Ok, I hope this is the right forum for this--can't find anywhere else. I need to rent a very large 4x4 SUV for a few weeks. I am having a very hard time finding these vehicles. I spent like an hour on the phone with Hertz yesterday just going through location by location looking for Ford Excursions and then princing them... I only found them available in 2 of the dozen or so cities and then surrounding areas that I tried. They had them in BOS but with limited mileage. The only city I found one in with unlimited mileage is not the most convenient place (half hour outside CLE) and I have a hard time telling if the rate of about $500/week is decent or not?

Ideally I'd get the thing in Roanoke, VA and return at Chicago as that is actually where I am starting and ending the driving portions of my trip, but it does not seem they want to let these trucks go one way, and at least Hertz didn't carry them in ROA anyway.

Anyone got any ideas on a better way to search up either an Excursion or the largest Chevy/GM SUV's across the Northeast, mid atlantic and Midwest? I tried Orbitz, Priceline, Travelocity, but none semed to let me search for large SUV's, just the standard ones, and I need a big truck for this. I will drive it all over the place so I am pretty flexible on where I get it, and favor off airport locations as they don't charge as many taxes/fees. I'd guess there is a location out there somewhere with these things at a decent rate if I could find it... Any help would be much appreciated!

Can't help with where to rent the car, but there has been discussion here before about insurance coverage on the large SUV's. If you're going to use the CDW coverage on your visa card, for instance, it may not cover something this size. One FT'er crashed one coming out of the Seattle Airport a year or two back and learned this the hard way.

There are the rental car forums in the FlyerTalk Miles forum, some FT'ers there might have better ideas for you.

Hertz has many locations with Excursions. try them first IMO.

Then try Enterprise, many locations have given me a no to a car requested and then called back later to have mysteriously "located one".

I've also rented from various car dealers when I've arrived at airports to find no cars to rent. Goto yellow pages online to locate local car dealers for where you will be traveling to, then call them and see if they rent the large SUV you are looking for, if not ask if they know who in the area does.

edited to add: heed tom911's advice on insurance, very sage advice.

[This message has been edited by Sweet Willie (edited 10-24-2002).]

I think it will be difficult to meet both the high end SUV and one way rental requirement. In addition to a large drop off charge, high end SUV command some of the largest rental fees. Unless you can find a car dealer that has outlets in both cities, you're probably out of luck.

Two thoughts: First, if you are a good customer of Hertz (lots of rentals recently), you might call the Manager of the Virginia location (if the have Excurions) and discuss the situation. Make sure they know you are a good Hertz customer. If that does not work, perhaps a call to Hertz HQ.

My other thought is would you consider a small RV instead. If so, check out www.cruiseamerica.com . They offer One Way Rental options. Might be a little more expensive, but still worth it.

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Michael Steinberg
Editor
BizTrip
http://www.biztrip.com

If all else fails: given that there are umpteen Ford/Chevy/Dodge dealers in Chicago, I would think that would be the best place to get a longer-term specialty rental. You'd have the added expense of a one-way flight up there and a day's drive back to Virginia, but in the end this might get you the best truck for the least overall cost. Rental car companies will kill you with one-way fees and overmiles charges if they can find you the right truck to begin with. And I have no idea if dealers let their rental trucks do one-way.

If all else REALLY fails and we're talking $2000-3000 to rent the truck, you could always buy a used truck in Roanoke (say, an older Suburban or the Big Bronco) and sell it in Chicago. There are definitely some taxes, fees, and hassle with this approach, but hey - some guys LIKE buying and selling trucks!!

I don't know if they have locations on the east coast, but try Resort Car Rental 800 289 5343 (they don't seem to have a website), I know in Colorado they had "exotic" cars like Excursions, Suburbans, etc.

Also, have you considered getting a U-Haul van instead? I know its not very glamorous but its practical.

Would a pickup truck work?

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"I just wanna wish you good luck, we're all counting on you"
-Dr. Rumack

I've rented SUV's, but always out west (Denver, from Resort, and SLC from ?).

Perhaps the one-way dropoff is the problem?

You could buy a one year old model in Roanoke and sell it in Chicago.

Thanks for the tips y'all. I called Diners Club and was told by the first agent I talked to that Excursions are NOT covered but then I talked to an insurance specialist and she said they ARE covered and she will send me written confirmation (a brochure stating SUV's are covered).

I haven't found any better deal than just doing the extra driving to pick up and return in one place. So I am renting it outside Cleveland (saves about $200 in taxes not to rent from an airport location I found). I got it down to about $400 a week unlimited mileage at the off airport location, so I think that is a better deal than I could get by buying and then trying to resell a truck. Certainly a lot less risk this way! Thanks for all the ideas.

All I know is I just rented an SUV from Enterprise in SJC and waqs expecting something human sized, but got a Chevy Tahoe. It's insanely large and I'm embarassed to drive it around. They also had Excursions, so I would think Enterprise could help ou in some way.

I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee at home, and that's plenty big of an SUV for me.

Out of curiousity what was the location outside of CLE that you got the car from? (I'm working in CLE and that sort of information is good to keep in your back pocket)

I've seen the big, Cadilac Escalades at Nationals's location at LAX. Is an Escalade big enough?

As far as insurance goes, check with your *personal* automobile insurance. See what it covers. Mine covers cars up to $50,000. But I am not sure if there is an exclusion for SUVs or "sepecialty" vehicles.