Car Rentals for Los Angeles

maclay on 25/03/2024 - 01:09

Hi everyone,

I am making a trip to Los Angeles for 4 days mid-April on the way to Mexico. Planning to hire a car in LA, wanting to know of any car rental company recommendations? I am looking at Turo (a car sharing platform), but not clear on the insurance situation for Aussies.

Also found this site - https://www.economycarrentals.com/, the prices appear to be cheaper than everywhere else, but the website looks dated and not sure if they are a scam. Will be interested in any insights anyone can share.

Many thanks!

Travel California Car Rental Los Angeles North America United States

Comments

  • joka on 25/03/2024 - 01:34

    Try to avoid sharing with Mexicans at the border crossing.

    • maclay on 25/03/2024 - 08:28
      +1

      lol. just to clarify, I am not planning to drive to Mexico. The car is only for my 3-4 days in LA.

    • admira on 25/03/2024 - 13:29

      As someone who has actually done this (crossing the border in a car with Mexicans) many times, Mexicans (with visas) have a MUCH easier time crossing than we do.

  • ass3ts on 25/03/2024 - 01:38
    +4

    I'd seriously avoid it. I suggest hiring from a reputable company with the proper insurance if you don't have one already, especially if this is your first time driving LHD. Pick one up at the airport, plenty of counters at LAX and mid-April shouldn't be too bad in terms of last-minute availability. it will cost more but it's much more convenient and you can avoid potential headaches later on if something does happen.

    • maclay on 25/03/2024 - 08:28

      thanks I think I will scratch Turo off my list, as sounds like it's more headache than it's worth

  • SBOB on 25/03/2024 - 06:39

    Also found this site

    I user them 10 years ago for a two week rental from sf to la without issue. Had the option for all the necessary extra insurance
    Ended up being a hire through Alamo/National

  • Sterio on 25/03/2024 - 07:41

    The last 2 years I have gone through Webjet. My tip is to start looking now and get a feel for prices. Make sure the price includes CDW, supplementary liability and no excess. You can cancel with no charge normally up to 48 hours prior to pickup. By continuing to keep an eye on prices you have the option to cancel and rebook at lower cost.
    I’m not sure in your spool whether you were planning to take the car to Mexico but all if not most hire car companies will not allow this. Return the car in San Diego and go from there.

    • maclay on 25/03/2024 - 08:29

      never thought of Webjet, I will take a look. Just to clarify, I only need the rental for my 3-4 days in LA. Not planning to drive to Mexico. I hear the drivers are a bit crazier over there.

    • JimmyF on 25/03/2024 - 09:00
      +2

      Make sure the price includes

      Ahhh yes America, the place where the price you see is rarely the price you pay! Always plus plus plus at the checkout!

  • thatonethere on 25/03/2024 - 08:26
    +1

    I've got through economycarrentals.com - but yeah it's pretty scary looking. Most of the bookings were slightly cheaper - Alamo/National typically. One was crazy cheap and the guy at the counter shook his head when he looked it up.

    I'd get insurance in the US as it's scary over there. And learn in advance how a 4 way stop works.

  • maclay on 25/03/2024 - 08:32

    Was this recently? Or a while back? As I did some Internet searches and they were pretty popular many years back. Wondering whether it's still a viable business/booking website now. Yes, I plan to get the top insurance and have been watching Youtube videos on driving in LA:)

    • thatonethere on 25/03/2024 - 09:08

      Yeah a year before covid

  • TurboTortoise on 25/03/2024 - 09:16

    I have used economy car rental a few times for US and canada. Including LAX. Think it was an Alamo car rental in the end. No issues and good price at the time. But agree the website always made me wonder - looks about 20 years old and I recall thinking at the time is it legit.

  • deanau on 25/03/2024 - 09:17

    https://www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au/ has always been the winner for me

    • maclay on 25/03/2024 - 10:13

      cool thanks, will check this out, haven't heard of it before

  • ryefig on 25/03/2024 - 09:19
    +2

    Agree with others, avoid Turo. Once you add on insurance, it's hardly competitive and many vehicles have limits on the kms you can travel without a surcharge.
    I did some extensive google review research on car rentals at LAX for a recently completed trip (take what you want out of google reviews).

    The best ratings I found was with Alamo rentals - this was my experience.
    Admittedly the depot is not at the airport, instead you catch a shuttle bus to the rental depot. This was no issue at all as they have an actual bus (not a shuttle van) that runs around the airport and to the depot. Not too sure on the frequency but it seems it does a round of drop off at the airport departures, round of pickups from airport arrivals, back to the rental depot and starts again.
    The main selling point (and the reason I chose to go with Alamo asides the reviews) is that if you book directly, then you can 'self-serve' the check in process on a machine (think the self-serve ordering at maccas). The number of reviews where you have to queue to check in was daunting - this eliminates the need to queue to speak to a check in attendant - not to mention attendants who try and upsell you on insurance or pressure you to upgrade your booking.
    The machine will confirm your details and print a receipt. You take the receipt to an attendant at the carpark who will have someone bring you your vehicle or direct you to it in the parking lot.

