Hertz - Would like to rent a Convertible in CA, late September... tips?

Hi All,

First post on FT but I've been a long time lurker - however, now it's time to visit the US and rent on hertz, so, time that I need to ask all your advice, rather than reading other peoples questions :) (guess I should say thanks for all the old advice I've read too :P)

After the intro.... I've been wanting to do the West Coast of the US for a few years now, and now ready to do it! Travelling with my wife, and I'd like to get the best car value deal - but my plans are also (at this stage) pretty flexible - so;

Summary: Want a convertible for ~10 days, renting from somewhere in CA, expecting to pay ~$700 including young persons surcharge... is there any way I can get it cheaper/better value, or a better (fun collection) car for about this price?

Details and questions....

Arrival- Haven't booked the flights yet, but it could be any of LAX, SFO or LAS -I know the cost of flights but car hire costs could swing it to any airport as the cost is within ~$30per person for flights.

Trip- Going to be doing about 1500miles around the west coast for ~2weeks in a circuit from LA-Las Vegas-San Francisco, with de-tours thro death valley, Yosemite etc. Length of rental would be ~10-12 days starting ~20th September

Car- I'd really like a convertible... something about the idea of driving through the desert with the roof down sounds great - so I'm willing to pay more!

As you can see from my profile I'm a Marriott Platinum, Hertz 5* Presidents Circle member. I also work for IBM (big CDP, but a bit unsure on how it applies in the US for leisure hire - have sent Hertz an email to ask them to clarify!) and have an Amex Platinum card (UK version). The bad news is that I'm 24 so will be expecting to pay about $27/day young persons surcharge (or?)!

So, the advice I'd appreciate...


Any particular airport/location I should rent from? From looking at the prices online it would seem any of the 3 locations is the same price... which seems wrong and maybe my CDP messing up the search? Ideally I'd probably rent the car 2days after my arrival (spending the first 2 days in the city so don't need a car for those). Having said that, in the UK when I rent airports charge a big surcharge, which Hertz aren't seemingly including in their rates, I assume I'd be better renting from a city location - are there any that are specifically cheaper to try in each city? (LA with ~20 locations is a lot to try one after another to see if its cheaper)

Car... As already said I'd like a convertible... Not sure if I can swing a free/discounted upgrade by ringing up transatlantic and trying my luck? Otherwise I've seen a price for a Chrysler Sebring for ~$500+($270 young person surcharge) for 10days... seems a bit much - but is that what I have to pay? Is anyone aware of any good CDPs/discounts I can properly use to get a discount or upgrade? (trying the discount thread most seem to expire before September, should I wait for a new batch?). If I didn't pay for a convertible and booked a midrange/full sized car, then rang the location in advance/asked my usual hertz rental location in the UK (been going there for a few years weekly) to fax them would it be possible to 'blag' an upgrade, or discounted upgrade or would ringing up and talking potentially work? Alternatively could I pay for a standard convertible and get a fun collection one?

One way... originally I was planning on doing a 1-way trip between for example Las Vegas and Los Angeles, via San Francisco... after seeing the per mile (x1500 miles) price for 1-way I decided it wasn't worthwhile hence the return to the same location - is there a way around this to transfer cars around the country?

Insurance. I'm quite a worrier and will probably max out the insurance I can get (need to clarify what the IBM CDP covers on leisure hire) - but will probably use an external insurance company to cover what I can and get the basic from Hertz... so this might be extra bargaining power to use with a location who get some form of commision on this?

Instead of asking all these questions should I just ring a US Hertz branch and see if any of them can do a deal? Not sure if this one would work in the US... my experience (despite being PC) is limited to the UK where IBM's rate is so flexible and good value (can pick up/drop off anywhere in the country at no extra price, and extend/shorten trips without notice or cost - at a low price) so it isn't worth shopping around.

There aren't any silly catch-yas like crossing state lines cost extra from Hertz are there (T&Cs don't mention)?


If you've any other tips to help with this specific request I'd be very grateful, and thanks for reading this long post.

lv

PS: Potentially the wrong place to mention but I believe IBM has a 'match status' deal with National in the US... so I could become an Executive member there and rent, or with Enterprise/Avis... But, I'd prefer to stick with Hertz as they've always treated me fairly!

