Car rental LA area + sat nav question.
Discussion
April next year having a trip to LA area ( more sort of just east ) for a fortnight and thinking of renting something not too large (4 adults + one teenager) - any recommendations /firms to avoid and must have on the hire(and things they try to get you to buy that you don't need).
Second point is question of sat nav - from various firms i see that it might be almost as cheap to buy one out there ( same numeric price in dollars )getting one that would take a remap to UK---ANY SUGGESTIONS.
Second point is question of sat nav - from various firms i see that it might be almost as cheap to buy one out there ( same numeric price in dollars )getting one that would take a remap to UK---ANY SUGGESTIONS.
I have rented out of LAX twice now once with Alamo and once with Holiday autos due to a IAM discount offerd, this car was also through Alamo. To and from the teminal was fine on a the bus, and when we sufferd a blow out we put the spare on and they alowd us to swap the car no problem at a rental location of our choice.
Regarding Sat Nav i took my own Tom Tom with a downloaded map of the USA and canada it worked perfectly with no problems driving in Illinois, Kansas etc so have no doubt it will be fine on the west coast
hope this helps
Regarding Sat Nav i took my own Tom Tom with a downloaded map of the USA and canada it worked perfectly with no problems driving in Illinois, Kansas etc so have no doubt it will be fine on the west coast
hope this helps
Hi WhoMe,
I travel to the US almost every month and am regularly renting cars at LAX. I used to use Avis but have moved to Hertz.
They have NeverLost GPS while the Avis GPS is also very good.
I bought a Garmin Nuvi 360 last year in the UK but have recently checked prices and see that the Nuvi 660 is less than 200 quid now. That was 300 last year and normally comes with UK, Europe and the US loaded.
If you can wait and get that in the US, I would guess you will save around 30%.
Think i'll check that out in myself January.
I travel to the US almost every month and am regularly renting cars at LAX. I used to use Avis but have moved to Hertz.
They have NeverLost GPS while the Avis GPS is also very good.
I bought a Garmin Nuvi 360 last year in the UK but have recently checked prices and see that the Nuvi 660 is less than 200 quid now. That was 300 last year and normally comes with UK, Europe and the US loaded.
If you can wait and get that in the US, I would guess you will save around 30%.
Think i'll check that out in myself January.
so called said:
Hi WhoMe,
I travel to the US almost every month and am regularly renting cars at LAX. I used to use Avis but have moved to Hertz.
They have NeverLost GPS while the Avis GPS is also very good.
I bought a Garmin Nuvi 360 last year in the UK but have recently checked prices and see that the Nuvi 660 is less than 200 quid now. That was 300 last year and normally comes with UK, Europe and the US loaded.
If you can wait and get that in the US, I would guess you will save around 30%.
Think i'll check that out in myself January.
Hi,I travel to the US almost every month and am regularly renting cars at LAX. I used to use Avis but have moved to Hertz.
They have NeverLost GPS while the Avis GPS is also very good.
I bought a Garmin Nuvi 360 last year in the UK but have recently checked prices and see that the Nuvi 660 is less than 200 quid now. That was 300 last year and normally comes with UK, Europe and the US loaded.
If you can wait and get that in the US, I would guess you will save around 30%.
Think i'll check that out in myself January.
Just to clarify - will cars from Hertz at LAX come with sat nav built in? I'm over in Jan & wondering whether I need to take/buy one?
thanks,
With Hertz you need to request their "NEVERLOST" GPS. It costs about $9,- per day.
I have forgotten the name of the AVIS GPS but that also needs to be booked in advance and costs similar.
If you decide to go for one of these and make the booking. When you turn up at the Rental desk for the keys,
they sometimes try to avoid giving you a car with a GPS due to high demand. Make sure you have your booking details clearly showing GPS and insist that you need one. I have had this several times but always driven away within 10 minutes with GPS.
The other thing is to be friendly, smile and say you can wait.
I have stood patiently on several occasions and watched other people demanding their GPS car and seen them drive away in a Hyundi or such and then had them hand me the keys to a nice Merc or Mustang with a thanks for being patient.
I have forgotten the name of the AVIS GPS but that also needs to be booked in advance and costs similar.
If you decide to go for one of these and make the booking. When you turn up at the Rental desk for the keys,
they sometimes try to avoid giving you a car with a GPS due to high demand. Make sure you have your booking details clearly showing GPS and insist that you need one. I have had this several times but always driven away within 10 minutes with GPS.
The other thing is to be friendly, smile and say you can wait.
I have stood patiently on several occasions and watched other people demanding their GPS car and seen them drive away in a Hyundi or such and then had them hand me the keys to a nice Merc or Mustang with a thanks for being patient.
NS24 said:
Thanks.
