<p>I rent from Thrifty and have had nothing but good service. In fact, they upgraded me to a full-size van from a SUV for free for D’s move-in to college, and the service manager even put all the seats away so we would have room to stow all the stuff.</p>
<p>Anybody with a bad experience with Thrifty? I did a quick check on the prior 40 posts and didn’t see it mentioned by name as a stinker.</p>
<p>I’ve used Budget several times without a problem, but these posts are making me think maybe my luck will run out. I’ll reconsider using Hertz…</p>
<p>Have always had good experiences with Enterprise. Vehicles always ready on time, returns quick and easy and very reasonable “damage” policies. Last April, I rented a van to move my daughter and a friend into an apartment and in the process of maneuvering on a tight city street, scuffed and scratched up a wheel and hub cap pretty badly. When I returned the vehicle and pointed it out, the response was that it was considered normal wear and tear for driving in the city and not to worry about it. For those concerned about damage claims, you can always purchase the damage waivers/insurance for a few bucks a day.</p>
<p>After reading these posts, I am glad I am renting from Hertz for my 2300 mile journey to take DD to school next month. With that kind of distance I would not be surprised to get some kind of ding from a kicked up rock. I will get the extra insurance just to be on the safe side. Can anybody tell me how much generally that runs?</p>
<p>Your personal auto insurance should cover this–before purchasing from Hertz, inquire with your ins first. Policies are different, but atty spouse NEVER purchases the extra insurance.</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad - Oh, I think you can figure that out. (Sunday night red eye out of SFO, before they began hiding all the rental cars in that parking garage.)</p>
<p>The waiver of liability/damage coverage from the rental company costs $5-10/day depending on the company. In the absence of purchasing it, notre dame AL is correct; your personal auto insurance will cover it. However, you are subject to your existing deductibles for collision. $5-10/day is a pretty cheap alternative to potentially being on the hook for a $250 or $500 deductible under your own policy, plus, if you do major damage that goes under your policy, it will be a ratable event and your rates will go up. All to cover the repairs to a rental vehicle, not your own. I’d rather spend the $5-10/day.</p>
<p>Speaking of rental cars, if you haven’t noticed it yet, many times the rental rates will be cheaper if you rent from a ‘local’ office location rather than from the airport. For example, it’s cheaper for me to rent an Avis car from an in-town location fairly close to my home rather than from the airport. Of course if I fly I rent from the airport but when renting a car to use for a business trip for which I drive, renting locally is cheaper. Hertz and Avis tend to have a fair number of ‘local’ locations.</p>
<p>I recall rental insurance coverage running around $15 a day last time I rented.</p>
<p>Rental car branches typically have much higher costs around airports due to additional taxes. I guess the state or cities figure that they can soak the traveller.</p>
<p>It depends on what level of insurance you get. You can get coverage that will cover your deductible and coverage that is wall to wall so that no portion of the claim hits your insurance. My recollection is that at Enterprise, the full coverage is about $10/ but even at $15, it’s a whole lot cheaper for short rentals than your deductible.</p>
<p>Some credit cards automatically carry insurance if you use that card to rent the car. The fine print says you have to use the card for the entire amount. So it doesn’t work if you split the bill with a company card (a vacation at the end of a business trip), or if you are given a “comp” car for some reason, and pay for just an upgrade, for instance. But we use our AAA visa for personal use rental cars, for this reason.</p>
<p>MichaelNKat–just how much damage does it take to be a rateable event on insurance? I am sure different companies have different ways of evaluating this. Again, I would check with my insurance company first, before renting a car and see just what is covered. There is always a lot of fine print when one opts for the car rental insurance as well. Checking with your personal auto insurance carrier can help one decide who offers the best option in terms of economics.</p>
<p>The ratable event threshold can vary from company to company. The one thing that doesn’t change, though, is the differential between the daily cost of the rental company’s coverage and your deductible 
. It boils down to how much risk you are willing to assume versus the daily out of pocket cost for the coverage spread over the length of the rental.</p>
<p>Although there are many Hertz locations closer to my home, I am going to the airport location 45 miles away as that is the only one that has the “green collection” cars.</p>
<p>A few days after my first post, on the day we left for vacation, we received the estimate, with a “bill” for the repair, about $740. Then we left town.</p>
<p>We just got home from vacation. Here is the letter that came while we were away. It even included an apology - very nice. I will rent from Alamo again.</p>
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<p>You’re a lucky woman! Buy lottery tickets to fund college and retirement immediately!!</p>
<p>I need to rent a car in two weeks. I am now leaning towards renting from Hertz even though it is a few dollars more.</p>
<p>I’m a cynic. I think they try it on a lot of people and see who objects the least. Those are the ones they go after.</p>
<p>Someone from Alamo must lurk on CC! :D</p>