Rental Car for trip home - what to do?

[hamburking]

I second the idea of doing 2 "one way" rentals. That way your credit card will cover the insurance at no charge, saving you $1100. Depending on your location, you may need to pay a small "dropoff" fee, but that might even be waived if they know you will be renting the same vehicle to take you back again soon.

I chose to be carless for 20 years, and enjoyed using rental cars when needed during that time. I found that discussing, in person, with the staff, they could often come up with a good solution. Sometimes this meant returning the car for a few hours, then coming back for the same car. It was all about conforming to their computer system.

Also, since you will be doing a substantial rental, you might check into their rewards program. You accumulate points (I hate points) towards days of free rentals. With minimal effort, this has translated into many "free" days of car rentals for me, and even more "free upgrades".

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by carlylelk

We're liveaboards, and we're trying to arrange a trip home. The rental car insurance is crazy expensive, is there any way of cutting that cost?

What I've looked into:

1. Credit card companies only provide insurance if your trip is less than 15 days, ours will be 37 days so it won't apply.

2. Insurance companies (State Farm) will only provide collision, no liability thru a policy called "Non-Owners Insurance". Our past agent recommended we buy from the rental car company.

3. The Rental Car Company has the insurance at $1,100 for the 37 days which covers everything, but WOW!

4. I looked for specialty insurance companies but no dice for FL residents.

Any thoughts?
Duane

At that $1100 for insurance, if the rental is on top of that, Fly.it might be cheaper?

[Larry Florida]

FYI one way rentals usually have a higher daily rate (much higher) than local rentals. You can save money by changing cars when you get to the one way destination.

I rented many cars in Ft.Lauderdale when I first moved to Florida. If you pick the car up "Off Airport " it's much cheaper, sometimes $10+ a day. Quite a bit when paying $15 or less per day for a 2 week rental.

All rentals in the US include liability insurance covering the other car in a collision. The extra insurance covers the rented car.

I called Chase credit card some years ago. Was informed I was covered for the collision damage of the rented car when using their card.

Expedia offers the daily insurance cheaper than the rental companies. $9 a day if I remember correctly.

Many rental car companies will pressure you to buy their insurance when you arrive to pick up the car. This is a know scam in Florida you can read up about online. Make 2 reservations or 3 no charge to cancel.

Best of luck

[ohdrinkboy]

try this:

https://www.travelguard.com/travelin.../carrental.asp

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Larry Florida

FYI one way rentals usually have a higher daily rate (much higher) than local rentals. You can save money by changing cars when you get to the one way destination.

I rented many cars in Ft.Lauderdale when I first moved to Florida. If you pick the car up "Off Airport " it's much cheaper, sometimes $10+ a day. Quite a bit when paying $15 or less per day for a 2 week rental.

All rentals in the US include liability insurance covering the other car in a collision. The extra insurance covers the rented car.

I called Chase credit card some years ago. Was informed I was covered for the collision damage of the rented car when using their card.

Expedia offers the daily insurance cheaper than the rental companies. $9 a day if I remember correctly.

Many rental car companies will pressure you to buy their insurance when you arrive to pick up the car. This is a know scam in Florida you can read up about online. Make 2 reservations or 3 no charge to cancel.

Best of luck

I think that is if you own an insured car. If you do, your insurance normally covers a rental the same as your car as far as a deductible. But the OP does not own a car. I have always owned a car so don't know. I feel sure it is a liability risk for rental co.?

[Terrapin]

Originally Posted by carlylelk

I checked the credit card companies insurance and they only provide insurance for damage to the rental car. There's no property damage insurance, liability insurance, etc. So I don't see how one can rely on the credit card insurance for coverage.

We have a non-owner's policy that provides only liability coverage. That, plus the credit card's coverage would seem to be adequate.

[Larry Florida]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I think that is if you own an insured car. If you do, your insurance normally covers a rental the same as your car as far as a deductible. But the OP does not own a car. I have always owned a car so don't know. I feel sure it is a liability risk for rental co.?

That is certainly worth confirming. In my opinion owning a car would simply add an additional level of protection.

[hellosailor]

"We have a non-owner's policy"
Again, if you currently HAVE a policy of any kind, especially if you OWN A CAR and have been a customer for some time (often 5-10+ years) then most insurers will treat you very differently from an uninsured, non-owner, new customer who walks up and says "Hi, I'm an unknown risk, wanna play with me?"
If you've owned a car for 25 years, odds are your carrier will keep renewing your policy. If you ask them to underwrite you as a new customer, with that same car? Odds are they won't, at least, no at the same price.
This has been discussed in older threads. Liability-only coverage, for a non-owner, new customer? Generally not available. Very few insurers want to play with the new kid.

And last time I checked, last time I rented a car four years ago (I hate playing with tar babies), the rental itself NEVER INCLUDES ANY INSURANCE. Not for your car, the car you hit, the guy who tries to throw himself off a highway overpass in front of you, NOTHING.

