Going to California next summer, collecting and dropping a car off at San Francisco Airport.
I have annual car rental insurance and annual worldwide travel insurance.
Any advice, recommendations etc about car collection, drop-off, upgrades, insurances, scams etc etc?
Gentle note - whilst I would be delighted to receive advice about where to go and what do in CA, perhaps in another thread that I posted a while ago? Thanks.
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Quite a long time to go, kayak.co.uk will get you a good price, but I'd compare it with next week's price, they might be stiffing you because it's so far ahead. You can check priceline.com (not .co.uk), I would suggest once you've found a price for a car class you want, going to 'name a price' and naming a 20-25% lower price (priceline add on considerable fees and taxes, so you have to name the price, click next and see the total cost - you can then go back and revise your price accordingly).
Usual things: make sure the tank is full when you lease it and also upon return, extras/upgrades/car seats/GPS at the rental counter are 90% profit, so try to avoid if possible - bring your own, and book upgrades in advance. Also don't bring the car back late, you'll be charged a full day at an extortionate rate, better to book an extra day in advance than be 2 hours over your booked allowance. California has the most expensive petrol in the US, though these things are very much relative (though American cars all seem to have 3.5 litre engines, which helps compensate).
Driving in San Francisco is not the done thing, we were there a couple of weeks ago, and parking is expensive and scarce (think European city, not American city), you have to dodge the cable cars and be aware of all the different coloured kerbs and rules for which way your wheels point on hills. I would not plan on making too many stops in the city, though that's not a reason not to take the official 'Scenic Drive'.
If you're going to drive the coastal road it would make sense to head South from SFO, given that you will have the sea on your side.
Yosemite looked pretty nice when we flew over it.
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Having rented in the States (and from SFO specifically) before, it seems to take a very long time to get processed at the desk. Make sure you have both parts of your licence! Also, be wary of 'free upgrades', as often there is a shortage of small cars in the summer so they'll give you a bigger one if they run out. Not necessarily a problem, but if you're planning on doing lots of miles the extra fuel costs will rack up.
As for California itself, well, there is an abundance of treasures to be found. Yosemite, Lassen (lesser known and smaller but good for a visit) and Marin county to name a couple. Maybe I'll post more on the other thread.
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Nothing to do with car hire, but check the small print of your current travel insurance.
Some insurers require full details of the trip a minimum amount of time before you travel (some as soon as the trip is booked) - most policyholders aren't aware of this important issue and void the insurance as a result.
Edited by daveyjp on 16/11/2009 at 08:56
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Some insurers require full details of the trip a minimum amount of time before you travel (some as soon as the trip is booked)
I've never heard of that in my life - any particular insurance company you're thinking of?
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None were given.
It was a discussion on local radio with a rep from Which? about "free" insurance you get with some premium bank accounts. They highlighted small print issues which are often missed and this was one of them.
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I have purchased annual insurance from Axa. No requirement to pre-advise a trip.
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Spent a fortnight there this summer. Fantastic in every way. I did a lot of research on car hire before going and found carhire3000 absolutely unbeatable. Airport pickup and dropoff is horrendously expensive; it's actually cheaper to get a taxi downtown to O'Farrell Street where all the car hire places are, and the BART train to get back to the airport. (Strange ticket machines - put money in first, then tap in fare then choose ticket.)
I advised some Spanish tourists waiting with us at the Alamo desk (there are always long queues!) to go to a nearby Internet cafe and reserve through carhire3000; they returned to Alamo half an hour later, having saved a fortune.
I wish I'd gone for a beefier car, as the Pontiac G6 I'd reserved turned out to be a Focus 2 litre automatic "SRS", which was sluggish in the extreme; styling and finish was more like a Series 2 European Focus. Electric sunroof and heated leather seats made for a beautiful evening drive back up the coast from Carmel.
Have a fantastic time !!
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Thanks
Have found good prices from carhire 3000 and holiday autos for an MPV type vehicle (some Chevy but I assume vaguely similar to a Chrysler Voyager is size and comfort). About £430 for 13 days. So no real option on engine size I reckon - probably a
3.5 V6.
Bilboman - what do you mean when you say that airport drop off and pick up is expensive? We want to pick up the car late at night (immediately after we arrive from NYC) and drive south from the airport to LA returing to SF later in the holiday. Would it be more sensible to do SF first without a car and pick up the car in downtown SF when we are ready for a road trip?
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.... receive advice about where to go and what do in CA, perhaps in another thread that I posted a while ago? ... >>
Which other thread is that?
We want to pick up the car late at night (immediately after we arrive from NYC) and drive south from the airport to LA returing to SF later >>
Is there a reason you do not want to pick up the car in LA and drop it off in SF? AFAIK, there is not much (if any) difference in the cost.
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Other thread - I think it was in a IHAQ from about two months ago?
