Rental Car Surcharges and Taxes

I just checked for rentals in Riverside CA using the RTA booking site - a compact car (Ford Focus or similar) from Avis is $199.99 a week plus $16.00 taxes and fees.

Thanks for the advice an the welcome.

Hi, looking for suggestions for the best price comparison car rental sites.
We are picking a car up in Phoenix and going to San Francisco, 2 UK drivers and we need it for 12 days.
any help would be appreciated
Neil

Hi Neil.

It's best to shop around to see what suits your requirements and budget for the period of rental, but make sure it is inclusive of any possible one way drop off fees. We are from the UK and always seem to get the best all round deal from rentalcars.com

Thanks Dave, do you take the additional insurance with the supplier or will a separate insurance bought in the UK suffice?

I recommend a smaller and local place to rent from. When you go for the big names you will get big costs.

There are pros and cons about the "smaller and local place". I've done both.

Oft times, the smaller and local place will be pickier about how far you can take their vehicle. Most of our smaller rental places here in San Diego, for instance, will tell you that they have to stay in the tri-state area (CA/NV/AZ). Some of their vehicles are allowed to go into Mexico (Baja, Sonora), and others are not.

The vehicles are older. Both Rent-a-Heap type places as well as our local places have vehicles that are 5+ years old. With these, you have a bigger chance of having a breakdown. You're on your own for tire changes, and woe to you if you have to call them out for service and you're 350 miles away from the home (only) office.

Finally, their offices may have shorter hours than the big names. Forget it if you're flying in at midnight and need a car right away.

The pros are: that you may not get financially penalized if a neighboring car throws open a door and scratches your local/Rent-a-Heap. They're less expensive. You may have to take an expensive taxi from the airport to their office, but it probably will be offset by a lower rental charge.


Donna

Hi Vengile and welcome to RTA !

The general consensus for overseas visitors to get the best car rental deal is to book in advance using a consolidator.

Neil. We usually rent RV's, but when renting a car from rentalcars we just stick to their basic insurance cover, but that doesn't mean I recommend it. You would need to shop around and see what suits you and makes you feel more comfortable.

thanks Dave, not sure I would be happy with a local car hire place despite the possible savings and as mentioned I doubt they would be happy leaving their car in SF if I pick up in Phoenix!!

Will have a look at separate insurance, we do it for rental cars in Europe at a fraction of the cost the rental firms want.

In Tucson, back in 2001, myself and another lass from the hostel rented a small car for a day's sightseeing, and got a fantastic deal from a local shop. But I agree, I doubt that would have been the case if we had planned to drop the car elsewhere.

They probably would not have rented it to us.

Lifey