Two month car rental

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TheGreyingDuke
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Two month car rental

Post by TheGreyingDuke »

My dw and I are planning a 6-8 week cross country excursion this fall. I am considering a long-term car rental for what will likely be a 7k mile trip. A quick look shows that I can rent a Chevy Cruze or similar for around $1200 for the two months. This comes to about $.17 a mile, gets me protection from a breakdown in some out of the way place that doesn't play nice with German cars (our vehicle is a Jetta wagon, I can imagine breaking down and needing an electronic gizzometer in [location removed -- admin LadyGeek]).

Any thoughts or experiences?
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MWCA
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by MWCA »

TheGreyingDuke wrote:My dw and I are planning a 6-8 week cross country excursion this fall. I am considering a long-term car rental for what will likely be a 7k mile trip. A quick look shows that I can rent a Chevy Cruze or similar for around $1200 for the two months. This comes to about $.17 a mile, gets me protection from a breakdown in some out of the way place that doesn't play nice with German cars (our vehicle is a Jetta wagon, I can imagine breaking down and needing an electronic gizzometer in [location removed -- admin LadyGeek]).

Any thoughts or experiences??
[OT response removed by admin LadyGeek]
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DSInvestor
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by DSInvestor »

I did cross country trip in my Toyota Camry last year. 18K miles, 20 National Parks in about 6 months. No problems. How old is your car? When are you due for tires, brakes, timing belt etc?
Last edited by DSInvestor on Sat Jun 28, 2014 8:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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sunnyday
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by sunnyday »

Try autoslash.com. A few people recommended it to me in one of my previous posts. It checks daily for better deals and will email you if it found one. I just used and got a standard size car for less than $20 /day including taxes.

Also, some rental companies don't charge extra for your spouse to drive (Enterprise) while others charge ~$11/day (Dollar). I would call the local branch to see the exact rules.

I had a New England prejudice too, until I moved out of New England. Now I wonder why people would ever want to stay in New England :)
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by sunnyday »

DSInvestor wrote:I did cross country trip in my Toyota Camry last year. 18K miles, 20 National Parks in about 6 months. No problems. How old is your car? When are you due for tires, brakes, timing belt etc?
Sounds like an amazing trip -- what were your favorite National Parks?

If someone is driving a lot miles each day, they could come out ahead with renting once you factor in depreciation, maintenance costs and possibly better gas mileage. Plus the insurance factor in the fact that it would cost you a lot more if you have a major breakdown in your own car. Here's a great blog post on it - http://www.thesimpledollar.com/is-renti ... road-trip/
DSInvestor
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by DSInvestor »

sunnyday wrote:Sounds like an amazing trip -- what were your favorite National Parks?
Utah has an incredible concentration of natural beauty and I spent 2 out of 6 months camping there:
Arches NP
Canyonlands NP
Dead Horse Point State Park
Capitol Reef NP
Bryce Canyon NP
Zion NP
Grand Staircase Escalante
Monument Valley
National Monument and BLM areas

Other favorites:
Yosemite NP
Sequoia NP
Glacier NP (note that Going To Sun Road is open late June to early October - a spectactularly scenic drive).
Yellowstone NP
Grand Tetons NP
Carlsbad Caverns NP

If you like cultural sites:
Mesa Verde NP
Chaco Culture NHP (warning - 20+ miles of washboard road to access the park)
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by BolderBoy »

MWCA wrote:
TheGreyingDuke wrote:My dw and I are planning a 6-8 week cross country excursion this fall. I am considering a long-term car rental for what will likely be a 7k mile trip. A quick look shows that I can rent a Chevy Cruze or similar for around $1200 for the two months. This comes to about $.17 a mile, gets me protection from a breakdown in some out of the way place that doesn't play nice with German cars (our vehicle is a Jetta wagon, I can imagine breaking down and needing an electronic gizzometer in [location removed -- admin LadyGeek]).

Any thoughts or experiences??
[OT response removed by admin LadyGeek]
I don't understand this response.
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TheGreyingDuke
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by TheGreyingDuke »

BolderBoy wrote:
MWCA wrote:
TheGreyingDuke wrote:My dw and I are planning a 6-8 week cross country excursion this fall. I am considering a long-term car rental for what will likely be a 7k mile trip. A quick look shows that I can rent a Chevy Cruze or similar for around $1200 for the two months. This comes to about $.17 a mile, gets me protection from a breakdown in some out of the way place that doesn't play nice with German cars (our vehicle is a Jetta wagon, I can imagine breaking down and needing an electronic gizzometer in [location removed -- admin LadyGeek]).

