Renting a car

[Shari]

I am looking at taking Wee to visit his bro in Cali again. School's not going well. Hasn't for 2 months. Snowball effect, partially. Partially the weather. Its just ugly.

So, stupid question.....what is involved in renting a car (I've NEVER done it!). Do I need a credit card, or can I use my debit card? What's the process?

 

[flutterby]

You can use your debit card, but they put a hold on more money than it's actually going to cost, just in case.

 

[donna723]

You might want to check on the rates too. The last time I rented a car we were only going to need it for four days. I found out it was actually quite a bit cheaper to get it for a whole week than it was for just the four days! So I got it for a week and drove it to work a couple of days too! Brand new Buick Lucerne with all the goodies on it!

 

[smallworld]

If you have it, AAA offers discounts on rental cars. Because of our frequent trips to Utah to visit J, we've had to rent a lot of cars since August. I don't know if this is true all across the country, but we've found that Enterprise had very good rates.

 

[GoingNorth]

It's AAA that offers discounts, LoL. Also, check whether your current auto insurance is full coverage and includes rental insurance. (Obviously, just liability wouldn't do).

If your auto ins coverage will cover risk to driving a rental car, then you can avoid having to pay for the ins the rental agency otherwise charges for.

 

[compassion]

National has very good rates. Check out kayak.com. I just got 3 days in Pittsurgh plus a half a tank of gas for $99. (subcompact) Compassion

 

[KTMom91]

I suggest getting the additional insurance. I didn't used to, but Hubby insisted. Spending the extra money, when we didn't really have it, irritated me, until...he was in an accident, in a brand new rental. Totaled the car. He had medical bills, ongoing care, and his arm still isn't quite right.

Someone backed out of her driveway, and ended up right in front of him...he had no choice but to hit her. The accident was not his fault, and I shudder to think of the increase in our insurance had we had to cover that.