Help with Car Rental in California, USA

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  altomic on 11/08/2018 - 12:32

  be aware that the regular CC/travel insurance car excess doesn't work the same in the US

  In April I hired a car from TURO. (depot near LAX). totally pain free.

  i went LA, death valley, lake tahoe, SF, coastal road, stop at pismo bay, LA.

  please note that there was a landslide on the south end of the coastal road near Estero bay and the road was closed meaning a long detour through twisty windy roads is required. it was a PITA. it may have been cleared by now. it was blocking the road for ~5 months when i last checked.

  here is a thread regarding your exact same questions

  where are you going to Yosemite from?

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  [Deactivated] on 11/08/2018 - 14:36

  over 2 days. wow. you won't see shit.

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  Melb69 on 11/08/2018 - 15:56

  @trojantiger88 Make sure the car has Sat Nav. They call it something else. Neverlost or something. Be carefull when making turns as that is when you have a chance to drive on the wrong side of road. Which would not be a good idea. Make sure HVAC of car in good working order. You go from hot to cold while driving on that trip. Should be more consistent in September though.

  And remember just take it easy and don't worry if you miss a turn off as you''ll work your way back to where you need to. Enjoy your trip.

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  Olokun on 11/08/2018 - 17:42

  +1

  Booked a vehicle for 17 days through https://www.economycarrentals.com

  Picked up from SF and drove to Yosemite then LV and dropped off at LAX. Unlimited mileage and fully insured.

  No inspections of the car at pickup or return and a free shuttle to the airport terminal too.

  Cost was about the same of a 6 day rental in AU and couldn’t have been happier.

  Vehicle was provided by Alamo.

  • 

    SBOB on 11/08/2018 - 17:52

    Did the same for a two week stint between sfo and lax.
    Rental was via Alamo, fully insurance included, minimal up sell attempts when picking up the vehicle, zero issues.

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  Azrael169 on 11/08/2018 - 17:55

  A few years ago, I hired a convertible in Miami and drove across to California over 7 weeks before dropping if off in LA. Amazing holidays. Tips at that time

  1) Use a 3rd party site to book. We ended up saving over $500 US on the hire. The 3rd party site ended up getting us the car through Alamo.

  2) Ford Mustang *(or similar) = Ford mustang or equivalent, with equivalent being a convertible… I was gutted over this, wanted the Ford Mustang for my big USA driving trip, ended up with a Mitsubishi Eclipse (nice car, not a mustang). Lesson? read the fine print

  3) Choose either a Sat Nav or use your smartphone with a USA sim card. We ended up using apple maps after it proved more accurate than the Sat Nav. USA Prepaid plans are pretty reasonable depending on how long you are there for. Also Siri was amazing in the USA (at the time in Australia Siri couldnt do squat)

  4) No excess waiver isnt a bad option. We actually had a accident in Houston Texas (rear ended in peak hour). Hopped out in the middle of a 8 lane highway, explained we were from overseas got the guys insurance details, rego plate, license number etc. Actually tried to phone Alamo and report it, was greeted with "we dont care, you took the no excess option, nothing for you to pay"… I explained to the guy "dont you wanna claim it back off his insurance"… turns out nope, didnt care. No excess waiver was worth while.

  5) Petrol stations work via a prepay system as so many people over there were filling up and driving away. About 90% of the petrol stations asked you to select a amount, swipe your card and thats how much they will fill your car up. Found it kind of confronting but got used to it. Best use a no fee international card cause sometimes it may take you 2-3 guesses to get how much petrol will fill up your car.

  6) Not a bad idea putting a post it note on the dashboard with some instructions for the first day, can help with some of the differences with driving.

  7) Consider when your travelling and if snow will be around. We went over Dec-Feb (their winter), we purposely went along the southern states to avoid gettin caught in snow. Didnt realise that the Grand Canyon (Nevada) which is in a desert gets some pretty heavy snowfall. Also got us in a bad spot. I'd check Yosemite out before going. Also it was closed due to ? rabies outbreak while we were there. So check ahead and recheck.

  8) If your gonna drive/hire something fancy, be aware they usually come with daily mile restrictions. Most standard cars are unlimited mile's.

  9) In no states in the USA did i see speed camera's, plenty of signs said speed camera's in use but turns out that was just the highway patrol with handheld cameras. Generally i just followed the speed of those around me… but in rural places they tend to drive 30miles over the speed limit which can result in hefty $ fines. If you cant afford to pay the fine dont speed.

  Have a amazing trip!

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  [Deactivated] on 12/08/2018 - 00:13

  haha with 5) i didn't know how many gallons my petrol tank had so i had to ask the gas station attendant for an approximation. i also didnt know how many litres in a gallon lol. ALSO, i had to enter a postcode of my credit card into the pump for prepay? i used 90210 a few times LOL.

  6) yeah i should have read up on the rules a little better as well. like giving way. i would approach an intersection and thought i had to give way to the right and as a car approached i would stop and wait and then they would stop and look at me and then go. i was like WTF. turns out whoever gets there first has right of way or something.

  9) yeah in california they say 'we monitor speeds by light aircraft', i was constantly checking overhead for them. i'd say those fear mongering warning signs cause more accidents than actual speed lol. but i did see a patrol car once with a radar on a highway so obviously slowed down.