Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Over £1,000 for car rental in America?!?

56 replies

kelce · 19/10/2023 22:33

I've been searching quotes for a 2 week car rental in America over early January and they're coming up over £1.2K!!!

Does this seem ludicrous to anyone else?

The pickup and drop off locations are different which is probably increasing costs slightly but still!!

Is there another solution here I'm not thinking of?

OP posts:
EvelynKatie · 19/10/2023 23:57

We did a 2 week trip in June in US, hired through Alamo, different drop off to pick up. It was £1k.

SabrinaThwaite · 20/10/2023 00:25

@Aria999

It was a while ago that we lived in the US, but I seem to remember any hire cars were covered under our own car policies as that was how the insurance systems were set up. Before that, we travelled a fair bit (pre internet), just booked a flight and pitched up at the car hire desk on arrival - it was normal to get the basic CDW / SLI included and to get the extra insurances for a few $ more (but it wasn’t loads more as it tends to be now).

In Europe you tend to be covered for collision damage, 3rd party and theft but subject to a hefty excess. You can take out a separate excess insurance policy which is cheaper than paying the rental company excess waivers. I’ve recently tried using a broker that includes excess insurance and often throws in a free second driver - it’s generally cheaper than booking direct when you add in the extras.

bronkie · 20/10/2023 00:29

In the USA the spouse is allowed to drive free on the rental. You can buy a policy here for about 80 for an annual policy which covers you for all excesses - no need to buy any top up insurances.

Aria999 · 20/10/2023 00:42

@SabrinaThwaite thanks! Yes it's definitely the norm to use your own insurance if you live here.

I feel like it's all got a lot more cut throat over the last 5-10 years in terms of what's included.

I have experimented with using insurance from my credit card and from
3rd party rental car insurance sellers but in both cases it's been stressful to claim (took my about 18 months to claim off my credit card insurance).

jenpil · 20/10/2023 01:03

I don't think that price is too outrageous.
It was about £400 per week to hire a car in Greece last summer.

kitchenhelprequired · 20/10/2023 01:09

Car rental prices everywhere have gone through the roof since covid. Rental companies sold off their fleets, didn't restock as they normally would, shortage of new cars once things started to return to normal. All has contributed to higher prices. When shopping around for car rental in the US just make sure insurance is included - it would be easy to find yourself on a more US based website where insurance generally isn't included and would add to the costs significantly at the rental station. Try doing a search with the same company for pick up & drop off at the same place so you get a better idea of how much the one way rental is costing.

OverCCCs · 20/10/2023 01:16

Are you going long distances and absolutely need a car, or could you get by with using public transportation and Uber/Lyft?

Aria999 · 20/10/2023 01:18

OverCCCs · 20/10/2023 01:16

Are you going long distances and absolutely need a car, or could you get by with using public transportation and Uber/Lyft?

Op didn't say where she is going in America but unless it's Manhattan then public transport is largely conspicuous by its inadequacy.

OverCCCs · 20/10/2023 01:30

Any decent-sized town or city will have ride shares, and if she’s only going to big cities on the coasts there may be options to take the bus or even train. Logistically a pain but probably cheaper.

Edit: plus, a lot of the cities popular with tourists have subways or commuter rails. It’s not just Manhattan with public transportation!

PrestonHood121 · 20/10/2023 01:32

I paid almost £800 this summer for 2 weeks car rental in the UK. So I can totally believe it.

mathanxiety · 20/10/2023 01:38

Unless the trip is going to involve travel along Route 66 or a great deal of time in the rural midwest, a car might be a lot more trouble than it's worth. Parking in most cities can be pricey.

Fiftyvines · 20/10/2023 03:28

I actually think that's pretty high, I would shop around. Kayak is a good comparison website.

Original poster
kelce · 20/10/2023 06:42

Different pick up/drop off is sadly unavoidable as we're flying into one state and out of another, visiting family and friends along the way.

No big cities - car is necessary, plus lots of bags/ski stuff and car seat. We need a midsize SUV with 4WD.

Ridiculous and extortionate in my eyes but if everyone's saying that's more or less normal I suppose it is what it is

OP posts:
RubbishDay · 20/10/2023 06:49

I reserved one for just over a week at around £800.

But as the holiday got nearer I found that I could get significantly cheaper and given that I could cancel my original I did and ended up getting the same deal for £400.

Shop around as I found there was a big difference in prices and try over several days. Also try places like Expedia as we ended up being able to get a pickup at a place via them that wasn't an option when we went direct to the car hire company.

SJW58 · 20/10/2023 07:16

Have you tried looking at booking flights and car together. We’ve done this before through British airways and works out a bit cheaper.

MrsNandortheRelentless · 20/10/2023 07:22

Yes. We went 12 months ago and it was just over £1k.
It wasnt anything big or fancy, it stank of fags and had worn out seats.
Unfortunately it is that much.

drspouse · 20/10/2023 08:30

You might find it's cheaper to fly to the other state and rent again.

HermioneWeasley · 20/10/2023 08:32

At least you’re not going to Alaska - when I looked into car rental there it was about $400 a day!

sittinginacafe · 20/10/2023 08:35

Prices are all over the place. Mostly loads more expensive but we have just rented a mid sized car for £170 for 5 days (unlimited miles) which seems ok!

Madcats · 20/10/2023 08:42

It might have been a fluke but try looking at car hire through a booking engine like Expedia or your airline.

Could you save a "day's hire" by picking up later or dropping off earlier?

stepfordwifey · 20/10/2023 09:18

Look at Martin Lewis's website (moneysavingexpert) for some comparison sites. Also try Booking.com as we randomly got a good deal once with them. Those companies offering off airport shuttles are definitely cheaper too.
Protect your excess by buying cover with Money Maxim (see Martin Lewis again for info). Annual excess cover is about £40. We learned about this the hard way when someone reversed into us and had to pay £600. Confused

bronkie · 20/10/2023 10:18

@kelce what state are you looking at? Yes it probably is the one way rental.

BobShark · 20/10/2023 10:26

I paid more than that in the UK!