    The vehicle I got was perfect. A few years old and in good condition. My vehicle did not have wireless CarPlay so BYO USB if that's a consideration. Make sure you have a sim card good to go as you will absolutely will need a GPS to navigate the city.

    Not too sure on how familiar you are with rental cars. but the return process was even easier. You drive the car to the dropoff queue, grab your stuff and an attendant will scan the vehicle out. Get on the shuttle bus and go.

    Americans drive on the other side of the road, for me this was easy to adjust to but I did find it helpful that the rental depot was located in a quieter industrial area with minimal traffic. Means that you can adjust to driving on the right before getting caught in the LA freeways!

    Another consideration for you is exercise caution of petrol stations (gas stations) nearby the airport. California petrol is already expensive, but the stations surrounding the airport are excessively expensive. Consider fuelling up in a suburb and then do a smaller top up closer to the airport.

    • maclay on 25/03/2024 - 10:17

      great tips there, especially the ones on practicing on the side streets and the gas station locations!

      I was initially not going to drive, but I decided to take the risk of driving after watching several Youtube videos showing first person perspective of what driving in LA would be like (from a dashcam). I think I can do it, it didn't look too bad from the YT clips.

      • ryefig on 25/03/2024 - 10:56
        +1

        You probably won't have issues with driving in the US if you are a competent driver here.

        It sometimes seems that big cities have bad drivers, but I found that LA drivers were totally fine!
        The roads and streets are wide and relatively straight compared to Australia. Not to mention they literally bulldoze through neighbourhoods to make gargantuan freeways.

        While you are there be sure to check out Griffith observatory. It has free parking before 1pm and has impressive views over the city.

    • MITM on 30/03/2024 - 19:08

      Process for fueling up the tank at a servo is to pre-pay before lifting the nozzle.

  • sumyungguy on 25/03/2024 - 09:39

    Holiday Autos had this to themselves for a while but there are now other players like Rentalcars.com (by Booking.com). It's also worth checking the airline web sites as they work with these booking sites but sometimes offer a deeper discount. This works domestically too. My tip: a mid-size is often only a few dollars more than a compact and you won't have to endure the upsell at the counter. Also in the US, any loyalty programmes (e.g. Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, Avis Preferred, National Emerald Club) are worthwhile as you get to skip the long, slow lines of non-affiliated customers. For LAX I'd go with one of the eleven companies that pick up from the purple Rental Car Shuttles sign.

    • maclay on 25/03/2024 - 10:19

      yes, I think I will definitely be going with a mid-sized and above car. Need some muscle to avoid getting pushed off the road, I heard that Americans like driving big cars!

      • sumyungguy on 25/03/2024 - 10:23

        Oops, my mistake, I should have said full-size (not mid-size). I started doing this years a go and found it minimised the upsell.

  • JustinFR on 25/03/2024 - 09:57

    I hired via Midway Car Rentals as they were the cheapest at the time (May 2023), and had no issues with them at all, seamless booking, collection, drop off, and they were helpful with the child-seat selection (pretty much brought me into the back and said choose whichever car seat you'd like). There's a shuttle from the Airport to them, maybe 3 minute ride. I alternatively used Turo in Dallas as they came in cheaper.

  • jv on 25/03/2024 - 10:01

    Planning to hire a car in LA

    😲

  • uncompressed on 25/03/2024 - 10:09

    Use an aggregator like https://www.rentalcars.com and stick to the well known companies and you'll be alright. Just remember to have the right insurance (CDW) but if you search from rentalcars.com with AU as your option, it should be included by default but still good to double check.

    • Sterio on 25/03/2024 - 15:38

      Too true. Aggregators are the way to and stick to the main players. As I mentioned above, Webjet have been the cheapest the last 2 years for me. Have previously used rental cars.com and and Argus car hire. A lot of the aggregators use the same search engine so just keep searching. Webjet is quite good in that it clearly shows all your inclusions.

  • altomic on 25/03/2024 - 11:05
    +1

    I did Turo 6 years ago - 2 weeks driving around California. in retrospect I wouldn't do it again. whilst insurance was included at that time and made it cheap - but looking at prices now it is no longer the bargain it was . also Credit Card car insurance does not cover Turo as it is a ride sharing service and not "car rental".

    try using a comparison site to find a better price.

    I use Ladybug.com - it used to list prices - now it just provides links to other comparison sites- but clicking on those links does pop up those other sites with dates already entered, and they do look pretty inexpensive. - i.e. US$104 for 4 days rental (insurance not included)

  • djkelly69 on 25/03/2024 - 11:17

    Economycarrentals.com is legit, I have used them a number of times both in Aus and O/S. However for an upcoming trip I have hired direct through Hertz as they were cheaper (using Amex Plat discount) and have some elite benefits with them.

  • chickenchipsgravy on 25/03/2024 - 12:26

    preference is Alamo / National Car for me and Hertz — note you'll not be able to take the vehicle over the Mexican border as you will not be covered by the 3rd party & collision damage waivers

  • CuteWittleCorgi on 25/03/2024 - 13:11

    Extensively used Turo over 7 weeks in the USA October-December 2023.

    No issues whatsoever.

    Always took the highest insurance they were offering. My partner scratched the Tesla Model Y we were renting on the last day. Everything was dealt through in the app.

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