Renting car in USA

masterboy123

does it make any difference in cost if I pay by cash at toll booth or by EzyPass? Like in Ireland there is price difference with eflowpass

Ponster

Depends on the state, the time of day, the road you are on. Unless you're planning on driving for several months you're not talking about any kind of price difference that's worth talking about.

Where exactly are you going that has all these tolls ?

spideog7

Tolls aren't harmonised throughout the States, EZPass is used on the East coast and works in many States here, IPass is used in the Central States, I don't know if that's interchangeable with EZPass yet or not. The West coast would be different again and an EZPass won't work there. I was in Colorado recently and they don't have tags, it was an M50 style where they read your plates. In that case the rental car company billed me afterwards.

Tag rental is expensive they charge a per day rate regardless of whether or not you use the tag that day. Tolls usually are cheaper by 10 or 15% but that rental charge could easily eat up the difference. Not needing to worry about change is convenient though.

masterboy123

going to use the rented car for 6 days

Newark > Atlantic city (NJ) > Baltimore > Washington DC > Philidelphia > Atlantic city > New york (JFK). Main stay will be in NJ. Will go other places from NJ.

Ponster wrote: »

Depends on the state, the time of day, the road you are on. Unless you're planning on driving for several months you're not talking about any kind of price difference that's worth talking about.

Where exactly are you going that has all these tolls ?

spideog7

masterboy123 wrote: »

going to use the rented car for 6 days

Newark > Atlantic city (NJ) > Baltimore > Washington DC > Philidelphia > Atlantic city > New york (JFK). Main stay will be in NJ. Will go other places from NJ.

Then you will be using EZPass and for 6 days driving around those areas it will almost certainly be worth it for convenience if nothing else.

masterboy123

if thats only for convenience and going to cost the same, then i wont be bothered to arrange for an EzPass.
thanks for your advice

spideog7 wrote: »

Then you will be using EZPass and for 6 days driving around those areas it will almost certainly be worth it for convenience if nothing else.

spideog7

masterboy123 wrote: »

if thats only for convenience and going to cost the same, then i wont be bothered to arrange for an EzPass.
thanks for your advice

Nothing to arrange, they're usually installed in a protective housing that prevents them from being read by the antenna, if you want to use it you open the housing otherwise leave it closed. If they aren't like that all you do is ask at the counter and they'll hand you one.

CathalDublin

uscarhire.com was where I booked my car last year, you get the option to upgrade to Hummer, Camaro, Mustang, etc when you get to collection

masterboy123

Cool.

Awaiting for my credit card...as all providers clearly told me debit card won't be accepted initially to reserve a booking
I hope i can get credit within 5-6 days...

Yamanoto

Here's dedication to the cause :P

Took this in MSP airport this afternoon & the two chaps behind the counter confirmed it's not uncommon for folks from overseas to use debit cards.

Anyhoo hope your cc gets to you sharpish OP, it's a less convoluted way of going about a rental for sure.

Ponster

Is there such a thing as a return plane ticket these days? I may or may not be able to come up with a boarding pass depending on who I'm flying with but I'm unsure how I could produce a 'ticket' !

ProudDUB

Perhaps they mean whatever documentation or paperwork you have with you, to travel back to your home country with.

Some people may have paperwork from a travel agent, some may have a print out from an online travel company, some may have documentation from an airline or a cruise company, some may have their boarding pass already printed out.

Maybe the term "return transportation ticket" is just an umbrella term to cover all of that, seeing as people rarely have old fashioned plane tickets anymore.

Yamanoto

As the issuing of paper tickets in traditional form all but died out circa 2008 (with many carriers ditching it long before that date), I'd imagine an e-ticket & accompanying itinerary are perfectly fit for purpose.

masterboy123

Yamanoto
Thanks for the update I spoke with my bank yesterday, I will get CC on Tuesday. Then I will book the car rental...about 2 weeks left for the US trip...Hope the prices wont go higher for car rentals...Or shall i reserve car booking using debit card? Getting good deal at the moment...

I have return e-ticket stating the date clearly for my journey.

InTheTrees

masterboy123 wrote: »

Yamanoto
Hope the prices wont go higher for car rentals...Or shall i reserve car booking using debit card? Getting good deal at the moment...

There will always be deals. You can find more by checking each companies web site too.

And the base prices shouldnt be going up anytime soon.

spideog7

InTheTrees wrote: »

There will always be deals. You can find more by checking each companies web site too.

And the base prices shouldnt be going up anytime soon.

I dunno, if it was me I'd book it to be safe, when it gets close you can't trust there will be a deal.

Yamanoto

You could just book it with your debit card now & then use the credit card as security at the rental counter.

I doubt the rates are going to shift significantly by Tuesday though, if you wanna hold off 'til then.

masterboy123

Thanks, I will wait until Tuesday.

Also, what's the best way to pay in U.S.? I was thinking of getting prepaid Post Mastercard in US$ currency to avoid conversion rate. As the bank can charge higher conversion rate...isn't it? Any suggestions please?