Any thoughts or experiences??
[OT response removed by admin LadyGeek]
I don't understand this response.
I assume this was in response to my ill-conceived attempt at humor; I have lived in the South, was educated in the South and meant no disparagement. Rather it has been my observation that European cars are less common outside of the Northeast, the West Coast and some other pockets here and there.
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DSInvestor
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by DSInvestor »

When renting a car for 2+ months and expecting to drive 7-10K miles, is the renter responsible for bringing the car in for service, oil change etc?
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by LadyGeek »

To avoid any further misunderstandings, I removed the OP's remark and follow-up responses.
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mbres60
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by mbres60 »

DSInvestor wrote:When renting a car for 2+ months and expecting to drive 7-10K miles, is the renter responsible for bringing the car in for service, oil change etc?
We too are going on a road trip like you but for less time. We debated about renting a car or not (ours has 139,000 miles). Our mechanic said it was good to go after new tires, brakes, etc. When looking into renting a car I came up with a rental fee for a month for a little less than you did. I too thought about service. I have no idea what happens. I also don't know what happens if you break down say on the way to Yellowstone . How long will it take for your car rental company to get a new car to you? A few hours… a day? These are questions to ask the company. I never got that far but would be interested to know the answer! Taking our own car we are going to have an oil change after 3,000 + miles because we will be at my cousin's house in CA for a day and will have a moment to take it in somewhere. (I checked online and found several highly recommended places).
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by cheese_breath »

Just for my own edification, am I correct assuming if OP rented from one of the major companies (Hertz, Avis, etc.) and he had a major problem part way through his trip he could exchange the rented vehicle for another one at the local dealer wherever he happened to be?
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by midareff »

TheGreyingDuke wrote:My dw and I are planning a 6-8 week cross country excursion this fall. I am considering a long-term car rental for what will likely be a 7k mile trip. A quick look shows that I can rent a Chevy Cruze or similar for around $1200 for the two months. This comes to about $.17 a mile, gets me protection from a breakdown in some out of the way place that doesn't play nice with German cars (our vehicle is a Jetta wagon, I can imagine breaking down and needing an electronic gizzometer in [location removed -- admin LadyGeek]).

Any thoughts or experiences?

I prefer to rent cars for road trips to avoid putting the miles on my vehicle and to make the breakdown's (if they occur) someone else's responsibility. I use a credit card that covers damage "insurance" on rental cars and don't take theirs. As a second blanket you can add car rental collision coverage to your primary car insurance and adjust the personal medical insurance deductible for that period as well.... very inexpensive vs. possibilities.

Have a great time.
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by Marylander1 »

midareff wrote:
TheGreyingDuke wrote:My dw and I are planning a 6-8 week cross country excursion this fall....
I prefer to rent cars for road trips to avoid putting the miles on my vehicle and to make the breakdown's (if they occur) someone else's responsibility. I use a credit card that covers damage "insurance" on rental cars and don't take theirs. As a second blanket you can add car rental collision coverage to your primary car insurance and adjust the personal medical insurance deductible for that period as well.... very inexpensive vs. possibilities.
Be sure to verify your credit card and insurance coverage. Apparently Visa, for instance, doesn't cover travel on unpaved roads. American Express doesn't cover many SUVs (Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon, Expedition, Navigator, etc.). Some MasterCards have no coverage at all. Some credit cards limit coverage to rental agreements 15 days or shorter, and others 30 days, and none to my knowledge cover longer rentals. My auto insurance also excludes rentals exceeding 30 days.

http://www.cardhub.com/edu/rental-car-i ... ard-study/

-Marylander1
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Kosmo
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by Kosmo »

cheese_breath wrote:Just for my own edification, am I correct assuming if OP rented from one of the major companies (Hertz, Avis, etc.) and he had a major problem part way through his trip he could exchange the rented vehicle for another one at the local dealer wherever he happened to be?
I once had a rental for 5 months on a business trip. I think about 3 times the rental agency called me and asked me to bring it back so they could check the mileage and change the oil. It ended up being easier just to get a new vehicle each time. Wasn't too big of a deal for me, but if you're thousands of miles from where you picked up the car, that could be a pain if they want/need to service it.
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by FrugalInvestor »

midareff wrote: I prefer to rent cars for road trips to avoid putting the miles on my vehicle and to make the breakdown's (if they occur) someone else's responsibility. I use a credit card that covers damage "insurance" on rental cars and don't take theirs.
Be aware that some if not all credit cards cap the number of days their insurance will cover - some to 14 days, some to 30 days, etc.
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by midareff »

