# Car Rental



## Shamrock (Mar 28, 2008)

Heading to Miami, Marco Is. and Orlando for two and a half weeks and want to hire a car in Miami for 15days, I am arriving on a wednesday in Miami and will be renting a car on saturday to drive to Marco and dropping off in Orlando (McCoy)
15 days later. Where can I get the best deal on car rental (dont have, or know anything about coupons) in Miami, I dont 
want to go back out to the airport to rent car, I think Hertz, and Alamo have a depot somewhere on South Beach.

 The second and most important thing is the insurance, everytime I hire a car in the US I get fleeced on insurance, paying up to $30 a day. The problem is, I dont know exactly what insurance to take out, to cover every eventually. The people at the sales counter tell me every time that I need to take out what is probably the most expensive policy, obviously there trying to sell, but I always agree to take the policy just in case something happens, and dont want to spend the vacation looking out bethween bars. Can someone* please, please, please,* tell me whats the minium cover I need  but still be covered for every eventually. I think this is a problem a lot of people have when coming from Europe, and the car rental companies can see the uncertainty written all over your face. There are companies selling annual car rental cover which looks good value as I would hire out a car 2 or 3 times a year, does anyone know if this insurance is accepted by all car rental companies


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## rocketraj (Mar 29, 2008)

i use hotwire.com for car rentals and i can get pretty good deals most of the time. around $13 a day for mid-size. i've seen it as cheap as $9 a day for compact.

as far as insurance, i don't know how the european insurance companies work, but perhaps try contacting your auto insurance company for your car in europe and see if you can pay them a little extra to cover for your international driving.

Raju.


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## teepeeca (Mar 29, 2008)

Also, many credit card companies include car rental insurance when renting an automobile.

You might want to contact your credit card company to see if they cover you, and if you would really "need" to pay for the expensive insurance charges that car rental places charge.

Tony


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## newurban (Mar 29, 2008)

For a cheap rate in Orlando, try a local company called U-Save. Since they operate off the airport grounds, they can offer lower rates. The concierge at The Fountains, where we stayed, booked it for us. For one week, the rate was $188 total, including all taxes. This was during the Easter Week. They pick you up at the airport and take you to their office, about a 10 minute ride.

Another possibility is choosing Enterprise. They have offices all over town and will pick you up. As long as you don't use the Enterprise outlet on the airport grounds, the rate should be much cheaper than the major companies that are on-site at Orlando Airport


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## gorevs9 (Mar 29, 2008)

DTM07 said:


> The second and most important thing is the insurance, everytime I hire a car in the US I get fleeced on insurance, paying up to $30 a day.





teepeeca said:


> Also, many credit card companies include car rental insurance when renting an automobile.
> 
> You might want to contact your credit card company to see if they cover you, and if you would really "need" to pay for the expensive insurance charges that car rental places charge.
> 
> Tony



I know American Express covers International Rentals, but I can't say whether that is for US card holders or any card holder.  As Tony said, check with your own credit card company,or even your own car insurance company


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## Jennie (Mar 31, 2008)

If you are age 50 or older (or a person in your party is in this age group and would be willing to drive the car at all times), you could join AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retried Persons, but now officially known only as AARP). You do not have to be retired, just age 50 or over. 

I called and found out that you do not have to be an American to join. They have international memberships, as well. The cost is $28. for one year.
You can sign up on their web site and pay by credit card. It will take about 2 weeks to receive your card in the mail but once your credit card payment clears, you can obtain your member # online. 

Just make sure that your AARP member number appears on the contract you sign at the rental car counter. If it is not in the typed paperwork, have the agent enter it in writing and sign next to it. Also, you must decline any insurance offered by the rental car company agent. This applies too if you determine that the credit card you are using will provide free coverage. 

By renting through the AARP program, you will receive a significant amount of insurance at no cost. The agreement with each of the 6 companies differs so read each. Then see which company offers the best rental rates and compare it with the insurance coverage provided and see which deal works best for you.

I use this AARP bebefit all the time. Thank God I have never had to make a claim but if I ever do, I feel the reputation and assets of this company ensure that they will deliver what they promise.

To join, go to www.aarp.org

Go to the automobile rental section and see the benefits and discounts offered for rental of cars from 4 major companies.
http://www.aarp.org/aarp_benefits/offer_automobiles/

To obtain the free insurance coverage, you must use the click through link at AARP's web site that brings you to the rental car reservation web site. The discount code for the rental itself will already be entered in the appropriate section and will result in you receiving a discount on the final price (usually 10-20%). 


Good luck from a lassie whose Mom came to New York from County Cavan in 1929.


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## sml2181 (Apr 1, 2008)

You could try www.carhire3000.com (I use the Dutch version - www.eautohuur.nl; I don't know if they will let you use it if you're not Dutch) or www.carjet.com 

I do have a credit card which covers all insurances but the above sites have low rates including the insurances - I just had a Suburban for a week from Denver airport - it cost me 225$ including insurances, extra drivers and such. I called them to inquire about a Dodge Durango rental which was cheap, but they came up with the Suburban which was not listed on the website. It was from Alamo.

Also, www.ebookers.com - their rates normally include the extra costs as well and prices are usually good to great.


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## mindy35 (Apr 1, 2008)

gorevs9 said:


> I know American Express covers International Rentals, but I can't say whether that is for US card holders or any card holder.  As Tony said, check with your own credit card company,or even your own car insurance company



Am EX also offers a supplemental policy for an additional fee of $19.95 or $24.95 (depending on the coverage you are interested in) per rental contract. That is total for the whole contract and not per day.

I enrolled in the program to use for rentals outside of the country or in situations where my own Auto Insur. policy does not cover me. You must enroll in the program but the fee is just charged automatically when you use it to reserve and pay for a rental.

I literally just got off the phone with them to cancel the policy so that I can take advantage of an awesome deal Am Ex are offering for a van in HI ($177/week!!). I would normally just use another card without this additional fee but I had to use the Am Ex to get this rate. I just canceled it without a problem and plan on re-enrolling for no fee when I need the coverage to go overseas or in Mexico. It's actually a pretty good deal considering what the the rental car companies want to charge daily for coverage. 

To use this coverage you refuse the CDW.

Here's the number:

1 800 326 2078

Good luck.


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## Shamrock (Apr 2, 2008)

Jennie said:


> Good luck from a lassie whose Mom came to New York from County Cavan in 1929.



Manys the good night I've had in Co. Cavan, anyone with Cavan blood knows how to get a good deal Thanks for info Jennie, and thanks to everyone that has replied. But can someone tell me is CDW all the cover you want, does that cover everything or whats the minium cover you need, to cover everything. Thanks to everyone that took the time to help me out with this.


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