September Roadtrip: SF to Las Vegas and Beyond

Hi guys,

Been checking out the forums while i plan my roadtrip and got lots of excellent information from it. So thanks an awful lot already and I'm hoping you can help me out with a question, or a choice depending on how you look at it.

From reading guide books they've described some of the roads as gravelly, bumpy, etc etc and I'm wondering if
A) these would count as "off-road" in hire car insurance speak
and
B) if so is it worth hiring a 4x4/SUV if your car hire forbids you from going on these less than perfect roads?

I'm basically trying to choose between an SUV and a sportscar of some description. Obviously if the roads are less than perfect I'd prefer to be in a 4x4 but if any roads that are gonna be like that would invalidate the insurance than maybe a cool little car is a better idea?

Thanks in advance for any help on this first of many questions. ;-)

David

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Originally Posted by davidwebb_uk

From reading guide books they've described some of the roads as gravelly, bumpy, etc etc and I'm wondering if
A) these would count as "off-road" in hire car insurance

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From the point of view of car rental companies, any road that is not on pavement is forbidden. So, if the guidebooks you are looking at refer to gravel, bumpy, etc. You can assume that travel on them would invalidate your rental agreement. That being said, some people still rent 4x4/SUVs for that purpose and as long as you don't get stuck/break-down or etc -- you will be fine.

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I'm basically trying to choose between an SUV and a sportscar of some description. Obviously if the roads are less than perfect I'd prefer to be in a 4x4 but if any roads that are gonna be like that would invalidate the insurance than maybe a cool little car is a better idea?

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Cool little car will trump 4x4 for all of the reasons described. The thing to remember -- that the sports car isn't supposed to be taken "off-pavement" either.

Mark

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Cool little car will trump 4x4 for all of the reasons described.

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We have a winner!

If you really need 4x4 to drive that road, you really shouldn't be driving on those roads with a rental of any kind. However, there are numerous roads that might be considered "off pavement" that you could easily drive in a sports car. Just go slow! (And you would want to go slow in a rental SUV, too.)

I say get the type of car you will most enjoy driving. 4x4 and SUVs aren't needed for most roads any traveler is going to encounter.

Cheers guys. If i went down the cool little car route I think I'd want something more sporty than what it seems we can hire from the UK.

The 4x4/SUV selection is better though. Dodge Journey and Durango both being available within our budget.

Personally I'm vearing towards suv just in case. But hell a sportscar would be very nice on the open roads.

Time to do more investigations and speak to a couple of hire car companies.

The closest thing you are going to get to a sports car from a mainstream US rental company is a convertible - if you are lucky, it might be a Mustang, but then again, it might be a Chrysler Sebring.

They've been Sebrings on the ones I've looked at so far...

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Originally Posted by glc

The closest thing you are going to get to a sports car from a mainstream US rental company is a convertible - if you are lucky, it might be a Mustang, but then again, it might be a Chrysler Sebring.

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Granted, it might be outside of the budget, but Hertz has the Fun Collection, with the Corvette available. 436 horsepower of fun!

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Originally Posted by davidwebb_uk

They've been Sebrings on the ones I've looked at so far...

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Keep in mind, with any rental companies, they aren't promising a specific model. If they say Sebring it will also say "or similar" and in some cases you could end up with a Mustang. There aren't many convertable options, so in that case there are only a couple models that you are likely to find.

The same is true with SUVs, even though they might say Dodge Journey or Durango, you're really just booking a class. In case of the Journey, its the Small SUV/"crossover" class, where you could end up with a Journey or a Subaru Forester, or a Chevy Equinox, or a Ford Escape. If you went with a Durango, you'd be getting one of any number of mid-sized like the Ford Explorer or a Toyota Highlander. They will simply give you what they have available on a given day.

The only exceptions are if you go with something like the Hertz Fun Collection mentioned previously, where you are reserving a specific model. However, companies do charge a pretty substantial premium for specific reservations like these.

FYI, the last time we rented a "crossover", Enterprise gave us a Ford Edge.

A car I love renting is a Dodge Charger. Very sporty with an intimidating quality.

May not be a Mustang or a Corvette. But it's got eye-appeal.

Sykotyk