Flights booked by SWMBO - in and out of CA via SFO - a lot cheaper for us for some reason.
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From a sole experience, SF airport is a place of long delays, and this was before 9/11 and attendant layers of difficulties. Long delay circling to land due to bad weather. Long delay disgorging passengers (I had never fully appreciated quite how many of them a jumbo jet can carry). Long delay before luggage began to appear. Very long delay as the only two immigration people on duty processed us all at their leisure. Long delay at the Herz desk - it seemed every one or couple of us had booked a car and the queue was about eight across and forty long.
At the desk, two laid back men offered extra car hire insurance which nobody needed, and explained the conseqences of refusal in the most leisurely fashion. Some gave way cravenly and got through fairly fast, others were, well, delayed. We got through eventually, to be directed to a shelterless shuttle bus stop some way outside, and spent the next delay wind and rain swept. Now to the car depot where - you guessed it - there was another long delay, partly due to a last-ditch attempt to flog insurance. Given the "laissez passer" at last, braved the wind and rain again to locate a heavily used gas guzzler - but one without a key. Returned to demand one. Counter attendant said the previous hirer had not returned the key correctly. I said that was not my fault and he suddenly bellowed angrily "No sir, and it is not my fault either!" I had seen enough American movies to know what would happen next - he would shoot me. But instead the key was produced and we made a quick getaway, not having the nerve to ask where the motel where we had booked lay. Now a bit of luck - it appeared within minutes and we checked in, four hours later than anticipated.
Another very rude reception when handing the car back in LA. The service is vastly inferior in CA than at Boston.
When I recounted my expected brush with death to American friends in LA, their small son said, sagely "Yeah, you were lucky he didn't shoot you!". So buy the extra insurance - it could save time and could even turn out to be life assurance.
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Other thread - I think it was in a IHAQ from about two months ago? >>
Looks like this one
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=78360
Good job it was not IHAQ, as that would be closed!
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I have flown into SFO & SMF regularly these past few years, having friends who reside near Lake Tahoe. I always spend the first night in the city, and the last two also (or vice versa) and arrange to pick up the car at noon on the day I leave the city. This leaves time to drive back into the city on the day of return. Noon collection means the morning queues have (almost) gone and it allows a relaxed start to the day, and not having to battle the morning rush hour on return, if you are staying outside the city. Having a car in SF makes no sense.
Last summer we picked up Downtown. The Hertz fleet is mainly Ford, so I was 99% certain we would get an almost new Mustang soft top when booking our convertible via DialAFlight (we did). Hertz, in my experience at least, run a newer fleet of vehicles so I am happy to pay a little more.
Later next month we are using Alamo, of whom I have heard mixed reports, in conjunction with Trailfinders (flight only) to rent our 4WD Chevy Equinox as we are heading to Tahoe via Yosemite...which is a very different beast in winter. No crowds, very cold, lots of snow..or there was in Feb 07!
We used Hertz in Boston last month and had a very positive experience. Again, an almost new Mustang and exemplary service from the Park Plaza office.
Drop me an email if you want any touring suggestions.
Regards
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Sorry Espada
We spoke re this matter last September! My touring suggestions still stand!
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Laegacylad - you have mail!
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Bilboman - what do you mean when you say that airport drop off and pick up is expensive? We want to pick up the car late at night (immediately after we arrive from NYC) and drive south from the airport to LA returing to SF later in the holiday. Would it be more sensible to do SF first without a car and pick up the car in downtown SF when we are ready for a road trip?
I would not bother with the car in SF. There's buses, trams, BART and your legs. Get one of the airporter type buses to your hotel and then do a city centre pick-up when you leave SF. We booked via Holiday Autos and got a (don't laugh) Sebring soft-top via Dollar from O'Farrell St (take a torch for the inspection). The car was what we expected and OK for us (mind the front spoiler if you get one). I think you'll always get a Chrysler car from Dollar (Perhaps Chrysler GrandePunto in a few years?).
The drive out of downtown SF was easier than I'd feared, but I'd been driving the RV before. Make sure you understand California road law, particularly the 4-way stop rule.
We wanted the open top car to drive down Big Sur and then on as far as San Diego before returning to the drop off at LAX. Big Sur is simply awesome. I've also heard good things about the coast north of SF but didn't see it. Can also highly recommend Sonoma County - did a wine tour on pedal bikes which was a lot of fun out of Healdsburg. It's a lot less rich & ostentatious than Napa.
Yosemite is very busy at weekends - definitely go midweek or you could struggle to find places to stay. Kings Canyon is quieter but the drive is very exiciting in a lardy V8 petrol RV. Didn't see any kings, but the canyon part definitely helps you focus on the road. We went in May and were virtually the only people in Kings, but Yosemite was already fully booked.
Hope that helps.
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