Car Rentals..

[Crazed Vampyress]

Next month a friend is coming in from London and we're going on a road trip to Florida to visit my parents. Ive never rented a car before (we're not taking mine for a handful of reasons) Ive searched a few sites (Budget, Enterprise, Hertz) but I'm totally lost.

Anyone have experiences to share or advice to give?

Thanks!

[Shade Everdark]

I've rented from Enterprise a couple of times. I've not really had any complaints, though I'm told they are a little more expensive than some of the other choices.

[creatureofthenyte]

I too have rented from Enterprise. they Are more expensive, but they also are a much more well known company, which was the main thing that sold me on them, I would choose them, if I were you, for your trip. Oh and be safe btw.

[Winter Steele]

I have had good experience with National Car rental and they are less expensive but not cheep. Take turns driving its a long trip and stop if you're tired. Fell asleep at the wheel once wasn't pretty landed in the ditch.

[sass_in_the_pants]

I have to rent a car everytime I go out of town.

Now, a couple of things...

I'm assuming you're planning on drivingt eh car to Florida and returning it to the same location back here in Michigan.

I would use one of the travel search bots like expedia or something to get an idea of what it will cost you. It's usually cheaper to rent them mid-week to mid-week, if you have that sort of flexibility in your schedule. Also, it may be cheaper to rent it from a site that is NOT the airport, check that, too.

And make sure that when you rent the car it has unlimited mileage available.

And then here's where they 'getchya'. Insurance. They will tell you that you need to buy insurance from them. That will add significantly to your cost. If you already have auto insurance, call your auto insurance company and see if your policy covers you for car rentals, too (many do).

In England, I bought the extra car insurance.

Two days later, I was backing out of a parking stall, going, MAYBE 5 miles an hour, hit a pole and the whole back end crushed in. Seriously, I think that car was made out of paper mache. THAT time, I had bought car insurance (I wasn't sure how easy using my car insurance in Europe would be) and the nice thing was, I called the rental company, they gacve me a new car, and that was the end of that. I didn't have to pay a dime.

BUT, generally, it's a total rip-off.

The other option you might want to look at is taking a train down. A 30 day off-peak rail pass is $359 per person and you can hop on, and hop off. The trick with that is, the tickets can ONLY be purcahsed by foreigners, not US citizens. Now, does that mean a US citizen can't USE the pass? I'm not sure about that.

Or you could always just get a train ticket to Florida, I've only taken the train for short trips - the longest was to St. Louis - so I'm not sure how good it would be for a long trip like that, but personally, I get VERY sleepy when I drive, and I don't know how much driving your friend will be able or WANT to do, so that might be a better option for you.

Have fun!

[Fierce Critter]

We once experienced that we couldn't reserve a rental with one type of credit card. Check ahead as to what kind they take.

[Crazed Vampyress]

Thanks guys. at least this gives me a starting place and some ideas of what to look for.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

It would prolly be cheaper to fly. my freind just spenta week with me.. he got round trip tickets from detroit to Ft. Myers for $150 and then just rented a car while he was down here.

[Crazed Vampyress]

It would prolly be cheaper to fly. my freind just spenta week with me.. he got round trip tickets from detroit to Ft. Myers for $150 and then just rented a car while he was down here.

ive considered that but 1) we're going around thanksgiving when flying is never cheap and 2) my friend really wants to drive, see some of the country... y'know- have a road trip

but thanks!

[TrixieGothGirl]

Most if not all car rental companies won't even rent to a person unless they're at least 25 yrs old. I can say that Enterprise has been good to me. When I have had a problem, they would make sure that it was fixed ASAP.