Lots of questions, I'll try to help where I can. I'll say off the bat that Hertz may or may not be the cheapest option for you -- all the companies rent Converables (though not necessarily the same fleet) and from doing a quick comparison search on Orbitz, Dollar/Thrifty came out quite a bit less than Hertz. Status doesn't really matter so I'd let price drive you rather than your Hertz status or a match to National.

I will say that given how much driving you'll be doing, your notion of driving through the desert with the top down may be a bit romantic but not so realistic. Highway driving is much more comfortable (and quieter) in a real sedan.

1. Generally renting in the city vs the airport will save you money. There are a greater variety of in-city options in LA and SF than in Las Vegas.
2. Hertz offers the Toyota Solara convertable, and I've ended it up with it a few times when I didn't actually reserve one.. so that is a likely option for you. From the Fun collectiont here are Mustang and Corvette convertables and from Prestige they have the A4 convertable (though I've only seen a few of these). If you really want a convertable, you should reserve one, but it would probably be cheaper to reserve a regular car and pay an ugprade fee if you are feeling like playing your luck. That said, your notion of your UK friends faxing Hertz in the US is unlikely to help.
3. Most rates have unlimited miles, if you are getting per-mileage charges then it is likely because of your CDP. I'd remove that and try again as the savings in time and extra rental days may make a one-way rental worthwhile (though it also makes it much less easy to use discounts)
4. They don't care... won't help to get their insurance. It is worth noting that if you use foreign sites (like Hertz.co.uk), the rates sometimes include insurance. Worth comparison shopping
5. That won't help much; I don't think you are likely to get someone on the phone either at a branch or via US reservations who'll be able to do more for you than you can on the web.
6. No, but stay out of Mexico

Hi,

if you live in the UK you might be much (MUCH!) better off renting a car through a broker. This is an option that doesn't work for US residents, though.
The brokers provide deals with all insurances included at a much lower rate than you will find elsewhere, and you actual hire company will be the usual ones, like Dollar, ALamo, Hertz, Budget, Thrifty.
The thing is, for US residents credit cards often imply some level of insurance while this is rarely the case for Europeans. You probably need at least third party, LDW/CDW and UMP. All these are included in the broker packages.

I have rented via brokers like Carhire3000, Airline-Network etc and it works like a dream.
Here's some prices I found for rentals from Sept 20 to Sept 30 via brokers (and these include the insurances):

Ebookers: SAN/SAN: conv. Chrysler Sebring or similar, from Alamo: 233£
USRentacar: SAN/SAN: conv.,Chrysler Sebring or similar, from Thrifty: 225£.
USRentacar: SAN/SAN: conv. Mustang or similar, from Budget: 268£.
And if you want to pick up at LAS and leave it at LAX:
USRentacar: LAS/LAX: Same price with Thrifty.

Good luck!
S.

Thanks for your tips scandi and noah - especially about removing my CDP! You're right that getting rid of that made a one way trip possible and seems cheaper as well...

I think the point about the convertible might be valid too... that it would be good fun for the first few hours but get old very quickly (chatted to some friends and they agreed with noah!)

Will do some digging this weekend into better pricing and try some brokers!

Thanks again

How old are you and are you actually a USAA member?

How old are you and are you actually a USAA member?

24, and if by USAA you mean https://www.usaa.com I'm not, nor could I be I think being in the UK?

If there are good government rates that would make a difference than I do have a UK government identity card as well (I work for them atm on IBM's behalf)....

Completly disagree about a convertible getting old fast. We've owned one or two for the last ten or so years, and will probably never buy something else. In September it won't be as hot there as the summer, you may only be putting the top up to park the car. I don't ever picture us not owning one. In the winter we put a hard top on, but take it off as soon as we can in the spring.

All that being said, the end of september, at least in San Francisco, is harvest time in wine country. Everybody wants a convertible for that trip, so I wouldn't hope for an upgrade to one. You may be able to buy up to one at the counter, but that's not a given. The mustangs are fun, but the hertz ones are usually bright yellow for some reason.

Oh sorry. You could be a USAA member being in the UK (provided a family member is)... There are different membership requirements.

But with USAA an underage driver is free. You might want to find a CDP where that is the case that you can use.