to Lucerne, passing through Zurich. They have LOTS of cameras, and a very low speed limit passing through the cities, so I ended up getting my picture taken TWICE on that short road trip. Not sure how they would deal with the rental car, I got back home some time later, and discovered an extra $100 added to the car rental, so I expensed it... :shades:

The company paid, so I was a happy camper...

fintail

In Europe I just don't speed much in the cities. One way to keep things under control is also to rent a large car. Try driving a 7er through old town Bern - there will be some tight spots, to say the least...speeding won't be a worry. Actually, in Zurich I remember driving the same car late through a yellow on a signed red light camera, and I was expecting an extra charge - nothing happened, so I guess I wasn't late enough.

slorenzen

Yeah, I didn't think I was speeding either...

they had the speed limit set to something like 50KPH on a divided 4-lane road, where is would be very comfortable to drive 80...

fintail

Gotta watch the signs and not exceed by more than 10% or so. I don't remember seeing any secret cameras anyway.

I know rental car companies cash in on administrative fees they levy from photo citations too. Safety, gotta have it

emmanuelchoke

I needed a vehicle immediately so I called the local Hertz, they said they had a small vehicle available. This is a small town with a very limited selection so I was relieved that they had something on such short notice. On the drive there I was thinking along the lines of a Focus, Cobalt, Corolla maybe. I saw a Prius near the entrance and was somewhat pleased.
But it was not to be as the rental agent handed me the keys to a Nissan Cube. As I cringed at its cartoonish shape my mind was trying to weasel out of it but realized I had little choice.
Once inside though I was amazed at the phenominal headroom and huge interior space for such a tiny car, maybe 160 inches long. The seats and ride were comfortable with great visibiltiy in all directions. The car grew on me very quickly but the looks were polarizing. Teenage girls waved at me while guys openly mocked me. I would never had chosen a Cube and probably have quietly laughed at them on the streets but I'm thankful I had the opportunity to experience this unique automobile. I can now see why some people buy them although I didn't see another Cube in the 900 mile trip and I think there are being discontinued soon. Ah, well the public has spoken.

fintail

Fun. I have seen those in local fleets too, along with the Kia Soul.

fezo

The Cube has really been growing on me. I don't know why. When I first saw one I was in the "what were they thinking?" camp but I kinda like them now.

Even Elements that don't have the cladding on them are looking better....

stickguy

the cube is just too far out to accept. But I really like the soul, and if I was to go out to get something new for me soon, it would be getting a look. along with the Forte 5 door and the Rio hatch when it comes out.

hard to get my head around the fact that right now, Kia has the most cars I am interested in.

fezo

I like the Soul, too. I like a lot of what Kia is up to.

The dead Chevy dealership in town just became a live Kia dealership.