I think at $9 a day I'll buy one - I'm there for a hol so not on expenses!
That was my feelings too - especially as the prices (Well Wall mart on net ) seem to put the cost on a £ =$ basis (i.e costs £200 here to $200 there ) ,but with £=approx $2 seems a good buy.Only problem I could se was the mapsI think at $9 a day I'll buy one - I'm there for a hol so not on expenses!
Thanks all
Thanks to all on the sat nav - next question - what's the major road crimes in /around LA - more the San Bernardino / Moreno valley / Ontario side . Know about school buses and red lights -was wondering if there's other differences between UK driving and LA style - e.g. once stayed in parts of Zimbabwe ,where the locals would pass anywhere but underneath(only because there wasn't enough room),and the cops used to police double white lines (especially just before the end of the month)
the major traffic crimes in LA are Drive by shootings aren't they?
seriously though red lights and school buses are the major differences, also dont forget that if you are turning right at lights on green, there is a good chance that the pedestrian crossing you are driving over will be on "walk"
not forgetting the 4-way stop. generally it's first to the junction is first to go.
on the other issue I rented a mustang convertible from enterprise over christmas from LAX, you could decide on the satnav question at the depot so no need to book, I didnt opt for it and so I didnt ask how much - might have been useful though as roadside direction signs are pretty poor, and often unclear.
s
seriously though red lights and school buses are the major differences, also dont forget that if you are turning right at lights on green, there is a good chance that the pedestrian crossing you are driving over will be on "walk"
not forgetting the 4-way stop. generally it's first to the junction is first to go.
on the other issue I rented a mustang convertible from enterprise over christmas from LAX, you could decide on the satnav question at the depot so no need to book, I didnt opt for it and so I didnt ask how much - might have been useful though as roadside direction signs are pretty poor, and often unclear.
s
The best solution to go-anywhere satnav for the occasional user that I have seen (and I am about to get), is a Holux M-1000. It is bluetooth compatible so you can link it to your mobile phone/PDA, download google maps mobile and you are set. It costs about $45 in the USA too. OK, so useability is dependent on your mobile phone display and it doesn't have voice commands, but it is fine for occasional use.
so called said:
With Hertz you need to request their "NEVERLOST" GPS. It costs about $9,- per day.
I have forgotten the name of the AVIS GPS but that also needs to be booked in advance and costs similar.
If you decide to go for one of these and make the booking. When you turn up at the Rental desk for the keys,
they sometimes try to avoid giving you a car with a GPS due to high demand. Make sure you have your booking details clearly showing GPS and insist that you need one. I have had this several times but always driven away within 10 minutes with GPS.
The other thing is to be friendly, smile and say you can wait.
I have stood patiently on several occasions and watched other people demanding their GPS car and seen them drive away in a Hyundi or such and then had them hand me the keys to a nice Merc or Mustang with a thanks for being patient.
good adviceI have forgotten the name of the AVIS GPS but that also needs to be booked in advance and costs similar.
If you decide to go for one of these and make the booking. When you turn up at the Rental desk for the keys,
they sometimes try to avoid giving you a car with a GPS due to high demand. Make sure you have your booking details clearly showing GPS and insist that you need one. I have had this several times but always driven away within 10 minutes with GPS.
The other thing is to be friendly, smile and say you can wait.
I have stood patiently on several occasions and watched other people demanding their GPS car and seen them drive away in a Hyundi or such and then had them hand me the keys to a nice Merc or Mustang with a thanks for being patient.
Not Ideal said:
so called said:
With Hertz you need to request their "NEVERLOST" GPS. It costs about $9,- per day.
I have forgotten the name of the AVIS GPS but that also needs to be booked in advance and costs similar.
If you decide to go for one of these and make the booking. When you turn up at the Rental desk for the keys,
they sometimes try to avoid giving you a car with a GPS due to high demand. Make sure you have your booking details clearly showing GPS and insist that you need one. I have had this several times but always driven away within 10 minutes with GPS.
The other thing is to be friendly, smile and say you can wait.
I have stood patiently on several occasions and watched other people demanding their GPS car and seen them drive away in a Hyundi or such and then had them hand me the keys to a nice Merc or Mustang with a thanks for being patient.
good adviceI have forgotten the name of the AVIS GPS but that also needs to be booked in advance and costs similar.
If you decide to go for one of these and make the booking. When you turn up at the Rental desk for the keys,
they sometimes try to avoid giving you a car with a GPS due to high demand. Make sure you have your booking details clearly showing GPS and insist that you need one. I have had this several times but always driven away within 10 minutes with GPS.
The other thing is to be friendly, smile and say you can wait.
I have stood patiently on several occasions and watched other people demanding their GPS car and seen them drive away in a Hyundi or such and then had them hand me the keys to a nice Merc or Mustang with a thanks for being patient.
so called said:
Not Ideal said:
so called said:
With Hertz you need to request their "NEVERLOST" GPS. It costs about $9,- per day.
