Hertz - US Roadtrip Car Hire Question

Hello there,

Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place - new to flyertalk!

Two friends and I (all under 21-25 with UK license) are planning on renting a car on the east coast (maybe Miami) , driving for a month across the states, and returning it somewhere west (probably Vegas). My question really is what is the best way to get a good deal from rental companies? Having done some basic research all the companies seem to give a fair price (around £400 for 25 days) but then add that "underage charges, additional drivers and one-way drop off fee are payable locally"! How much (roughly!) are these 'local charges' and are there any ways of bypassing?

I should also add that I am not looking only at Hertz (and am more than happy to use another company if cheaper!) but I have heard they offer the best deals!

Thanks for any help and apologies for the lengthy question. If I am missing any key info let me know!

Hertz will waive the underage fee with either the Underage Coupon, PC 144314 on the website, or free Gold Family, hertz.com/goldfamily.

In the US, most rental companies do not have a separate "drop fee," except Dollar/Thrifty. The mileage and demand factors are folded into a higher daily rate. However, if you book through a European website, the EU rules may result in the companies pricing a base daily rate with a separate taxable drop fee.

If you put all your data into the search engine of www.rhinocarhire.com you should be able to see the total price/day inclusive of all additional charges.

This site is rarely the cheapest, but i use it for reference always when a one-way fee might be involved. The cheapest site I think is www.carhire3000.com. They have young drivers' packages, which save you a lot of money, but you still need to pay extra. This website, unlike rhino, does not quote the all-inclusive price, so you should give them a call to get the real price.

The underage charge can be HUGE, so it's a good idea to shop around and to make sure that it is included in the price you pay when making a reservation. You should also make sure that all the necessary insurances are included at the same time. Don't let anything be charged at pick-up, with the exeption of a tank of fuel and road-side assistance (if you need it).

I once ended up paying 100usd/day for an economy car (Enterprise). I was 23 at the time and didn't realise how many different insurances you have to have to be able to legally drive in some states. Also the young driver fee was gigantic.

I should also add that I am not looking only at Hertz (and am more than happy to use another company if cheaper!) but I have heard they offer the best deals!

Actually Hertz can be among the most expensive. It absolutely pays to cross-shop. For long-distance one-ways, I have found that nothing beats Costco (which typically rents you a Budget vehicle) -- so see if one of your group has membership. Don't know what the sub-25 surcharges may do to you though.

Just wanted to add one more thing. I've rented a car in the US many times and never have I found Hertz to be the cheapest option. When booking through the two websites I mentioned you almost always end up with Dollar, Alamo or National. And I'm pretty sure that Carhire3000 is the cheapest option out there when you include all the insurances (starting usually from around 20e/day for an economy car, when the driver is 25 years or older and you return to the same location). If I am wrong, I would be happy to know which site(s) offer better deals!

I just can't stop talking :D Here are some more thoughts. The young driver fee is usually around $25/day, so you sould really try to get some kind of package deal. The one way fee seems to add 12e/day when booking with Rhino, so you might want to avoid that also. On the other hand it's only 4e/person/day if you divide the cost between three guys. Sometimes when you purchase a package deal for young drivers, it includes additional driver(s).

Here's a suggestion of you might want to consider to escape the one-way fee. This option is though much more boring than the one you were planning. Rent a car in Miami and drive around the state and maybe visit some other nearby states. If I remember correctly, there is no one-way fee within Florida (at least I didn't pay one between Tampa and Miami), so you can return the car anywhere in the state. Then fly to the West Coast and rent another car. There is no one-way fee between the states of California, Arizona and Nevada (this I know for sure).

There is so much to see in those three states alone, so it's not really a big loss if you skip the driving east to west. Of course you can also visit the nearby states as long as you return the car to California, Nevada or Arizona.

Whatever you do, don't rent the navigator! It's fricking expensive and pretty much useless if you have a map and someone to read it :D

Whatever you do, don't rent the navigator! It's fricking expensive and pretty much useless if you have a map and someone to read it :D

+1, much cheaper to just buy a GPS for $100 if you need one.

Watch for mileage charges too. Most US car rentals include unlimited mileage if returned to the same location, but in some cases one-ways have a mileage fee, possibly with a certain number of free miles.

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you all but thanks for all your help. Looks like we are either going to use carhire3000 or usrentacar which seems to offer the similar cheap packages.
We are also looking at only renting in LAX and dropping at Vegas after exploring California and Nevada which has seemed to make most things alot cheaper!

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you all but thanks for all your help. Looks like we are either going to use carhire3000 or usrentacar which seems to offer the similar cheap packages.
We are also looking at only renting in LAX and dropping at Vegas after exploring California and Nevada which has seemed to make most things alot cheaper!

Have you thought about a USA rail pass?

Have you thought about a USA rail pass?

We have used Amtrak quite a bit especially for the longer trips, then rent a car for a few days etc. We both loved it and well recommend it, the prices for tickets are really reasonable! $70 Miami to Savannah, $60 Norfolk to NYC:D

Thinking outside the box and inside out...

I once used Europe By Car (http://www.europebycarblog.com/) where you actually lease (not rent, or hire as they say in the UK) a car for 3 weeks to 6 months.

It was by far the cheapest option, included full insurance, and was kind of cool to have a car registration in my own name.

I wonder if anybody does this in the USA?

Maybe not, as I now seem to remember it is made possible by a special tax break from the French government, which is why you can only get French cars -- Peugot Citroen or Renault.