# Renting a car in Canada and dropping it off in US



## Lydlady (Apr 17, 2014)

Is this possible to do?  We are U.S. citizens planning a trip for this fall where we will be flying to Ottawa and then want to drive first to Maine and eventually drop off the car in Connecticut.  Or is it best to drop off the car before we cross the border into the U.S. and then rent another vehicle once we're in the U.S?  We could also fly down to Maine.  Trying to get a cost comparison too.

Thank you for any suggestions.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Apr 17, 2014)

Lydlady said:


> Is this possible to do?  We are U.S. citizens planning a trip for this fall where we will be flying to Ottawa and then want to drive first to Maine and eventually drop off the car in Connecticut.  Or is it best to drop off the car before we cross the border into the U.S. and then rent another vehicle once we're in the U.S?  We could also fly down to Maine.  Trying to get a cost comparison too.
> 
> Thank you for any suggestions.



Have you tried going to a site such as Kayak or Orbitz using your intended plans?  That should address both your questions by indicating whether any major car rentals will do that and what their charges will be if they accept the itinerary.


----------



## Soccer Canada (Apr 17, 2014)

I used to work for Budget and because of customs no rental company will allow cross border one ways in either direction..


----------



## sjsharkie (Apr 17, 2014)

Soccer Canada said:


> I used to work for Budget and because of customs no rental company will allow cross border one ways in either direction..



This is absolutely not true.  It may be true for Budget, but it is not true for all car rental companies.

1.  I know Hertz used to allow it.  I know of a business traveler who has done it.  I have seen cars with British Columbia plates sitting in the SEA lot on occasion.  [I just checked Expedia to verify and Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, National and Alamo will all allow you to rent one-way YVR-SEA for about $230 in an economy for 2 days]

2.  The one way drop fee can be high depending on location.  YVR-SEA is likely cheaper than say YVR-SFO.  There are likely a bunch of routing combinations which are not allowed (say YVR-MCO).

3.  Check Expedia for pricing and if it is allowed for your particular pairs.  You have a better shot if it is a major airport pairing.  Say Ottawa (YOW) to LGA (which might or might not be near your city in CT) versus YOW to HFD.

Good luck.

-ryan


----------



## Lydlady (Apr 17, 2014)

Thank you for the responses.  I haven't checked sites light Orbitz or Kayak or any of those yet.  I was just trying to get an idea way ahead of time.


----------



## Luanne (Apr 17, 2014)

Soccer Canada said:


> I used to work for Budget and because of customs no rental company will allow cross border one ways in either direction..



Not true.

I did this the other way with Avis from Seattle to Vancouver.  Picked up car in Seattle and dropped it off in Vancouver.


----------



## schiff1997 (Apr 17, 2014)

We do it all the time, but we always use airport locations on both sides.  TSA border person drilled us once about why we were renting a car in Canada but leaving in the USA, I guess she thought we were mind readers as no matter what reason we gave her it wasn't good enough until we finally said it was cheaper lol that was the answer she was looking for !


----------



## Luanne (Apr 17, 2014)

schiff1997 said:


> We do it all the time, but we always use airport locations on both sides.  TSA border person drilled us once about why we were renting a car in Canada but leaving in the USA, I guess she thought we were mind readers as no matter what reason we gave her it wasn't good enough until we finally said it was cheaper lol that was the answer she was looking for !



Interesting.  I wasn't asked anything when I took the car from the US to Canada.  And I ended up getting a larger/nicer car that I'd reserved since they needed to get that car back to Canada.  So it seems cars go back and forth all the time.


----------



## Lydlady (Apr 17, 2014)

schiff1997 said:


> We do it all the time, but we always use airport locations on both sides.  TSA border person drilled us once about why we were renting a car in Canada but leaving in the USA, I guess she thought we were mind readers as no matter what reason we gave her it wasn't good enough until we finally said it was cheaper lol that was the answer she was looking for !



I must have done something wrong because even using airport locations, it was a lot more expensive.  I'm thinking it might be cheaper to just fly to our destination in the U.S.


----------



## schiff1997 (Apr 18, 2014)

Lydlady said:


> I must have done something wrong because even using airport locations, it was a lot more expensive.  I'm thinking it might be cheaper to just fly to our destination in the U.S.



We usually only keep the vehicle for maximum 24 hour period.


----------

