Renting at home, do you tell them going to FL.....

[sdamico71]

When renting a car at home, do you tell them you are going to Florida.
I ask because when we rented last time, I was quoted "unlimited miles" by two of the major companies. When asked at the time of pickup if I would be staying in the state, and inidicated "NO" I was given a ridiculously higher price because of the wear and tear to the car. I guess for insurance purposes they also need to know where the car will be.
After much debate, the rental company honored the original price.
Anyone else ever run into this, and how do you handle it.
Are you honest with the agent and say you are going out of town.
Any and all feedback is welcomed.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by sdamico71
When renting a car at home, do you tell them you are going to Florida.
I ask because when we rented last time, I was quoted "unlimited miles" by two of the major companies. When asked at the time of pickup if I would be staying in the state, and inidicated "NO" I was given a ridiculously higher price because of the wear and tear to the car. I guess for insurance purposes they also need to know where the car will be.
After much debate, the rental company honored the original price.
Anyone else ever run into this, and how do you handle it.
Are you honest with the agent and say you are going out of town.
Any and all feedback is welcomed.

I would tell them cause, God forbid, you are in an accident, they can really sock it to you.

 

[toystoryduo]

I have not been asked that question, but honesty is the best policy. Plus, it can save you a lot of headaches in the long run. I wonder if I should tell the car rental company if I am taking it out of state or not? I just assumed that if you have insurance, then everything is okay despite where you are going. Hmmm... any thoughts on this??

 

[WDWisTheBest]

My advice is to never, repeat never, lie to the rental company. As Gail said, if you ever have an accident out of state, you will potentially put your assets on the line. It is not worth it.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

I always tell the truth when asked. They haven't ever raised the price either. The only thing they tell me is that I can't take the car to NYC or Mexico

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

I always tell the truth when asked. They haven't ever raised the price either. The only thing they tell me is that I can't take the car to NYC or Mexico

 

[summerrluvv]

I think on with most rental companies, the paperwork you sign says you will not take the vehicle out of the state. In my state (NY), it says the "tri-state" area.

 

[disneymom3]

We looked into renting a van a couple of trips ago to drive down from MN to FL. What I was told at the time was that unlimited doesn't truly mean unlimited at least for an out of state trip. We were allowed 1000 miles per week we would be gone and then there was a per mile charge after that. Since the roundtrip there and back was over 3000 miles, it ended up being fairly prohibitive.

Would I tell them? Oh yeah.

 

[safetymom]

I agree about telling the agency. It depends on the size of the car sometimes but the major agencies don't usually have a problem with you taking it out of state but the smaller agencies do.

 

[djm99]

That is a great question!!!! In my experience I only rent from companies that use unlimited miles. Budget, National, and Hertz, usually have unlimited miles on most of their cars except mini vans (I never have understood that). I usually rent a SUV from Budget. All their SUV are unlimited and in St. Louis if you rent a large size SUV they give you the 3rd seat free if you need it.

Hertz charges more for unlimited miles, and if memory serves so does Alamo and National.

 

[Robinrs]

When I rent from Enterprise they require that you tell them if you are going out of town. Alamo has never asked but I do tell them. It never changes anything on the contract.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We've rented in Las Vegas and have traveled to Utah and Arizona many times, and have not been denied unlimited mileage or charged more.

Bobbi

 

[kilee]

In the last 3 years I have rented no less than 12 times for decent trips. Several to Florida. First, they record the mileage when you leave and return, even w/ unlimited miles so they'll no you went pretty far. However, I found your question odd because I have NEVER been asked it or had to sign paperwork that stated I was keeping the car in the state and or area. The only restriction was not to go to Canada with the car (something about their toll system charges the lisc. plate on the car). I would however, be sure that you are free and clear to go where you want with the car. I usually rent from the local airport site those as opposed to small town sites. So maybe this has something to do with it. We have several Budgets around here that are independently owned--- they carry the BUDGET name, they come up on the BUDGET website. However, they will not honor anything from the web, nor do they have the same rules as the corporate owned BuDGET at the airport. Personally, I usually use our local ALAMO (hated them at MCO) but our local one is good. No deposits or holds for security deposit. Always unlimited miles, ect.

 

[punkin]

I would tell them. I had to go to Pennsylvania and rented a car in long island (tri-state area noted in contract) I told them at the counter where I was going, and the guy said no problem and penciled in PA as one of the places I could go. I was not gharged a higher rate.

 

[djm99]

Originally posted by punkin
I would tell them. I had to go to Pennsylvania and rented a car in long island (tri-state area noted in contract) I told them at the counter

I might be wrong but usually when you have that statement in your contract your car isn't rented with unlimited miles, but a set number of miles.

 

[undertheradar]

Tell the company up-front. The average rental fleet is controlled by spreading miles throughout the fleet. It is better to use lower mile vehicles for the long trips, so the rental agencies like to know where the vehicle will be. Some insurance policies only allow restricted vehicle use by the rental fleets, that is why the question of usage area is asked. The other reason for being up-front, is that should the vehicle breakdown- you want an agency that has locations near your travel route.