Booking Rental Cars in the States

Non-Technical Threads Chatting over the Back Fence
21

On Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:08:42 +0000, Massimo Rosen wrote:
[color=blue]

Jim,

On 20.03.2012 21:58, Jim Henderson wrote:[color=green]

Having driven in the US and the UK, something I would advise is being
familiar with the roads you’re driving on if you’re going to drive
after dark. When I was in the UK and borrowed a car, I opted not to
drive after dark since oncoming headlights might have caused me to move
to the “bad” side of the road on a winding road.[/color]

Agreed, but for a slightly different reason. When I was in Australia,
the only time where I ended up on the wrong side of the road was after
dark too, but not because it was dark, but because the streets were
empty, after I took a turn. As long as there’s traffic around, I never
once had the slightest problem. But doing a turn from and into an
completely empty road can get you in trouble. I drove almost a mile on
the wrong side before I noticed it (myself, luckily, not because some
other traffic suddenly showing up on “my” side)[/color]

I think it depends on how straight the roads are and how used to driving
on the ‘legal’ side of the road it is.

Driving in the UK in a right-hand-drive car, there’s already something
unusual about it for those of us who drive left-hand-drive cars, but as I
mentioned in the other post I just wrote, on a winding road that’s poorly
lit after dark, I was concerned (it being my first time driving in the UK
as well) that my reflex would be a problem when I saw oncoming headlights
and couldn’t tell which side of the road they were on.

Jim

–
Jim Henderson, CNA6, CDE, CNI, LPIC-1, CLA10, CLP10
Novell Knowledge Partner

22

On 21.03.2012 19:10, Jim Henderson wrote:[color=blue]

On Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:08:42 +0000, Massimo Rosen wrote:
[color=green]

Jim,

On 20.03.2012 21:58, Jim Henderson wrote:[color=darkred]

Having driven in the US and the UK, something I would advise is being
familiar with the roads you’re driving on if you’re going to drive
after dark. When I was in the UK and borrowed a car, I opted not to
drive after dark since oncoming headlights might have caused me to move
to the “bad” side of the road on a winding road.[/color]

Agreed, but for a slightly different reason. When I was in Australia,
the only time where I ended up on the wrong side of the road was after
dark too, but not because it was dark, but because the streets were
empty, after I took a turn. As long as there’s traffic around, I never
once had the slightest problem. But doing a turn from and into an
completely empty road can get you in trouble. I drove almost a mile on
the wrong side before I noticed it (myself, luckily, not because some
other traffic suddenly showing up on “my” side)[/color]

I think it depends on how straight the roads are and how used to driving
on the ‘legal’ side of the road it is.

Driving in the UK in a right-hand-drive car, there’s already something
unusual about it for those of us who drive left-hand-drive cars, but as I
mentioned in the other post I just wrote, on a winding road that’s poorly
lit after dark, I was concerned (it being my first time driving in the UK
as well) that my reflex would be a problem when I saw oncoming headlights
and couldn’t tell which side of the road they were on.[/color]

I had a right-hand-drive car, and after a short while didn’t even notice.
It’s funny how your brain works. I have quite a few very distinct
memories of driving around in Australia, seeing things, even some roads
I remeber very clearly. When I think back of those occurences, I find
myself on the “right” side of the road in my thoughts, and there’s
almost nothing I can do about it.

CU,

Massimo Rosen
Novell Knowledge Partner
No emails please!
http://www.cfc-it.de

23

On Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:19:56 +0000, Massimo Rosen wrote:
[color=blue]

I had a right-hand-drive car, and after a short while didn’t even
notice.
It’s funny how your brain works. I have quite a few very distinct
memories of driving around in Australia, seeing things, even some roads
I remeber very clearly. When I think back of those occurences, I find
myself on the “right” side of the road in my thoughts, and there’s
almost nothing I can do about it.[/color]

The brain is certainly a strange and wonderful device. :wink:

Jim

–
Jim Henderson, CNA6, CDE, CNI, LPIC-1, CLA10, CLP10
Novell Knowledge Partner

24

Massimo Rosen wrote:
[color=blue]

I had a right-hand-drive car, and after a short while didn’t even notice.
It’s funny how your brain works[/color]

Nah, it’s funny how your brain works

U

25

Scott,

in addition to what everybody else said: If you’re a cheapskate, try pre-
ordering a tiny car (Yugo, Fiat Cinquecento). They normally don’t have one
available, so they’ll try to talk you into “upgrading” to a regular M1
Abrams sized monster, but if you insist, they’ll have to give you a normal
car for the price of a tiny one. Worked fine two or three times for us.

