dschwarz

Hi,

I'm renting a car in Israel from 6/28 through 8/8 inclusive. I need a decent sized car for a family of 5. I know that in Europe there are some short term car purchase-repurchase alternatives to renting (i.e. from Peugeot.) this is a side effect of France's tax rates for new vs. slightly used cars. Is there anything similar in Israel available for tourists? Any other alternatives I should consider before dropping $1K+ on a car rental?

vicarious_MR'er

I'm not aware of anything like that.

runningshoes

Call a few of the agencies and simply ask what time frame drives the lowest rates. Going back a few years for a similar rental, anything over 30 days actually made it more expensive and we split the rental into 2 separate reservations. Not sure why it was that way, could be over 30 days is considered a partial lease or some nonsense like that. Again, this goes back a while, so YMMV.

craz

If you have a credit card that you will be using to cover the CDW, Id call the CS# and ask whats the max you can rent for. Ive had cards that covered between 14-31 days, never any card for 31+. To get around that you cant return and rent again from the same place. So go with say Hertz return it and then Avis

Only problem is you will pay more $$ then having a longer special contract, so workout if it would end up cheaper if you paid for the CDW and went with the cheaper rate or if the savings wont be enough to cover the CDW cost

I know at times Avis gives the 7th day free so you could rent with them for 28 days and then another company for the remainder, if your CC covers CDW for 28 days

joshwex90

I know that Avis and Sixt have month-by-month rentals or leases. It's possible that a 2 month lease will be cheaper than a 41 day rental.
OP, just curious, do you really need the car for 41 days? Israel has a very advanced public transportation system. Between the rental and gas (basically $8/gallon), you could end up spending a fortune.

clubman

You've got to be kidding me!

One of the most popular arguments in Israel at the moment in regards to the hike in fuel prices is that there isn't a real alternative because public transport is so lacking.

Yes, there is a train but it's so unreliable that you really never know whether it's going to run or not (hopefully following some steps the minister of transport announced yesterday this will improve.

Yes, they're is a tram system in Jerusalem now but only in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv has nothing in that respect, no subway system despite ongoing talks to build one for years.

And then there are buses which is fine if you don't mind them, but personally I'm not a fan...

Public transport is Israel is still light years behind most of Europe and the US.

joshwex90

Behind Europe? Perhaps. Behind the US? No. I live in the "suburbs" of Tel Aviv. Suburbia absolutely requires a car in the US. Not so over here. I get wherever I need to go via bus.
True Jlem doesn't have a subway. But you can get anywhere you need to go via bus.

clubman

It's not Jerusalem that needs a subway, it's Tel Aviv.

joshwex90

Both do. Regardless, my original point stands. You can get along just fine outside of the city without a car, something that is not true about the suburbs in the USA.

clubman

Fine, I accept that (As long as you're not including NY's boroughs as suburbs), but still, describing the public transport system in Israel as very advanced is a bit of an exaggeration, and while you can generally manage with it, it's no real alternative to the use of a car.

joshwex90

I'm not considering the boroughs as suburbs. They are the boroughs. They are part of NYC. They are not suburbs.
Au contraire. It is fair to call it advanced when you look at A. the rest of the Middle East and B. North America suburbia. (Again, I can't compare to Europe.) Of course it's no alternative to a car, but public transportation rarely is.

Yoshi212

I did 3 months a year in Israeli for 15+ years and we always rented a car. Calling directly gets you the best rate every time. Of course we had Israeli friends that always had a "friend from the Army" that could get us a better deal. The bus system isn't bad in most areas. The train we never did. I have to say that Sixt not only gave us a great rate on the last trip but when we did encounter a problem with the car it took them all of 5 minutes to arrange our replacement, a full tank of gas (returning our rental with about 1/4 full) and gave us the day for free.
The roads are good so driving is not a problem. Pay in cash at the more rural gas stations often gives you a discount.

clubman

Well yes, when you put it that way... (although again, depends where in the Middle East...)

I can, so trust me on that one.

clubman

Yes, generally they are, which is more than I can say for the drivers...

Yoshi212

+10 to that. Coming home and having to deal with the drivers in (New) Jersey is a pleasure compared to the ways of the Israeli driver.