Car rentals difficult in 2021

[DonnaR57]

We've noticed a few other things, relating to vehicle rentals, that have gone up in price.

#1 - the cost of U-Haul trucks, especially anything leaving California and not returning. Some folks have found that renting a U-Haul over in Arizona, then coming back to load up and take off, is cheaper, even when considering that you're going to need a few extra hours rental to bring it back to CA to load, and maybe pay a little extra mileage.

#2 - the cost of U-Haul car trailers (the 4-up variety) has also gone up. This is especially true if you are not also renting a U-Haul truck at the same time.

We priced U-Haul truck and trailer combinations, and U-Haul truck and car-trailer combinations, in trying to decide on how to move our household goods. We figured out that by the time we rented what we needed to get our stuff across the country, and made an extra trip or two to MO to get the cars there, it was going to cost nearly the same as a commercial mover. Yes, I'm serious, because we also had to figure in the hiring of help to load/unload the trucks. We're not spring chickens any more, and we do own a couple of heavy pieces.

The cost of fuel rising is also raising prices of everything else. We are figuring that our last fill-ups in California will be up in Barstow. Right now, diesel and regular in Barstow are both nearly what they are at our favorite stations in San Diego County. We hope that it stays that way - at least until after we pass through on Tuesday.

I read an article - wish I had bookmarked it to include here - about some enterprising young men who got around 2 problems by renting a U-Haul. First, they avoided the problems with car rental associated with their age (under 21). Second, it was cheaper to rent the U-Haul than it was to rent a car, and easier to obtain. I had a little problem with that - those that CAN move using a U-Haul may find it even tougher to get one, if folks are using them as rental cars.


Donna

[NowthatIamretired]

But don’t UHaul rentals charge mileage? I know they can be relatively inexpensive but the mileage adds up big time. Our son was in the DC Metro area in business/family time and found the cheapest rental was the Ford F-150 truck. He hadn’t realized the rental issues when he got it but then it made sense given what most people probably want to rent around there.

[DonnaR57]

Yes, they charge miles. When taking it one way, you get an "allotment" of what their software says is the miles from where you pick it up and where you drop it off. Those miles come with the rental, but then it goes to a per-mile after you hit that mileage. Some U-Haul places may waive the extra if you only go over 10 miles or so, but that isn't guaranteed and especially now with the rental business the way it is.


Donna

[DonnaR57]

Heck, I recently rented a car that was so dirty that I got my money refunded. It was in Montenegro on vacation

Thanks for joining us, and welcome to RTA! Though this is an "old" thread (about a year old), a lot of the problems are still taking place due to the chip issue for new cars and a lot of people that want to travel.

I'd like to know though - was the car that you rented dirty when you picked it up? Did you say something to the agency?

Donna

Moderator Edit: Donna, I think member "Cosvienbalacd" was a professional spammer, his posts have been removed.