Car rentals

[TooPatient]

Less than a week until the trip with my grandmother! I think I have rented a car maybe twice in my life. Although that was along with car repair so the dealership arranged. Prices are different on Priceline, Expedia, and directly through Avis. Which do you use? Is there a better one? Is there any benefits or things to watch out for?

Also, do you take the rental insurance? I do when it is through the dealership just because it is like $12 for the day and only a day or two. Same for the box trucks when I rent them. Is it worth it for a car you will have for a week or more? (My car insurance covers rentals with the same deductible and everything.)

 

[yssie]

Rentals are in extremely short supply almost everywhere right now. And they're insanely expensive.

When you click the "rent it" button they aren't promising you a vehicle - they're just noting that you'd like one. It is VERY possible that you'll get to the airport (or wherever you're picking up) and they won't have any vehicles available. This has happened to me a few times. If you rent through a third party, or from a budget vendor, your odds of getting a vehicle decrease exponentially - all vendors will prioritize their business clients, their statused clients, and clients who pay full fare direct through their site/phone system, and many vendors have a car pooling agreement wherein several companies rent from the same pool of vehicles - in this case as cars come in they'll go to the waiting Avis customers, not the waiting National customers. Depending on how badly you need that rental... I would highly recommend booking direct through either Avis or Hertz and paying the premium (it will probably be quite high). Availability will be better at major airports than at standalone offices. Availability will be better in the morning than in the evening.

Check your credit card T&C. You need CDW coverage (collision damage). Some may provide additional protection as well (SLP). Depending on where you're going (ex. San Francisco, where breakins are commonplace) paying extra for personal effects coverage (PEC) may be worth it - it's usually super cheap.

But honestly, if you can avoid renting at all - do that. No joke about rentals being in short supply AND crazy expensive right now.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Just my 2c but I always take the insurance to avoid having to use my own at all costs. It’s probably overkill and an unnecessary expense but I worked in insurance….enough said.

 

[yssie]

Just my 2c but I always take the insurance to avoid having to use my own at all costs. It’s probably overkill and an unnecessary expense but I worked in insurance….enough said.

I do too. When I rent for business it's covered of course. But even for personal use I prefer transactional insurance vs. making claims against my own policy. I'll pay $50 extra per day to know that if the car is totalled I can walk away with zero liability and zero bills. If people who work in insurance do that too - that's good enough for me, LOL.

 

[TooPatient]

Rentals are in extremely short supply almost everywhere right now. And they're insanely expensive.

When you click the "rent it" button they aren't promising you a vehicle - they're just noting that you'd like one. It is VERY possible that you'll get to the airport (or wherever you're picking up) and they won't have any vehicles available. This has happened to me a few times. If you rent through a third party, or from a budget vendor, your odds of getting a vehicle decrease exponentially - all vendors will prioritize their business clients, their statused clients, and clients who pay full fare direct through their site/phone system, and many vendors have a car pooling agreement wherein several companies rent from the same pool of vehicles - in this case as cars come in they'll go to the waiting Avis customers, not the waiting National customers. Depending on how badly you need that rental... I would highly recommend booking direct through either Avis or Hertz and paying the premium (it will probably be quite high). Availability will be better at major airports than at standalone offices. Availability will be better in the morning than in the evening.

Check your credit card T&C. You need CDW coverage (collision damage). Some may provide additional protection as well (SLP). Depending on where you're going (ex. San Francisco, where breakins are commonplace) paying extra for personal effects coverage (PEC) may be worth it - it's usually super cheap.

But honestly, if you can avoid renting at all - do that. No joke about rentals being in short supply AND crazy expensive right now.

Wow! Great to know! If I "pay now" rather than "pay at pickup" directly through the rental site, is that a guarantee to have something available? We won't be getting to the airport there until around 4:30-5:00pm local time.

 

[yssie]

Wow! Great to know! If I "pay now" rather than "pay at pickup" directly through the rental site, is that a guarantee to have something available? We won't be getting to the airport there until around 4:30-5:00pm local time.

Nope. It doesn't. Unfortunately.
If there are no cars there are no cars. If there are cars but there are business/statused clients ahead of you in line, they'll still get those cars.
Prepaying doesn't really accomplish anything in terms of availability. It does usually get you a slight discount though.

 

[TooPatient]

Nope. It doesn't. Unfortunately.
If there are no cars there are no cars. If there are cars but there are business/statused clients ahead of you in line, they'll still get those cars.
Prepaying doesn't really accomplish anything in terms of availability. It does usually get you a slight discount though.

