Car hire USA, insurance
Discussion
Looking at car hire for a trip to Florida in January for the Daytona 24 hours. I have found the deal I'm happy with through budget for a dodge challenger or similar but there seems to be a million different add ons that bump the price up considerably. Does anyone know if I can take the car at the base price and sort my own 3rd party insurance?
I've done this before in Europe but not sure about the US
I've done this before in Europe but not sure about the US
No - you're fine.
The rental desk agent might try and scare you, with the tale that the insurance you have doesn't always work etc but it's just to try and get you to buy their very expensive insurance.
Just an FYI- your insurance, like questor etc will not be valid on rentals via turo etc
The rental desk agent might try and scare you, with the tale that the insurance you have doesn't always work etc but it's just to try and get you to buy their very expensive insurance.
Just an FYI- your insurance, like questor etc will not be valid on rentals via turo etc
Have you tried this site? I've never had any problems or surprises with them.
https://www.uscarhire.com/
https://www.uscarhire.com/
Hold on a second, terrible advice so far. If you book US car hire on a UK website then 99.9% of the time you get 3rd party liability AND full collision damage waiver with no excess. Nothing to pay if you rattle a wall. Any top ups from there are usually personal effects coverage or increased liability etc. You're already very well covered and there's no need to take more.
That's very different to booking on a UK website for Spain etc, where you'll get collision damage waiver included and a high excess of £1-3k and where third party coverage like Questor etc can work out well.
Booking on a US website for pick up in the US doesn't even include collision damage waiver, so you're responsible for the full market value of the vehicle and NOT just an excess. Some third party companies offer coverage for this, but it's not your standard offering. You'd be looking for collision damage waiver and not just an excess waiver.
It is almost always cheaper to book a US car hire on a UK website even before you include the heightened coverage, which is why the T&Cs on the UK site usually exclude US licence holders from booking them.
That's very different to booking on a UK website for Spain etc, where you'll get collision damage waiver included and a high excess of £1-3k and where third party coverage like Questor etc can work out well.
Booking on a US website for pick up in the US doesn't even include collision damage waiver, so you're responsible for the full market value of the vehicle and NOT just an excess. Some third party companies offer coverage for this, but it's not your standard offering. You'd be looking for collision damage waiver and not just an excess waiver.
It is almost always cheaper to book a US car hire on a UK website even before you include the heightened coverage, which is why the T&Cs on the UK site usually exclude US licence holders from booking them.
Chucklehead said:
Hold on a second, terrible advice so far. If you book US car hire on a UK website then 99.9% of the time you get 3rd party liability AND full collision damage waiver with no excess. Nothing to pay if you rattle a wall. Any top ups from there are usually personal effects coverage or increased liability etc. You're already very well covered and there's no need to take more.
That's very different to booking on a UK website for Spain etc, where you'll get collision damage waiver included and a high excess of £1-3k and where third party coverage like Questor etc can work out well.
Booking on a US website for pick up in the US doesn't even include collision damage waiver, so you're responsible for the full market value of the vehicle and NOT just an excess. Some third party companies offer coverage for this, but it's not your standard offering. You'd be looking for collision damage waiver and not just an excess waiver.
It is almost always cheaper to book a US car hire on a UK website even before you include the heightened coverage, which is why the T&Cs on the UK site usually exclude US licence holders from booking them.
I agree with all of the above, especially that it's generally cheaper to use a UK site rather than adding insurance to a US one. However, I have started to notice some UK sites with high deductibles, so you can also check if any of your credit cards offer rental car insurance.That's very different to booking on a UK website for Spain etc, where you'll get collision damage waiver included and a high excess of £1-3k and where third party coverage like Questor etc can work out well.
Booking on a US website for pick up in the US doesn't even include collision damage waiver, so you're responsible for the full market value of the vehicle and NOT just an excess. Some third party companies offer coverage for this, but it's not your standard offering. You'd be looking for collision damage waiver and not just an excess waiver.
It is almost always cheaper to book a US car hire on a UK website even before you include the heightened coverage, which is why the T&Cs on the UK site usually exclude US licence holders from booking them.
So the quote I have from budget is £430 for the week, if you add on insurance through them (LDW, SLI etc) it bumps up to £650. If the insurance can be covered by questor for a fraction of that then I'll probably go for it, definitely don't want to be liable for the whole price of the car though!
Edit, questor covers collision damage up to £75k for £46
Edit, questor covers collision damage up to £75k for £46
Chucklehead said:
Hold on a second, terrible advice so far. If you book US car hire on a UK website then 99.9% of the time you get 3rd party liability AND full collision damage waiver with no excess. Nothing to pay if you rattle a wall. Any top ups from there are usually personal effects coverage or increased liability etc. You're already very well covered and there's no need to take more.
That's very different to booking on a UK website for Spain etc, where you'll get collision damage waiver included and a high excess of £1-3k and where third party coverage like Questor etc can work out well.
Booking on a US website for pick up in the US doesn't even include collision damage waiver, so you're responsible for the full market value of the vehicle and NOT just an excess. Some third party companies offer coverage for this, but it's not your standard offering. You'd be looking for collision damage waiver and not just an excess waiver.
It is almost always cheaper to book a US car hire on a UK website even before you include the heightened coverage, which is why the T&Cs on the UK site usually exclude US licence holders from booking them.
^listen to this man!That's very different to booking on a UK website for Spain etc, where you'll get collision damage waiver included and a high excess of £1-3k and where third party coverage like Questor etc can work out well.
Booking on a US website for pick up in the US doesn't even include collision damage waiver, so you're responsible for the full market value of the vehicle and NOT just an excess. Some third party companies offer coverage for this, but it's not your standard offering. You'd be looking for collision damage waiver and not just an excess waiver.
It is almost always cheaper to book a US car hire on a UK website even before you include the heightened coverage, which is why the T&Cs on the UK site usually exclude US licence holders from booking them.
Try Alamo Brits guide
https://www.alamo.co.uk/en/car-hire-deals/brits-re...
It includes all insurance and multiple drivers
https://www.alamo.co.uk/en/car-hire-deals/brits-re...
It includes all insurance and multiple drivers
Trustmeimadoctor said:
Try Alamo Brits guide
https://www.alamo.co.uk/en/car-hire-deals/brits-re...
It includes all insurance and multiple drivers
Thanks, that looks like the best option. everything included and through the hire companyhttps://www.alamo.co.uk/en/car-hire-deals/brits-re...
It includes all insurance and multiple drivers
I had an issue with budget previously. Their site knew I was in the UK, was meant to be quoting for a uk driver but was suspiciously cheap. Ended up ringing them and there was an error, it had quoted for US. The person on the phone said to me if your quote is in dollars we've quoted for a US driver and haven't included any insurance. If we're quoting for a UK driver we always quote in £'s. In my case I was using the .co.uk site but in the background the site was picking up the wrong pricing engine.
If you book and its cheap its worth a call to check. If you get a US price you will literally have no insurance and a UK excess insurance policy won't help!
If you book and its cheap its worth a call to check. If you get a US price you will literally have no insurance and a UK excess insurance policy won't help!
I've ended up booking through the Alamo Brits guide site, I've paid around £570 for 6 days in a Dodge Challenger. Could have got a lesser car for much cheaper but as we're going to Daytona it seems like the thing to do!
This includes all the insurance and extra drivers within the price, I also paid a one off small fee for breakdown cover for piece of mind
This includes all the insurance and extra drivers within the price, I also paid a one off small fee for breakdown cover for piece of mind
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