FrugalInvestor wrote:
midareff wrote: I prefer to rent cars for road trips to avoid putting the miles on my vehicle and to make the breakdown's (if they occur) someone else's responsibility. I use a credit card that covers damage "insurance" on rental cars and don't take theirs.
Be aware that some if not all credit cards cap the number of days their insurance will cover - some to 14 days, some to 30 days, etc.
Some companies offer little financial incentive for rentals over one month. Just check in and rewrite, not an issue. Check you normal car insurance as well.... you may already have coverage.
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by jlawrence01 »

A few comments:

1) If you are driving cross country for 6-8 weeks, you are going to drive more than 7k miles if you are serious about seeing a lot of things. I drove nearly 8,500 miles on a two month trip Chicago to Tucson and we spend two months in one location and did not take a lot of side trips. I would estimate 10-12k.

2) Make sure that your auto insurance carrier covers rental cars. Most do. That avoids of the rental car insurance cost.

3) My last long trip was with my personal car. If you end up driving your own, make sure that it is roadworthy up front and you will generally not break down on the road.

4) If you are driving mega miles on a rental car, most of the majors want you to trade vehicles every 5-7k miles. Avis was pretty ticked off when I kept a car for four months and 16k miles.

5) Hertz has some pretty decent car lease deals for very long term rentals.

6) Rent off airport to avoid all of the taxes/fees. I currently have a six week rental from Hertz. The best that I could get at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix was ABOUT $1250. At a neighborhood Hertz location, my rental was $675.

7) To address comments above, nearly all rental car agreements include a clause that cars are not to be taken "off road." They are increasingly enforcing that provision and are checking vehicles for any damages related to that.

8) Rent from a MAJOR firm (Avis, Hertz, Alamo, etc.) as they will be able to help you if there are car problems. For example, if you break down in Lincoln, NE, the majors will be able to get you another car in a whole time. Otherwise, the small agencies will have you take it to a dealer for repairs and you are sitting there waiting. That happened to me in Rapid City, SD where I had to rent a car for a day from the dealership while my rental was repaired. Sure, the original agency paid for the rental and the repairs BUT that changed our trip.

9) AVOID Chevrolet cars like the plague at this time. Two rentals in the past three months have required me to bring a Chevrolet Cruze or Malibu back to the agency immediately due to recalls.
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by tim1999 »

DSInvestor wrote:When renting a car for 2+ months and expecting to drive 7-10K miles, is the renter responsible for bringing the car in for service, oil change etc?
I had a long-term (6 months) rental from Enterprise once and they told me that when it hits certain mileage, take it in to any outlet of a certain oil change chain, as they have an account there. So I just took it there and didn't have to pay anything out of pocket. Same deal when the car's annual inspection was due.
Mike83
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by Mike83 »

Perhaps others can verify my experience...

In the past I have flow to western cities such as Albequrque, Las Vegas, Phoenix and rented a car for a few weeks to drive the national parks, probably 2000 miles or so each time. The cars were all rented on an unlimited miles basis for return to originating location.

I do remember specific language in the small print of the rental agreements that forbade taking the vehicles out of state and specifying draconian expenses if an out of state repair or vehicle breakdown occurred in violation of these rules.

The desk agent didn't ask or verify, but the language WAS in the contract. I drove the cars on my planned trip anyway.
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by FrugalInvestor »

Mike83 wrote:Perhaps others can verify my experience...

In the past I have flow to western cities such as Albequrque, Las Vegas, Phoenix and rented a car for a few weeks to drive the national parks, probably 2000 miles or so each time. The cars were all rented on an unlimited miles basis for return to originating location.

I do remember specific language in the small print of the rental agreements that forbade taking the vehicles out of state and specifying draconian expenses if an out of state repair or vehicle breakdown occurred in violation of these rules.

The desk agent didn't ask or verify, but the language WAS in the contract. I drove the cars on my planned trip anyway.
I did notice this language a few years ago when renting a car in Chicago to drive to the east coast. Since then I've not read the contracts that closely but have often done multi-state drives and never had a problem or even a question.
Have a plan, stay the course and simplify. Then ignore the noise!
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TheGreyingDuke
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by TheGreyingDuke »

FrugalInvestor wrote:
Mike83 wrote:Perhaps others can verify my experience...

In the past I have flow to western cities such as Albequrque, Las Vegas, Phoenix and rented a car for a few weeks to drive the national parks, probably 2000 miles or so each time. The cars were all rented on an unlimited miles basis for return to originating location.

I do remember specific language in the small print of the rental agreements that forbade taking the vehicles out of state and specifying draconian expenses if an out of state repair or vehicle breakdown occurred in violation of these rules.

The desk agent didn't ask or verify, but the language WAS in the contract. I drove the cars on my planned trip anyway.
I did notice this language a few years ago when renting a car in Chicago to drive to the east coast. Since then I've not read the contracts that closely but have often done multi-state drives and never had a problem or even a question.
So far the best price I have found for an intermediate size vehicle is around $1200 for two months (Budget with an association discount of 10%).

The out of state matter is a concern, in the past when I have done some "local renting for a week or so-, with plans to hit states from Vermont to NJ, I had a chat with the agent. The typical clause reads something like "bordering states" (which can include Quebec in our situation!) and the agent has always just scribbled onto the contract the additional states.
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tim1999
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by tim1999 »

For anyone located in or near Pennsylvania, the Budget location near the Harrisburg airport does long term rentals/"mini leases" for relatively cheap prices on certain vehicle models. A Ford F-150 goes for around $550/mo. and you can get a BMW 5-series for around $900/mo. Two month minimum with 3,000 miles per month. A friend took advantage of the F-150 deal and had a good experience. I don't think they do it for basic sedans though.
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by hand »

For a multi-month rental, be sure that your insurance (primary auto, credit card) does not have exclusions / limitations based on length of rental.
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by tractorguy »

I rented a Cruze for 3 weeks in California. I wouldn't do it again. My back started hurting the second day of driving and didn't stop until I was home for 3 days. The seats don't have any lower back support and I couldn't get it adjusted to get comfortable.

I talked to a neighbor who used to be a GM sales manager. He claims that the Cruze is notorious for having bad seats.
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by kd2008 »

I do not see any reason to rent car if you already own a recent model - I know this is not the question OP is asking.

2200 mile road trip to Colorado on a 2011 Camry the day after it was bought
4000 mile road trip to Yellowstone & Tetons last month in a 2012 Mazda 6

The cars did fine.
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by jlawrence01 »

kd2008 wrote:I do not see any reason to rent car if you already own a recent model - I know this is not the question OP is asking.

2200 mile road trip to Colorado on a 2011 Camry the day after it was bought
4000 mile road trip to Yellowstone & Tetons last month in a 2012 Mazda 6

The cars did fine.
It is NOT a matter that the car will not perform as advertised. It is more a matter of not wanting to "mile up" a new vehicle, especially if you are driving a lot of miles over a short period.
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TheGreyingDuke
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by TheGreyingDuke »

jlawrence01 wrote:
kd2008 wrote:I do not see any reason to rent car if you already own a recent model - I know this is not the question OP is asking.

2200 mile road trip to Colorado on a 2011 Camry the day after it was bought
4000 mile road trip to Yellowstone & Tetons last month in a 2012 Mazda 6

The cars did fine.
It is NOT a matter that the car will not perform as advertised. It is more a matter of not wanting to "mile up" a new vehicle, especially if you are driving a lot of miles over a short period.
EXACTLY! That is my angle, my 2009 Jetta has nearly 100k, has been trouble free (!), and I intend to keep it until its reliability suffers. In addition, the idea of having a backup vehicle waiting for me if trouble arises seems worth something, and the approximately $.16/mile cost seems almost a bargain.

Now I am on a hunt for the best price, cannot seem to get it below about $1200 for eight weeks, even with some association discount.
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jlawrence01
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Re: Two month car rental

Post by jlawrence01 »

TheGreyingDuke wrote:
jlawrence01 wrote:
kd2008 wrote:I do not see any reason to rent car if you already own a recent model - I know this is not the question OP is asking.

2200 mile road trip to Colorado on a 2011 Camry the day after it was bought
4000 mile road trip to Yellowstone & Tetons last month in a 2012 Mazda 6

The cars did fine.
It is NOT a matter that the car will not perform as advertised. It is more a matter of not wanting to "mile up" a new vehicle, especially if you are driving a lot of miles over a short period.
EXACTLY! That is my angle, my 2009 Jetta has nearly 100k, has been trouble free (!), and I intend to keep it until its reliability suffers. In addition, the idea of having a backup vehicle waiting for me if trouble arises seems worth something, and the approximately $.16/mile cost seems almost a bargain.

Now I am on a hunt for the best price, cannot seem to get it below about $1200 for eight weeks, even with some association discount.

I have been in the same boat ... two cars well over 100k. At that point, I would rent a car for any trip over 250 miles.
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