I have forgotten the name of the AVIS GPS but that also needs to be booked in advance and costs similar.
If you decide to go for one of these and make the booking. When you turn up at the Rental desk for the keys,
they sometimes try to avoid giving you a car with a GPS due to high demand. Make sure you have your booking details clearly showing GPS and insist that you need one. I have had this several times but always driven away within 10 minutes with GPS.
The other thing is to be friendly, smile and say you can wait.
I have stood patiently on several occasions and watched other people demanding their GPS car and seen them drive away in a Hyundi or such and then had them hand me the keys to a nice Merc or Mustang with a thanks for being patient.
good adviceI have forgotten the name of the AVIS GPS but that also needs to be booked in advance and costs similar.
If you decide to go for one of these and make the booking. When you turn up at the Rental desk for the keys,
they sometimes try to avoid giving you a car with a GPS due to high demand. Make sure you have your booking details clearly showing GPS and insist that you need one. I have had this several times but always driven away within 10 minutes with GPS.
The other thing is to be friendly, smile and say you can wait.
I have stood patiently on several occasions and watched other people demanding their GPS car and seen them drive away in a Hyundi or such and then had them hand me the keys to a nice Merc or Mustang with a thanks for being patient.
Hows LA..??
Not Ideal said:
so called said:
Not Ideal said:
so called said:
With Hertz you need to request their "NEVERLOST" GPS. It costs about $9,- per day.
I have forgotten the name of the AVIS GPS but that also needs to be booked in advance and costs similar.
If you decide to go for one of these and make the booking. When you turn up at the Rental desk for the keys,
they sometimes try to avoid giving you a car with a GPS due to high demand. Make sure you have your booking details clearly showing GPS and insist that you need one. I have had this several times but always driven away within 10 minutes with GPS.
The other thing is to be friendly, smile and say you can wait.
I have stood patiently on several occasions and watched other people demanding their GPS car and seen them drive away in a Hyundi or such and then had them hand me the keys to a nice Merc or Mustang with a thanks for being patient.
good adviceI have forgotten the name of the AVIS GPS but that also needs to be booked in advance and costs similar.
If you decide to go for one of these and make the booking. When you turn up at the Rental desk for the keys,
they sometimes try to avoid giving you a car with a GPS due to high demand. Make sure you have your booking details clearly showing GPS and insist that you need one. I have had this several times but always driven away within 10 minutes with GPS.
The other thing is to be friendly, smile and say you can wait.
I have stood patiently on several occasions and watched other people demanding their GPS car and seen them drive away in a Hyundi or such and then had them hand me the keys to a nice Merc or Mustang with a thanks for being patient.
Hows LA..??
The Q7 was from Hertz at LAX.
LA was good. I normally stay in Burbank because of the business I have there.
Unfortunately there was that terrible train crash while I was there.
Had some gear stolen from my room in Las Vegas a week later but hey "##it happens".
Tony.
so called said:
Not Ideal said:
so called said:
Not Ideal said:
so called said:
With Hertz you need to request their "NEVERLOST" GPS. It costs about $9,- per day.
I have forgotten the name of the AVIS GPS but that also needs to be booked in advance and costs similar.
If you decide to go for one of these and make the booking. When you turn up at the Rental desk for the keys,
they sometimes try to avoid giving you a car with a GPS due to high demand. Make sure you have your booking details clearly showing GPS and insist that you need one. I have had this several times but always driven away within 10 minutes with GPS.
The other thing is to be friendly, smile and say you can wait.
I have stood patiently on several occasions and watched other people demanding their GPS car and seen them drive away in a Hyundi or such and then had them hand me the keys to a nice Merc or Mustang with a thanks for being patient.
good adviceI have forgotten the name of the AVIS GPS but that also needs to be booked in advance and costs similar.
If you decide to go for one of these and make the booking. When you turn up at the Rental desk for the keys,
they sometimes try to avoid giving you a car with a GPS due to high demand. Make sure you have your booking details clearly showing GPS and insist that you need one. I have had this several times but always driven away within 10 minutes with GPS.
The other thing is to be friendly, smile and say you can wait.
I have stood patiently on several occasions and watched other people demanding their GPS car and seen them drive away in a Hyundi or such and then had them hand me the keys to a nice Merc or Mustang with a thanks for being patient.
Hows LA..??
The Q7 was from Hertz at LAX.
LA was good. I normally stay in Burbank because of the business I have there.
Unfortunately there was that terrible train crash while I was there.
Had some gear stolen from my room in Las Vegas a week later but hey "##it happens".
Tony.
Gassing Station | USA & Canada | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff