| |
Renting a Car in the US
|
If you like privacy when you are traveling, and your travel destination is within a driving distance, you might want to consider renting a car, rather than going by bus / train or airplane. The other advantages of renting a car besides your privacy is that your travel schedule is more flexible and you are free to visit as many places as you want on your way to your travel destination.
Process of renting a car
Documents required to rent a car
Cost of renting a car
Tips for renting a car
Find a Car rental near your place
|
 |
|
Process of renting a car
Typically, most people go directly to the web site of the car rental company and make a reservation. You can also call their number if you want to make a phone reservation. On their web site you can check out the available cars and the cost associated with them. You can find the nearest car rental office by checking out the Rental Locator option on their web site.
Back
Documents required to rent a car
You only need a US Driver License or an International Driving Permit (IDP) to rent a car. However, you should pay attention that most rental car companies only accept major credit card as a method of payment (not debit card), so make sure that you have your credit card ready with you when you want to rent a car.
Back
Cost of renting a car
Renting a car will cost you anywhere from $40 and above per day. The cost of renting a car depends on various factors such as:
- The type of car - Rental car companies usually classifies the cars as Economy, Compact, Intermediate, Standard, Full Size, Premium, Luxury, SUV, Pickup Truck, etc. The Economy class cars are cheaper as compared to other classes.
- Your age - the rental car cost is cheaper if you are above 25 years of age, somewhat costlier if you are between 21 and 25 and costlier if you are between 18 and 21.
- Car insurance - e.g. whether you pick liability only insurance, or comprehensive insurance.
- The place where you are planning to return the car - it will be cheaper if you are planning to return the car at the same location where you have rented the car. Otherwise, it will be costlier as the rental car company will have to get the car back from another place.
- The number of people driving the car - there is another additional fee for each additional driver.
- Mileage - some rentals might charge you based on the mileage that you spent on the car
- Driving history - in some state the rental car may check your driving history based on your driver license's number, and may increase the rental price if your driving history is not so good.
Tips for renting a car
Below are some tips to rent a car:
- Pick the right size car depending on the number of person traveling with you. For instance, if only two of you are traveling you don’t really need an SUV, you can just rent a sedan.
- Compare prices from several rental car companies available. Be sure to compare the total price, including the insurance, additional driver, and tax, not only the fee for the car.
- In choosing the renter, make sure that the pick-up / drop-off place is convenient for you. Some rentals provide you pick-up and drop-off service.
- Pay attention that some rentals might charge you based on the mileage.
- Since you are a student, it is always a good idea to take the insurance option, just in case something happen.
- Most rental car only accept credit card as a method of payment. Be sure to have your credit card ready. They might accept debit card, but you would have to check with the car rental before..
Back
|
Find a Car rental near your place
You can easily find a rental car near your place by typing "rental car" in the search engine website. You can also find it from on-line yahoo pages or on-line maps. If you already have your favorite rental car companies, you can directly go to its website and go to the rental locator.
Back
Can I get some deals / discounts?
As a student you might be eligible for some deals and discounts. Please check with the rental car company web sites for details. You can also get additional discounts if you are a AAA member.
Back
|
|