Thankfully not the end of the world if no rentals. May be stuck in a relative's house unable to get anywhere, but the whole point is to visit family anyway. It would be nice to have though!

 

[yssie]

Thankfully not the end of the world if no rentals. May be stuck in a relative's house unable to get anywhere, but the whole point is to visit family anyway. It would be nice to have though!

Oh good, that eliminates a ton of stress. If it's a "nice to have" rather than a "need to have" then you can definitely shop around a bit and hopefully save a fair amount without too much worry

 

[TooPatient]

Oh good, that eliminates a ton of stress. If it's a "nice to have" rather than a "need to have" then you can definitely shop around a bit and hopefully save a fair amount without too much worry

I may change my mind if I get stuck in one house for a couple of weeks and no way to get out, but it is definitely a nice to have rather than necessity. Most of the family over there I have only met once in my life. Should be interesting! As of last week, one of Grandma's sisters wasn't talking to another and Grandma had learned that computers can make copies of photographs so plans to insist they all get out the old photos and share already

 

[yssie]

It sounds like it’ll be - festive

 

[nala]

Just my 2c but I always take the insurance to avoid having to use my own at all costs. It’s probably overkill and an unnecessary expense but I worked in insurance….enough said.

This! And we have actually needed it 4 separate times! We have endured four major incidents that would have otherwise ruined our vacation so it was reassuring to know that we owed zero bc we bought the insurance. We will continue to purchase the extra coverage in the future and we will still come out ahead.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Glad to know I’m not the only one who takes out the insurance, my husband thinks I’m crazy but he knows better than to question

Also, kind of a tangent but on the subject of insurance, don’t use your homeowner’s insurance unless you absolutely have to. Companies are quick to drop you like a hot potato for even one small claim. Insurance is a complete racket, basically pay them all this money for years and years but don’t ever put a claim in.

Unless of course the house is on fire, that’s what it’s actually for

 

[TooPatient]

Glad to know I’m not the only one who takes out the insurance, my husband thinks I’m crazy but he knows better than to question

Also, kind of a tangent but on the subject of insurance, don’t use your homeowner’s insurance unless you absolutely have to. Companies are quick to drop you like a hot potato for even one small claim. Insurance is a complete racket, basically pay them all this money for years and years but don’t ever put a claim in.

Unless of course the house is on fire, that’s what it’s actually for

My grandparents had their vacation place broken into and trashed. Not just sort of trashed, but completely. The structure is no longer sound. The foundation has sunken. Whoever did it smashed up the water pipes and flooded the place but it wasn't noticed for weeks/months. After 48+ years of the same insurance company on two homes plus all of their vehicles and their kids using the same office too, they are working hard to deny the claim and drop coverage.

 

[dk168]

I have only used big multi-national rental companies in the past when travelling, such as Avis, Hertz and Budget, and had always taken out their insurance for peace of mind.

DK

 

[YadaYadaYada]

My grandparents had their vacation place broken into and trashed. Not just sort of trashed, but completely. The structure is no longer sound. The foundation has sunken. Whoever did it smashed up the water pipes and flooded the place but it wasn't noticed for weeks/months. After 48+ years of the same insurance company on two homes plus all of their vehicles and their kids using the same office too, they are working hard to deny the claim and drop coverage.

OMG, so sorry about your grandparents

This is why I left when I got pregnant with my son. It is soul crushing to have to hear people have claims denied after so many years of paying in. I was very good at my job but I hated it!

You may want to look into getting a public adjuster to help you or at least run the scenario by them and see what they say. You could also look into filing a complaint with your state insurance department depending on what basis they are denying the claim on.

 

[missy]

IIRC our Am Ex covers the insurance for the car rental without any extra cost.
I would check with your CC company to see if this might apply to you too.

Have a wonderful trip with your grandmother @TooPatient!

 

[Jemi]

I would always get the insurance and feel a bit like ...maybe I should not bother, until I had a minor accident. Just a ding, but it would have cost a bundle to fix. Definitely less stressful to have coverage.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

My grandparents had their vacation place broken into and trashed. Not just sort of trashed, but completely. The structure is no longer sound. The foundation has sunken. Whoever did it smashed up the water pipes and flooded the place but it wasn't noticed for weeks/months. After 48+ years of the same insurance company on two homes plus all of their vehicles and their kids using the same office too, they are working hard to deny the claim and drop coverage.

That's heart breaking
And also makes me hate the whole insurence industry even more

Im glad you got out @YadaYadaYada when you did