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Nashville Car Rental question

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  • 09-01-2020 4:50pm
    #1
    bamayang
    Registered Users Posts: 689 ✭✭✭


    Hi,

    Going Nashville and Smokey mountains this spring. Any suggestions or recommendations on must see around the Smokey Mountain, please send them!!


    We are going to rent a car for 4 days, and we plan on trying to get a decent size SUV or Pickup for the fun of it

    Is it best to book the most basic car now and pay for the upgrade at the desk. The sales people always seem mad keen to upsell a better model.

    Or is there better value just booking the model of car you want online before arrival?


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    #2
    firefly08
    Registered Users Posts: 856 ✭✭✭firefly08


    bamayang wrote: »
    Hi,

    Going Nashville and Smokey mountains this spring. Any suggestions or recommendations on must see around the Smokey Mountain, please send them!!


    We are going to rent a car for 4 days, and we plan on trying to get a decent size SUV or Pickup for the fun of it

    Is it best to book the most basic car now and pay for the upgrade at the desk. The sales people always seem mad keen to upsell a better model.

    Or is there better value just booking the model of car you want online before arrival?


    Personally I'd book the one I want, because there's no guarantee you'll be able to get anything other than that when the time comes.



    Also, you may know this already, but increasingly car rental places tend to require a credit card these days. Watch out: it doesn't matter how you pay for the rental - the places that require a credit card will not give you the car unless you give them a credit card, even if it's already paid for. A debit card + deposit will not do and they will happily leave you stranded. Ask me how I know.



    Also decide in advance what you want to do about insurance. They will most certainly try to bamboozle you on that at the desk.


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    #3
    NSAman
    Registered Users Posts: 3,431 ✭✭✭NSAman


    Tahoe is a decent size, suburban is almost too big unless you have a load of people and cases.

    Take out either excess insurance completely for a year or the full insurance for 4 days it is worth taking out the insurance from Car Hire Co.


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    #4
    jme2010
    Registered Users Posts: 974 ✭✭✭jme2010


    Don't stress it. Car hire in North America is a breeze as long as you choose Alamo, Hertz or Enterprise.

    Also pick up from international airports can be a tad more expensive but they have all the newest cars and most stock.

    Book through their site direct - choose the car and add all their optional insurance. 4 days should be under $400 even for an SUV with full coverage.


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    #5
    jack presley
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,687 ✭✭✭✭jack presley


    I'd second going with Alamo and specifically their 'Gold' package. It's a bit more expensive (but not much) but has zero excess on insurance. You also don't have to refill and can add additional drives for free.


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    #6
    bamayang
    Registered Users Posts: 689 ✭✭✭bamayang


    Thanks for all replies.
    I’ve driven over there before so well prepared for the credit card challenge. Always in fear of god some charge will appear weeks after dropping off the car then!

    I’ll look up the sites recommended so far. It’s a killer that we’re picking in Tennessee and dropping off in N.C - end up having to pay the out of state charge.

    Looking forward to it now, absolutely love driving across US. Did 2,000 miles in 2 weeks on trip over there.


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    #7
    Time Magazine
    Registered Users Posts: 8,452 ✭✭✭Time Magazine


    bamayang wrote: »
    Thanks for all replies.
    I’ve driven over there before so well prepared for the credit card challenge. Always in fear of god some charge will appear weeks after dropping off the car then!

    I’ll look up the sites recommended so far. It’s a killer that we’re picking in Tennessee and dropping off in N.C - end up having to pay the out of state charge.

    Looking forward to it now, absolutely love driving across US. Did 2,000 miles in 2 weeks on trip over there.

    If you're headed to the Smokeys you should probably stop at Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Dollywood for an afternoon. Mad place. Like Las Vegas for hillbillies.

    Knoxville is the last big town on the TN side, and is fine. Not much going on. Asheville on the other side is worth a visit, it has a million craft breweries and a fantastic downtown.

    The Smokeys have the highest points in the eastern half of the US, and there's a great view from Clingmans Dome. Some absolutely lovely hikes, obviously. If you want to go full hiking you can go "Backcountry" and camp in places where there aren't any roads (nevermind people) in any direction for 5 miles. If not, the best hikes are along the TN-NC border and Mount Le Conte.

    Be advised that Cade's Cove in the Smokeys is closed for a while.


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