John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints
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Car Rental in the USA and Canada - Factors to Check
Introduction
This page briefly lists some vital factors that visitors to the USA or Canada should check regarding car rental, other than the cost elements.
Driving Areas
Check whether driving is restricted to certain states and whether the car can be driven from the USA into Canada or vice-versa if this is relevant. We have heard reports of problems in this respect with Dollar. There shouldn't be any problems in this respect with Avis, Hertz or Alamo but it is always wise to check.
Because of insurance problems, almost all operators impose a restriction against their cars being driven in Mexico. If you want to take the car into Mexico you would need to check this aspect very thoroughly.
Some operators impose a restriction against driving their cars in parts of New York City, especially the island of Manhattan. Check this if relevant.
More information
Luggage Space
Remember that if you are touring then you will have all your luggage with you throughout the trip.
When choosing the grade of car check that it will take not only the required number of passengers but also their luggage. Smaller cars naturally have less boot (trunk) space than larger cars.
If you are considering hiring a minivan/spacewagon/peoplemover type of vehicle, remember that (for example) a seven-seater minivan will indeed carry seven people but with all seats occupied it will only have sufficient room for three or four large suitcases.
In general, the more seats that are occupied in any vehicle, the less free space there will be for luggage.
Unlimited Mileage
Unless you are going to be staying in a very small area be sure to obtain unlimited mileage car rental since distances in the USA and Canada are immense.
Distribution Of Depots
If a rental car breaks down or is involved in an accident, the rental company may have a policy of replacing it rather than having it towed to a garage and repaired. While this works to the customer's advantage when a problem occurs near one of the company's depots, it can be a serious disadvantage when the nearest depot is a long distance away. You may therefore wish to research and consider the density of each rental car company's distribution of depots across the region you plan to travel while deciding who to rent from.
See also the section on problems with cars.
More information
Car Rental
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As with all the other pages on this personal web site, all the information on this page is solely the opinion of the author, who has no connection whatsoever with any of the companies and organisations mentioned other than as an actual or potential customer.
About this personal web site JohnCletheroe
EMail me Please note that I am not in the car rental business or the travel trade and I cannot provide any more information on car rental other than that presented here. Nor can I process any requests for quotations or reservations for car rental - these should be directed to car rental companies or travel agents.
Most recently modified 25-Jun-01