MuddyDog

Thinking of booking a car for the 15h June - 20th June next year. AutoEurope.ie comes in at 162.32 from DOLLAR which seems cheap. How do I know if I'll need to pay more money when I either pick it up or drop it off? I was looking on Expedia and nearly every car there had a note saying I'd have to pay between 150usd and 300usd fee over there as I'm dropping it off at a different location.

I'm picking it up at Charlotte Airport and dropping it at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Dave1442397

From Dollar's website -

M. One-way Rentals: One-way rentals within the U.S. and within Canada vary by DOLLAR location and vehicle availability. A one-way drop fee will apply.

If you get in touch with the Charlotte location you can ask about the one-way fee. Some places don't charge, so it's worth checking.

MuddyDog

239 usd drop off fee for Dollar from Charlotte to Port Canaveral....

Using Dollars own website it comes out as a total of 533 usd and I even used a promo code I found online.

InTheTrees

Dropping off in a different state is usually pretty expensive. Try all the major companies though there may be one that doesnt charge. A long shot though.

InTheTrees

masterboy123 wrote: »

Thanks, I will wait until Tuesday.

Also, what's the best way to pay in U.S.? I was thinking of getting prepaid Post Mastercard in US$ currency to avoid conversion rate. As the bank can charge higher conversion rate...isn't it? Any suggestions please?

Credit card is best. If you plan on using any kind of pre-paid/debit card double check whether it will be accepted because in some states they arent.

McSween

We are going on a 14 month visa and cannot book return flights so what happens with that? Will our visa end date suffice? Not that that means we will definitely depart.

Additionally, I phoned Avis and they said there is no one way drop fee off between Fort Myers and Daytona Beach. I assume this will apply should I fly to Fort Myers and because it is within Florida.

masterboy123

I just came back from my US trip.
Rented the car from Dollar using autoeurope.ie

Picked the car from Newark Airport and dropped back to JFK, NY and the drop off fee was 50 USD.

But overall I had to pay more. I was quoted online for 220 euros, then ended paying 170 euros extra when returning the car. There was 90 USD extra charge for a week's rental of EZpass (you can make unlimited routes on any toll road then). They advised to get extra insurance cover which costed another 70 USD, so 160 USD + taxes and USD 50 for drop to different location. To be honest I didn't like the Dollar rental company, i booked for sedan 4 doors, but they gave me 4 doors hatchback, on complaining they said thats what they have at the moment and didn't reduce any charges. And on drop-off make sure the petrol tank is full otherwise they can charge loads per gallon of fuel. I would give them 2.5/5 stars. I had better experience with Hertz and Enterprise car rentals.

Enjoy your US trip

InTheTrees

masterboy123 wrote: »

I just came back from my US trip.
Rented the car from Dollar using autoeurope.ie

Picked the car from Newark Airport and dropped back to JFK, NY and the drop off fee was 50 USD.

But overall I had to pay more. I was quoted online for 220 euros, then ended paying 170 euros extra when returning the car. There was 90 USD extra charge for a week's rental of EZpass (you can make unlimited routes on any toll road then). They advised to get extra insurance cover which costed another 70 USD, so 160 USD + taxes and USD 50 for drop to different location. To be honest I didn't like the Dollar rental company, i booked for sedan 4 doors, but they gave me 4 doors hatchback, on complaining they said thats what they have at the moment and didn't reduce any charges. And on drop-off make sure the petrol tank is full otherwise they can charge loads per gallon of fuel. I would give them 2.5/5 stars. I had better experience with Hertz and Enterprise car rentals.

Enjoy your US trip

Thanks for the update. How did you pay? Did they accept a debit card?

InTheTrees

McSween wrote: »

We are going on a 14 month visa and cannot book return flights so what happens with that? Will our visa end date suffice? Not that that means we will definitely depart.

As regards renting a car?

As long as they've got your credit card on file they'll be happy for you to keep it as long as you like. They may want you to check in once in a while.

McSween

InTheTrees wrote: »

As regards renting a car?

As long as they've got your credit card on file they'll be happy for you to keep it as long as you like. They may want you to check in once in a while.

Yes we will only have it for a few days when we arrive.

masterboy123

I made a credit card espcially for this car rental as i got different views from different people, many people being commenting that they dont accept debit card, even the autoeurope office clearly mentioned only credit cards are accepted. So i paid with credit card. However, on the pick up location it was written that debit/credit cards accepted. You need to have return ticket in hand if u r using debit card. Atleast this was the case in New york and New jersey. Not sure if they do follow the same protocol in other states.

InTheTrees wrote: »

Thanks for the update. How did you pay? Did they accept a debit card?

Ruu

Thanks for posting again. Fairly standard for rental car companies that you have to refill to full before returning or have them pay to refuel (a good bit more than you pay at the pump!). Just be clear and read everything before you sign up/pay.