Anthea Drakopoulou

Any help would be greatly appreciated

My husband, daughter and I are visiting the States in May and June of 2015 and will be renting a car (one way) from NYC to Kansas City (for 8 days), flying from KC to Newark and hiring again for a week and dropping off at JFK. The obvious cheap companies are Dollar and Thrifty. Now what we don't want is some crazy amount added to our rental bill for a one-way rental. I have read horror stories of hidden fees that they do not reveal on your on-line quote.
I have been quoted a total base rate of $258,74 for a full-size car for the first leg of my trip. I know this estimate is not inclusive of insurance, airport charges and so on. My query is whether there is a 1-way fee that has not been added to this? I entered the different pick up (La Guardia) and drop off (KC) in the search so would this total base rate include the different drop off location charge? If not, what price am I looking at to pick up in NYC and drop off it Missouri?

Thanks in advance

Auto Enthusiast

Don't assume the discount brands are always the obvious and cheap solution. For one-ways, they often are not. Check the rates from competitors, especially picking up from Hertz neighborhood stores, in the nearby suburbs, on mass transit lines. (ex Ft Lee, NJ)

jmastron

As long as you're entering all of the relevant information (pickup location/date/time, dropoff location/date/time, driver age, etc) into the company's own website, and are getting a quote that shows "total estimated charges" or similar, along with base rates, then that should be an inclusive quote with all surcharges/drop charges/one-way rates included.

Carefully look though -- sometimes one-way rates include unlimited mileage, sometimes they don't, and the total may or may not include an estimated mileage charge that you can adjust for what you expect to drive (Hertz, for example, seems to overestimate the miles with my corporate one-way rate, so I can subtract some when comparing).

Definitely compare all of the majors (Hertz/Avis/Budget/Dollar/Thrifty/Alamo/National) and see whether renting from an airport or local outlet is better; one-way rentals can vary greatly among them, especially at weekly rates.

Anthea Drakopoulou

Thanks for your advice, particularly looking up Hertz neighborhood stores. I did a search using LaGuardia Airport as the pickup location and the price was a lot but after entering a neighboring Flushing store as the pickup, the price was $100s cheaper. Is that even for real? Surely there can't be such a difference in price?

Auto Enthusiast

Yes. Different areas mean different market conditions, and thus different prices.

For future reference, it's a bad idea to post rate specifics here. Representatives from the companies are on these forums to take away good rates we bring to their attention.

Anthea Drakopoulou

Thanks for the tip. I am so new to this it is probably painfully obvious to see

AutoSlash

The total price you see on any reputable website should include all taxes and mandatory fees including any drop fees for a one-way rental. It does not include the cost for insurance however except for the state mandated minimum. There should not be any hidden charges.

AutoSlash

The reason is that the airport authority often assesses fees to cover the cost of running the airport and often unrelated municipal charges. The rental company also has to recoup the cost of running the airport concession as well as the shuttle bus, so they pass these fees along to the customer.

When you rent off-airport, you don't have these fees. It can be worthwhile, but you'll have to keep in mind that you will have to take a cab from the airport to the rental location and then back again. One tip though is that if you're renting round-trip at the airport, you can do a one way picking up from an off-airport location and returning at the airport. This way you avoid the airport charges, but still get to return to the airport, so less cost and only the inconvenience of having to cab it to the rental location when you arrive.

Anthea Drakopoulou

Thanks for the tips Autoslash. We are in NYC for 5 days before the rental pick up so we will be able to bus/cab it to the rental location from our accommodation rather than the airport

I just want to thank you all for your advice. I really appreciate it and feel a great deal better

Anthea Drakopoulou

JMastron - I agree with you but I have read such horror stories of people who are quoted a certain amount but when they get to the airport to pick up their car they are hit with additional 'one way fees' of $100s, some even over $600. I think this is so shocking and should be illegal. I would think such a massive additional charge should be laid bare at the start of the reservation. Well that's just me...