Trivial, and yet...

[minme]

I'm arriving in the US in a little under 3 weeks (*yay*)... I have booked a hire car, in theory a Chevrolet Cobalt "or similar".

I was wondering, what are the chances that my hire car will have an input jack for my trusty iPod? Or that the CD player will play MP3s rather than just audio CDs?

I'm trying to plan my music and my audiobooks for a cross-country journey...

Sharmini

[UKCraig]

Pretty unlikely; I've not had a rental yet which has. But all is not lost - pick up an FM transmitter for under ten bucks and use your FM radio to listen to your favourite music.

[Midwest Michael]

I'm guessing the Cobalt is considered an Intermediate or compact car by the rental agency?

I'd say its unlikely that it will have those features, but that is the sort of thing that you get extra for getting a higher class of car. Compacts cost the least not only because they are the smallest, but also because they have the fewest extras. Even fairly standard features like cruise control usually aren't found until you get into the Intermediate or Standard car rental sizes.

In other words, the more you are paying the more likely it is that it will have an audio input, but its not a sure thing unless your rental company tells you that the car will have it.

[minme]

I thought that might be the case and was going to get myself an FM transmitter - however, they retail for around $50-$100 here (Australian dollars) - even with the exchange rate (!) that's a very cheap estimate.

Thanks!

Sharmini

[RoadTripper Brad]

I bought an FM transmitter a year ago, it wasn't $US10, more like $US35.

[UKCraig]

My apologies - I've just looked and I obviously had ten POUND Sterling in my head. This is what I bought and it works perfectly. Until recently they were actually illegal here in the UK so I made a nice profit out of bringing them home and selling them on :) but they're legal now... boooo!

[jacksonjohn83]

You can find one on e-bay for less then $10.

My experience with them is that they work great outside the big cities but once you get into a city, quality drops dramatically.

[minme]

I'll look into getting one here in Australia before I leave.

Does anyone know about the CD player thing? Am I likely to be able to play mp3 CDs in a rental car?

Sharmini

[UKCraig]

I'd suggest that is pure pot luck and depends on the make of vehicle you rent. Some manufacturers include this as standard and others as an option by wayof an uprated stereo. If it's the latter type then don't expect it to work - rental companies are used to their cars getting hammered so, naturally, tend to go for the base model.

[thestand]

My advice would be to try the local radio stations instead. I did my first roadtrip last summer and was planning on taking a load of CD's but in the end wasn't sure if the car would have a CD player so left it. I'm glad I did because as it was my first trip to the US the radio stations really helped put me in touch with the local culture as we went along. Enjoy the trip