The rental company will simply refuse to rent you a car until YOU provide proof of insurance or YOU PURCHASE IT. And as they will tell you, if their car is out of service for a month waiting for a repair part after your accident? You're going to be billed for that month's lost income from the vehicle as well. That may not be covered under a normal car owner's insurance, or credit card offerings. Each credit card (or charge card, etc.) may also have very different terms. Most will be "secondary coverage" and require you to submit a claim to your own insurer(s) first, if there are any.

BTW, my last rental was a one-way. And it was cheaper than the local daily rate, because it was a time and place where the company needed to reposition cars, and they give you a break for that.

Nothing is carved in stone, except "Gimmee your lunch money!"

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Larry Florida

That is certainly worth confirming. In my opinion owning a car would simply add an additional level of protection.

I have checked it with a couple of insurance companies over the years. They cover a rental as if you were in your own car. Same liability and same deductible. They have insured you basically not the car. I would check for yourself. Does not apply to the OP however.

[toodleoo]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I would think your car insurer could fix you up with what you need. Or try a different one! Ask if a personal Umbrella policy will cover what's not covered.

Personal owned car insurance liability will extend to rental car insurance but collision/comprehensive will either have to be purchased from the rental car company or may be covered by your credit card company depending on the level of the card.

[J Clark H356]

HelloSailor made a major point and when I rent I take out the insurance based on what my agent advised me to do. My liability covers me like it was mine but when you rent, if you have damage and the car is out of service, you are liable for the cost to the rental company. That could get expensive fast if the car is out of service for 2 or 3 months.

I have tried to purchase insurance to cover this for my small company and can't get it so we just get the insurance.

[SecondBase]

If you're open minded to a slightly different approach let someone else's interest pick up the insurance ...

Seasonal or refit RV transport includes insurance. Car delivery is another way to get your long legs for free. Here's some info.

""" There is a really great way to take advantage of RV travel, and pay very little! From time to time, Cruise America needs to transport one of their RVs to a different rental location, but they have no driver to get it there. The discount that you receive by taking an RV rental one way is substantial. You get a huge savings on the time and mileage charges, and obviously, you pay no one-way drop off fees.

https://m.cruiseamerica.com

-or-

""" If you have a clean driving record, call car delivery companies (one example: AutoDriveaway.com) and read about how it works. Call them and ask what cars they have, where they're going and when. If nothing strikes your fancy, put your name on a list and let them know where you'd like to go. As for the return trip, you can either fly home or wait at the other end for another drive-away car.

This is a great way to see the country, especially if you're flexible as to when you leave, when you return and perhaps even where you go.

[valhalla360]

Another thing to check on is if the rental can go out of state. Usually an adjacent state isn't a problem but a cross country trip and they may be less inclined towards the ultra cheap unlimited mileage deals. You can usually do it but the $9.99/day deals tend to disappear.

If you get lucky and can get a rental that repositions a car for the agency, that can work but drop off fees are not cheap. It's nothing to have a $250 drop off fee (longer the distance the larger the fee). Assuming you need two drop offs the chance of getting a reposition is significantly lower. $250 drop off twice is half the insurance bill right off the bat and you still need insurance for the days you do have the car. For a cross country trip the drop off could be much higher than $250.

[Sailorbob8599]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

Good advice but a 37 day trip is a short time to amortize the cost of buying and registering a junker including sales tax. When you add the cost of private insurance (you will pay for 2 months) it could easily add up to more than $30/day. It might work if collision is mostly covered by your credit card, you buy minimum legal liability coverage and you buy something you can resell for a limited loss and have a place to keep it. See if you could work something out with a used car dealer. It could work if you plan well but is savings worth the trouble? For example dealer sells you car for 1500, agrees to repurchase for 1300 and store. Minimum insurance 80/month and you rent on credit card. Sales tax 7%, registration 100. Total cost under 600 so you save 500. However, you do not have a car so that is a lot of running around to set everything up.

Ya don't buy a clunker from a dealer, ya buy it on Craigslist. My kids went to Australia, bought a clunker, drove it all over for a six weeks & then resold it through a friend AFTER they had left Oz for more than they gave for it. Ya gotta know how to bargain with sellers of junkers. Of course, if you're looking for a high class limo or something, then I guess you're gonna pay through the nose.
Look for an old VOLVO, possibly a 740 or even an 850 GL or GLE model; they run forever and are pretty safe wheels. GL is basic, GLE is better equipped. Toyota Camry's are good too. As for insurance, if you're a good driver, all you need is Third Party coverage.
I had a friend who also went to Oz. They bought a small camper van, drove it for 3 months all over the country; on returning to the airport, they removed the plates and abandoned it in the airport parking lot when they left.
This kind of thing used to be quite common with young folk a few years back (maybe in the late 90's) so I don't know if they still do this.

[flyingfin]

Originally Posted by Cadence

If you have time buy a clunker title and insure it. The insurance normally covers rentals for your insured amounts, sell or give away the clunker.

Bad Idea: You only have five weeks, why waste time finding, buying, registering and insuring a clunker. Add to that the fun when the transmission fails on the third day of your trip! Pony up and deal with the rental car company, call Enterprise or Alamo corporate office and negotiate a lower insurance cost for an off-airport rental.