U

26

Scott:

You’d avoid Mexico because the rental companies don’t want their cars
to go there, so the rental contract will state that you cannot take the
car there. There’s quite a bit of theft of cars in Mexico, if not the
car itself, then the contents of the car if you leave it alone for any
length of time. There’s also the issue of car-jacking or being held up,
because any tourist is fair game to the criminal element. Also, most US
insurance companies will not cover vehicles if they venture into
Mexico, so likely even with the additional insurance the car wouldn’t
be covered in Mexico, it would be excluded from coverage.

Additionally, and likely not reported much in NZ, the drug cartels in
Mexico have been taking it over, more or less. There are some areas you
do not want to go into anymore, for fear of your life. They’ve been
finding piles of headless bodies in certain areas, and some tourist
have been among them. If the NZ government doesn’t have travel
advisories for Mexico, then check the US ones.

Budget and Dollar are two rental car companies that offer vehicles at
lower prices than the other rental agencies, and what Uwe suggested
about arranging for a very small car is true. If they don’t have one,
they have to give you a larger one at the same price. But you really
can’t count on getting a larger vehicle, it all depends on what they
have available, which also depends on how many flights have landed at
the same time as yours, and how soon you get to the car rental place.
All of the car rental agencies have shuttles from the airport to their
location, and vice versa when you turn in the car.

Check your auto insurance to see if they cover rentals outside of your
country. They might not. They might also have some additional rider you
can get for a reasonable price. If they do cover it, though, then you
won’t need to get the insurance. Just be aware that you still have to
pay whatever your deductible is. The rental company will explain all
that and do their best to try to scare you into taking their insurance,
anyway. : )

–
Susan
Novell Community Chat Moderator

http://forums.novell.com/faq.php?faq=novfor#faq_rules
http://www.ncci.org NCCIrregulars Web Site

Please read the following before posting in here:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/27zopdy

27

Susan wrote:
[color=blue]

There’s quite a bit of theft of cars in Mexico, if not
the car itself, then the contents of the car if you leave it alone
for any length of time. There’s also the issue of car-jacking or
being held up, because any tourist is fair game to the criminal
element.[/color]

So to rephrase the last sentence:

“or the contents of the car while you’re still in it.”

:slight_smile:

–
Does this washcloth smell like chloroform?

28

“Scott A. Campbell” wrote:
[color=blue]

from Denver[/color]

I fully expect you to contact me beforehand so I can at least have lunch with
you or something!

–
Danita
Novell Knowledge Partner
Upgrading to GroupWise 2012? http://www.caledonia.net/blog/?p=514
http://www.caledonia.net/gw12upg.html

29

Jim Henderson wrote:
[color=blue]

Most if not all rental companies here provide insurance - you can waive the
coverage if you have insurance that covers rental vehicles (when I traveled
for work, that was the default for us because the company had its own policy
for employees traveling on business).[/color]

However, most of the time overseas rentals are not covered by this! Joe got hit
with an $800 repair bill once when he automatically declined coverage in the UK
assuming he was covered and found that it was only valid in the US.

–
Danita
Novell Knowledge Partner
Upgrading to GroupWise 2012? http://www.caledonia.net/blog/?p=514
http://www.caledonia.net/gw12upg.html

30

Jim Henderson wrote:
[color=blue]

  1. Let them refuel when you bring the car back - there’s a hefty service fee
    for this, and that can drive the price per gallon up to what our friends in
    the UK normally pay (and sometimes even a bit higher).[/color]

I assume you mean “don’t” here - but you have to watch now. A lot of companies
are giving the option to “prepay” for gas at a reduced rate (often cheaper than
the going rate) and tell you to bring it back empty. They are getting smart
with this, because it’s rare than you can actually time it right to bring it
back totally empty, so they are still making some money most times. But if you
think you wlll be able to bring it back empty, and they have a $.20 per gallon
advantage over street price, it can be worth it.

–
Danita
Novell Knowledge Partner
Upgrading to GroupWise 2012? http://www.caledonia.net/blog/?p=514
http://www.caledonia.net/gw12upg.html

31

Massimo Rosen wrote:
[color=blue]

When I was in Australia, the only time where I ended up on the wrong side of
the road was after dark too, but not because it was dark, but because the
streets were empty,[/color]

turns are when I get a little confused sometimes too. When Joe did his driving
test here, after the instructor told him he had passed, the instructor told Joe
to turn into the parking lot, and Joe went in on the wrong side - heehee.

