LAX car rentals?

[ORMom2Four]

Hello everyone,

I've been a bit gun shy about renting a car ever since we had a salesman at the rental counter scare us to death about buying the extra insurance. He walked around the car with us, examining every bit of dirt on it to "make sure it is not a scratch". He said that car rentals do not deal with private insurance, that if even one tiny scratch was on the car when we returned it, we would be charged in full for a paint job--that is unless we purchaced the extra insurance. This was not a small rental company either, it was one of the biggest, very well known, though it was in OR and not CA.

Now we have to rent a car for 6 days....actually a van (in order to fit our 6 member family) and I'm nervous.

Are there any companies we should aviod at LAX? Any good ones? We have comprehensive insurance on our regular car (with a $500 deductable), should we buy the extra insurance? Is that true that the car rental companies will not go through your insurance?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Jennifer

 

[wendypooh22]

I was told by my agent (AAA - auto club) that since we had full coverage on our own vehicle it would transfer over to the rental car... You might want to call your insurance company.

 

[luckcooky]

Hi Jennifer!

Major insurance companies provide coverage for car rentals. I know for sure this is the case with AAA and Farmers. Don't believe what the car rental salesperson tells you. Call your car insurance agent to make sure. They are the best source for answers regarding your policy.

I highly recommend you go with larger rental car companies like Budget or Alamo. We rent cars quite frequently and find their prices are usually cheaper than Hertz, especially if you look around for discount coupons/codes. They are also less likely to be anal about the car condition.

I would avoid Enterprise because they focus on long term rentals, so their short term prices tend to be unexpectedly pricey. Plus theirs cars are usually older. And Enterprise does exactly what you fear: The sales rep will walk with you to the car, inspect the car from front to back, write down every scratch and dent on the rental form. It's quite nerve wracking.

 

[marlaymike]

One of our trips to Florida the saleman in Alamo told us to do so, he scared us. I pay for it due to the scary things he said. When I came in I called them and told them what happen and they returned me the money. I suggest to rent a car and go with your private insurance, we always do that.

 

[staley7580]

We just got back fromDisneyland and I had the BEST experience with a car rental place. We went thru budget and found it very easy. We have never rented a car before, or even been on a family vacation before. We sighned up for fastbreak online, and just went to a little shack in the parking lot, signed in on their computer, went and got my car and left. We came back, turned in our car at the drive up thing, got our reciept and left. No sales pitch, no insurence junk NOTHING it was SOOOOO easy. I would rent from then in a heartbeat. Let me say agian that it was FANTASTIC!!!!!

 

[ORMom2Four]

Thanks everyone, I feel so much better! I'm going to call my insurance co. on Monday to double check on my coverage.

It was Enterprise that scared me to death driving their car

I think I'll check out Budget this time. We are leaving in only 9 days! We had been planning a trip for Feb, but got a room at GCH last minute and moved up our trip.

The whole gang is excited, we can't wait!

Thanks again!!
Jennifer

 

[drag n' fly]

For 18 dollars a year we have a rental clause added onto our vehicle insurance. Yes they do deal with private insurance companies...they just dont like too.

 

[OregonDisneyFanatic]

We have acually used Enterprise for renting a van the last three times we have gone to DL. Every experience has gone perfectly, and would most definitly rent from them again. We got a van like I said for $175.00 including taxes for 7 days. The other reason that we like them is that one spouse can pick up the car without the other one being present and both spouses are covered to drive. This worked out great when my DH came down tuesday after us. Good luck! and have a great trip!

 

[Captjackson]

We've rented from Alamo, Budget, Dollar, and Hertz, depending on who had the best deal for that particular trip. Fortunately, we never had anyone try that kind of tactic on us. (I have rented from Enterprise once, when our car was in the body shop for repairs.)

Kinda off topic here, but...
This happened to DW's cousin. She (the cousin) reserved an economy car for her and her mother. At the rental counter they asked her if she wanted to upgrade to an SUV. It was, I think, about $15-20 per day more. After telling them "No,thanks", they admitted they didn't have an economy car on the lot...so they gave her the very SUV that they had tried to get her to pay extra for!
This has also happened to a co-worker's DD.

 

[autumnbaby9]

Kinda off topic here, but...
This happened to DW's cousin. She (the cousin) reserved an economy car for her and her mother. At the rental counter they asked her if she wanted to upgrade to an SUV. It was, I think, about $15-20 per day more. After telling them "No,thanks", they admitted they didn't have an economy car on the lot...so they gave her the very SUV that they had tried to get her to pay extra for!
This has also happened to a co-worker's DD.

This happens alot . Mousesavers has said that you never want to accept an upgrade offer because they are more than likely trying to get you to pay for something they have to give you anyway.

 

[Albort]

Heres a few tips...

Snipe your price per day with priceline.com Just keep trying from XX value and up... and make sure you look around for a price...

Yes, your car insurance might have something BUT did you know your credit card company also has rental insurance too? that way you dont need to bring proof of insurance... your credit card is fine!

 

[autumnbaby9]

Yes, your car insurance might have something BUT did you know your credit card company also has rental insurance too? that way you dont need to bring proof of insurance... your credit card is fine!

Just make sure you pay for everything with same card. My parents paid the initial price for their van with one Visa but when they added another driver at the checkout counter they used a different Visa to pay for the extra amount. When my dad put a dent into the van Visa said they didn't have to cover it because we paid with two different cards. They were both Visas but that didn't matter to the customer service rep. They ended up having to pay for the whole thing because the bill was $495 and their insurance deductable was $500.

 

[CaptainJacksWench]

My State Farm covers rentals. Don't let the people scare you! We rent from Hertz and I've never had that happen to me. That's really stinky that they'd scare you into buying their insurance. Must be an incentive to them.

 

[alyssa810]

We've never bought the extra insurance! We also rented from Advantage for the first time on our recent trip to LA and Las Vegas- they were much, much cheaper than anyone else, and we had a really good experience. They might be worth checking out...One of the things that's good about Thrifty is that you can set up your account with all your preferences, and you can put that they not ask you for the additional insurance coverage...I think other companies might do this too...