USA Car hire: what extra insurance?
Hi folks,We're hiring a car later today as part of our USA road trip. It's from Avis. Of the extra insurance etc that they will try and sell me, what should I be having?
With thanks,
James Collision Damage Waiver and, from experience of Avis (though not un the US) I'd take any deal that minimises your excess.
In Australia, I didn't and some oik knicked a wheel-trim of the Nissan Micra we had and they charged us $300AUD...... data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
I eventually got $250 back, but it took a LOT of effort...
I;d also look to avoid having to fill the tank on return too - it'll save you looking for a gas station close to the airport (or wherever you have to return the car). When you get to the desk, invariably they will try and upsell to a higher vehicle. Always haggle the cost. I've had some great deals and walked away from others. Once I got the upgrade free because they were short on vehicles in the category I had booked.
I agree with taking CDW. That saved my skin twice. But I prefer to return the tank full. They overcharge for the fuel and sometimes a filling surcharge too. My employer has great travel insurance that we always take out - it costs about 2 pounds per day, so is a no-brainer, plus my credit card also has insurance built in for travel purchases made on the card, so I always go for the minimum insurance that the hire company requires you to take.
Filling up with petrol yourself is by far the most cost-effective way to go - there are loads of gas stations in urban USA. I booked everything before I got there- no excess, CDW etc. The only thing they offered at the desk was roadside assistance which I refused. Brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee for £34/ day with Hertz I always go with Alamo - they're all inc with insurance - and I always seem get a significant upgrade. And not needing to go to a desk etc after a 10 hour flight is fantastic. I'm looking at getting separate annual cover for excess from icarhireinsurance, or similar, in preparation for my holiday to South Africa. This also cover costs of damage to tyres and undercarriage etc.
Is there a similar policy you can get for potential breakdowns, punctures, key losses or recovery if you're in an accident? All of these are far more likely than collision damage. I always get full coverage, It could work out very expensive, on returning the car once they see I have full coverage its signed car off without checking it. While our car was being brought to us in Denver I was watching the staff going around all the sports cars with a tyre tread depth gauge. I wonder if they tell the clients they do this before renting out the cars and if they do a mileage/tread depth check once returned in case of wheel spins etc. More likely to stop renters swapping the tyres over. A guy on YouTube who rents high end motors has all sorts go on. One customer even swapped a faulty headlight over.
Used Avis in the states for the last few trips and they have never tried to up-sell anything. Definitely fill up before dropping off or you'll get hit. Didn't have chance to stop this year due to massive storm just before we got to the airport, literally couldn't see 20ft in front so buggered if I was going to start looking for a gas station. Did cost me though.
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