unlimited miles

[disneyderns]

Does anyone know of a rental place that has truly unlimited miles? It seems like enterprise does, but the last time I rented from them, it had a geographic limitation - within the border states of the originating rental state. I'm looking to rent a car to drive from WI to WDW - looking at around 2800 miles total...

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Unlimited miles doen't mean there is no geographical limitation. You'll have to read the policies of rental agencies for restrictions, unless someone knows of one without them. You could try Googling what car rentals have no geographical limitations.

 

[ThisIsTheYear]

11 years ago we drove down to FL from NJ with a car we rented from Dollar. They had no limitations. Of course that was so long ago, I don't know if that info is the same. Good luck!

 

[Lewisc]

The resale value of a car depends on mileage. Unlimited mileage is intended to accommodate renters who are doing "normal" driving. Geographic restrictions are intended to make sure customers who pile on the miles pay for their use.

Some suggestions:

• Research renting a car at a nearby airport. Ocassionally unlimited miles is only applicable to customers with a return flight.
• Price the rental with the mileage charge. How many miles do you get free? How many miles will you be driving?

edited to add an increasing number of rental cars have GPS tracking. It's used to locate a car if a renter "forgets" to return it. It can also be used to make sure renters who drive outside of the geographer restricted area are charged the appropriate fees.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I have noticed that Enterprise tends to restrict the number of miles you can drive. Especially if you are renting from a local office and not at the airport.

 

[tobikaye]

I suggest you call the various rental agencies in your area and ask. I know that many of the local rental agencies (Hertz & Enterprise especially), where I live in Ohio, do not have a mileage or location restriction, other than not crossing into Canada or Mexico.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Unlimited mileage is easily available from most car rental companies in the United States when you rent and return at the same location. You might have to try different rate codes.

I rent from National Car Rental. According to National's rules, rentals "originating in the United States (US) can be driven throughout the United States (US) and Canada." I have never had a geographic restriction imposed by National.

Are you looking for a one-way rental?

When you do one-way rentals, you can sometimes get unlimited milage if you stay within a geographic area, such as the Chicago metropolitan area or usually even the whole state of Florida. (Enterprise local offices tends to be an exception because they want cars returned to the renting location.)

When you want to take your rental car long distances one way, one of two things tends to happen, depending on the company and rate code: Either the rate jumps way up (such as $1200 per week with unlighted mileage instead of $300 per week) or the weekly rate remains the same, but there's also a per-mile charge (such as 27 cents per mile or 35 cents per mile) in addition to the base rate.