–
Danita
Novell Knowledge Partner
Upgrading to GroupWise 2012? http://www.caledonia.net/blog/?p=514
http://www.caledonia.net/gw12upg.html

32

On Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:06:08 +0000, DZanre wrote:
[color=blue]

Jim Henderson wrote:
[color=green]

Most if not all rental companies here provide insurance - you can waive
the coverage if you have insurance that covers rental vehicles (when I
traveled for work, that was the default for us because the company had
its own policy for employees traveling on business).[/color]

However, most of the time overseas rentals are not covered by this! Joe
got hit with an $800 repair bill once when he automatically declined
coverage in the UK assuming he was covered and found that it was only
valid in the US.[/color]

That’s a good point, and easy to forget. It’s always important to read
the fine print. :slight_smile:

Jim

–
Jim Henderson, CNA6, CDE, CNI, LPIC-1, CLA10, CLP10
Novell Knowledge Partner

33

On Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:08:16 +0000, DZanre wrote:
[color=blue]

Jim Henderson wrote:
[color=green]

  1. Let them refuel when you bring the car back - there’s a hefty
    service fee for this, and that can drive the price per gallon up to
    what our friends in the UK normally pay (and sometimes even a bit
    higher).[/color]

I assume you mean “don’t” here - but you have to watch now. A lot of
companies are giving the option to “prepay” for gas at a reduced rate
(often cheaper than the going rate) and tell you to bring it back empty.[/color]

Yeah, I’ve seen that happen, too. I had several times when I was
teaching where I took the company-recommended option of filling it up
before returning the car, and found that I was running late and had to
bring it back partially empty.
[color=blue]

They are getting smart with this, because it’s rare than you can
actually time it right to bring it back totally empty, so they are still
making some money most times. But if you think you wlll be able to
bring it back empty, and they have a $.20 per gallon advantage over
street price, it can be worth it.[/color]

Yep. I can remember seeing some times when it was priced around $2.00/
gallon (this would be back in 2004 or so) and the price for having them
refuel it was along the lines of $7-$8 per gallon if you elected to bring
it back full.

Change fees on airline tickets being about $100, I always figured it was
the less expensive choice to pay the $7-$8/gallon for a few gallons (I
rarely used a full tank when I was teaching - if ever) than to have to
pay the change fee to Amex Travel and/or the airlines.

(Amex always charged an extra fee for their, ahem, ‘service’).

Jim

–
Jim Henderson, CNA6, CDE, CNI, LPIC-1, CLA10, CLP10
Novell Knowledge Partner

34

Yesh certainly wasn’t aware of the situation in Mexico, thanks Susan.
Had a quick look at the NZ travel advisories shows current warnings.

And thank you for the rental information :slight_smile:

35

Simon Flood wrote:
[color=blue]

To be on the left-hand side of the road, or not to be on the
left-hand side of the road, that is the question

;-)[/color]

I’ve seen drivers that want both sides of the road :slight_smile:

36

DZanre wrote:
[color=blue]

turns are when I get a little confused sometimes too.[/color]

When I have been cycling in the States, turns have really required
extra concentration.

Embarassingly the first time I hired a bike in the states I was riding
away, down a hill from the bike shop and wanted to test the brakes (to
do a little nose wheelie) - one of the staff was walking up the hill,
pulled on the brake firmly and the back wheel locks up. The shame.

Ever since, I get the bike shop to swap the brakes around :slight_smile:

37

Uwe Buckesfeld wrote:
[color=blue]

regular M1 Abrams sized monster[/color]

Sounds like me :wink:

Thank you. :slight_smile:

38

DZanre wrote:
[color=blue]

I fully expect you to contact me beforehand so I can at least have
lunch with you or something![/color]

That would be good. Will definitely give you a yell. :slight_smile:

39

“Scott Campbell” wrote:
[color=blue]

Embarassingly the first time I hired a bike in the states I was riding away,
down a hill from the bike shop and wanted to test the brakes (to do a little
nose wheelie) - one of the staff was walking up the hill, pulled on the brake
firmly and the back wheel locks up. The shame.

Ever since, I get the bike shop to swap the brakes around :-)[/color]

I guess I never even considered that the bike brakes would be opposite! Learn
something new every day.

–
Danita
Novell Knowledge Partner
Upgrading to GroupWise 2012? http://www.caledonia.net/blog/?p=514
http://www.caledonia.net/gw12upg.html

40

On Sat, 24 Mar 2012 09:40:00 +0000, Scott Campbell wrote:
[color=blue]

Simon Flood wrote:
[color=green]

To be on the left-hand side of the road, or not to be on the left-hand
side of the road, that is the question

;-)[/color]

I’ve seen drivers that want both sides of the road :-)[/color]

and driving down both sides of the road is not correct? Darn. I guess
that explains the hand gestures offered in my direction.