Renting a car

charlysmom&dad wrote:
One of the problems I read about is, after turning the car back in, the rental company tries to charge you for damage that you did not cause.

Been travelling for work and renting cars for decades. Never happened to me once. Do the thorough walk around before you take it out and don't damage it. Clean the inside out as well before you take it back. Pretty straight forward.

charlysmom&dad wrote:
One of the problems I read about is, after turning the car back in, the rental company tries to charge you for damage that you did not cause.

Hype.

They (and you) will inspect the car before and after, but those stories you're reading are either highly exaggerated or untrue.

Enterprise has always been great for us. The delivery and pick up service works almost all the time. We always check ahead for locations. IMHO airport locations are a very sketchy choice. They do not offer pick up, and many of the locations are not RV friendly. One or two times we have picked up the car since the campground was a distance from the agency. (Example: On the Outer Banks, we stay in Waves and the agency is in Kill Devil Hills - 20+ miles away, but we pass right by the agency to get there).
As for damage, one should never miss taking a walk around with the agent prior to leaving and make certain they write down ANY damage. We have never had a problem with return damage, but we are leery of dropping off the car when the agency is closed, although we have done it.
We like Enterprise $9.99/day weekend rentals. They usually offer that option from late August until mid June.

2oldman wrote:
I have never considered car rental a problem, just expensive. Remember, people don't write to 3rd parties about good experiences.

That said,I have had a problem in Palm Springs where there just aren't any cars to rent since they are reserved. Your best bet is to rent at an airport.

Renting at the airport is more expensive if you have a reasonable alternative someplace else. The rental car rate itself may be the same, but almost always the taxes are higher in order to pay for airport development and they have an almost captive customer base getting off of the planes. On occasion we've caught a bus to a rental place away from the airport.

Bill

Taxis can be difficult too. I'll be looking at Uber next time.

I've never had any difficulties with rental cars, other than the unavoidable hassle of driving in an unfamiliar vehicle. That's not to suggest that I am a frequent car renter.

If you are employed, particularly at a medium to large company, it may well be worth your effort to see if they have any contractual corporate rates with one or more rental companies that you can make use of for personal rentals. I have saved considerably on some rentals through such a program.

I've done the rental thing also with Enterprise several times. They have come to pick me up and drop me off. The only thing I disagreed with them is they charge a $200.00 deposit. Why? I dunno. But you get it back after the car is returned. And they don't normally accept debit cards. I told them mine was a check card and they accepted it. I don't have a need for a credit card.

Rented literally hundreds of cars during my career - NEVER had a problem.
Did the walk around before renting, filled the tank before returning the car.
Used Enterprise for the most part and a good company to work with. They do come to your home and pick you up if required.

I had 2 break-downs (dead battery on both occasions) - 1 quick call and they came with a replacement car.

On average was about $35/day - I even rented by the month when I was away on business. You may want to look at this option, it works our a cheaper daily rate.

Gerry

sch911 wrote:
We have rented in the past from Enterprise, they delivered right to our site. But nowadays we tow the Grand Cherokee 4 down. Much cheaper than renting...

Enterprise on the weekend is $9.95 per day, weekdays around $25 in most locations.

That is quite a few rentals before you have spent what a toad and tow setup will cost.

Never had any issues renting cars, not towing....one less thing for me to do while the DW watches!

FormerBoater wrote:

sch911 wrote:
We have rented in the past from Enterprise, they delivered right to our site. But nowadays we tow the Grand Cherokee 4 down. Much cheaper than renting...

Enterprise on the weekend is $9.95 per day, weekdays around $25 in most locations.

That is quite a few rentals before you have spent what a toad and tow setup will cost.

Never had any issues renting cars, not towing....one less thing for me to do while the DW watches!

We NEVER had that experience or those prices and I've rented from just about all the major companies. If you are off the beaten path and not in a big city, car rentals can be iffy. Just our experience.

MM.