Originally Posted by Steve M
My record was renting a car for $150/week unlimited mileage, and putting 4200 miles on it, driving from Seattle to San Diego and back. They did a double-take when they saw the mileage, but didn't otherwise say anything. I figure that I depreciated the car at least $1000.
I've never done anything quite like that, but last year I picked up a three-day weekend rental in Kansas City and put over 1500 miles on it. Out to the Rockies and back... The best part was the total bill: with cheap weekend rates and a $25-off coupon code, it was about $45 total including the taxes.
I've also done a couple of one-day 1100+ mile one-way rentals between MCI and IAD. In the late 90's, I did it once in each direction with National - they were pricing their vans with high daily one-way rates, but no drop charge or per-mile fees. (IIRC Hertz used per-mile fees and Budget used a drop charge.) So as long as I covered the distance in 24 hours, the National bill was about $125.
But anyway, I digress...