totally confused, dont know what to do now, lax, car rental

[HappyFingers]

before i use a company i like to read the reviews

well ive been reading reviews for hours now and im horrified at all the people whom have booked a car online only to discover that at the counter they have to pay sometimes 3x the cost of the rental in insurance

complaining of heavy sales tactics
being checked in at one counter then escorted to the next counter where you get the hard sell
credit cards with unauthorised transactions
smelly, dirty, old cars

the thing is every company seemed to be getting the same bad reviews for the same stuff, im starting to wonder if the reviews are even real and not just fake reviews from rival companies

could someone explain to me what insurance i must purchase by law and what insurance i dont need ?

we have travel insurance and i was of the opinion that this covered any excess charges in the event of an accident, i dont want to be insured twice for the same thing

the best reviewed place i could find at lax was enterprise but still a lot of people were complaining about the sales tactics and being sold insurance they were told is compulsory in califorina but later found out it wasnt

i hate the hard sell, i would rather just pay the upfront cost with no hidden charges and drive away

dont want my first impression of usa to be a negative one

cheers and thanks for any advice

 

[hsmamato2]

well,I feel the same way....I've been researching prices and companies, the prices are so high....and the reviews are so...scary! For our trip, the cheapest option is Fox...and I'm scared of the bad reviews,so much so that I'm going to pay WAY more for a reputable company- And I say reputable based on the big companies I'm familiar with from other places....since I've never been out west-
I know for us,car rental insurance isn't necessary,as it's covered under our own policy from our cars(we'll bring proof) but I'm not sure about coming from overseas...I've gotten quotes from Alamo,etc and they have an option right upfront for daily insurance,and the cost. So there should be no surprises-

 

[dougsmom98]

We NEVER purchase insurance on rental cars because our own car insurance policy covers it. We have called our insurance agent and he has assured us this is the case and we bring proof of insurance when we go. Also, check with your credit cards. Some credit cards give additional coverage if you use it to rent a car. We also always sign up for the car rentals company's preferred customer program like Budget's Fastbreak program, Thrifty's Blue Chip, Dollar's Express program... We have found that when we do this, we never get hassled by the sales person. Very often we can bypass the salesperson and the desk completely. Mousesavers.com gives pretty good advice about rental cars and insurance on this page of the website. It is definitely worth reading.
http://www.mousesavers.com/rentalcar.html#dlneed

 

[eduk8r26]

I don't know if it's different when you don't rent at an airport, but I've rented many times from Avis and Hertz in town and never had a problem. I rent online then go in and pick it up. We have a small airport but I don't rent from them because they charge more--they have to charge concession fees. I've never paid the extra insurance because my insurance covers it.