car hire insurance

[Keith]

OK, so I'm almost convinced we should hire a car next time we go to Disney. Maybe. Perhaps. Ish :lol:

So tell me everything I need to know??

Now the one that comes free with virgin holidays is I'm sure extremely tiny but then there are only two of us + 2 cases :/

How about insurance? Everyone says that basic third party liability is NOT enough to even consider and full/deluxe/platinum insurance is essential?

People also say that once you consider virgin's premium insurance is £19 per a day, it can be cheaper just to hire a car + insurance from carhire3000 or something?

[ukwdwnut]

get the gold or platinum one full tank on pick up empty on return, dont take out any other than the ones you get thrown in you dont need them, they will ask at the desk but refuse it even if they get the hump when you say no, its a rip off

[Keith]

get the gold or platinum one full tank on pick up empty on return, dont take out any other than the ones you get thrown in you dont need them, they will ask at the desk but refuse it even if they get the hump when you say no, its a rip off

right :) any recommendations for car hire places? carhire3000 seems about the best

[ukwdwnut]

right :) any recommendations for car hire places? carhire3000 seems about the best

terry said they were good, dollar also there is one thats quite good will look it up cant remember the name offhand

holiday autos :)

[Dawn]

Don't book it through Virgin Holidays. Shop around and book it independently. Make sure you get a car from an on-airport renter - all the major ones have desks at the terminal.

Prepay all your insurances before you go and don't get sucked into the "cheap upgrade" talk or "you'll need our roadside assistance cover" -- you get basic roadside as standard.

Bear in mind that the journey to and from the airport will be the only time you'll have all the bags in the car so if you don't mind bags on the back seat you could probably get away with a compact car.

I'm a veteran of car rentals so any questions ask away. :thumbsup:

[arkvilla]

The best car hire imho ( we have used them everytime) is www.usrentacar.co.uk (http://www.usrentacar.co.uk)

Go for Budget as they often offer free upgrades

I'm happy to chat Keith as we always use them and have found them to be very easy to deal with and the cars have been great

Sandra

[Keith]

ooo thanks :D I'm sure I'll have lots to ask!

How bad are the "small" cars? I mean you know what I'm like over here, I like my large luxury cars but over there it's just getting to and from the mall and so on so as long as they weren't REALLY annoying it'd be ok. By really annoying I mean I was stuck with a tiny honda jazz thing last time mine was in for some work. No offence to honda jazz fans, it was just very very very very underpowered compared to what I was used to and it was a very frustrating experience. I'm not talking about going 500mph, but just yah know, pulling out of roads and things :lol:

[daveann]

we made the mistake of having free car hire with a holiday package but cost twice as much by the time we paid the insurance but we were tiered having been stuck for ages at imigration and paid it but it was a total rip off

[Keith]

we made the mistake of having free car hire with a holiday package but cost twice as much by the time we paid the insurance but we were tiered having been stuck for ages at imigration and paid it but it was a total rip off

yeah this one says free including basic insurance which I've already read is next to worthless. To add full premium everything insurance was £19 a day but lots of articles saying you may as well just go to another company and get the whole thing for the same or less

[daveann]

its the thing you get off the plane shattered and you just want out of there but in hindsight we should have just gone to the national desk and got one from them cheaper. we now book it all seperately as finding it cheaper that way :)

[arkvilla]

usrentacar - price up a 2 door compct ( they don't ever do 2 door cars)so you are guaranteed a 4 door anyway, then get a free upgrade to an intermediate.

Go fo Gold or Paremium insurance

If you want bigger then price up intermediate with free upgrade to ull size

Sandra

[ukwdwnut]

yeah this one says free including basic insurance which I've already read is next to worthless. To add full premium everything insurance was £19 a day but lots of articles saying you may as well just go to another company and get the whole thing for the same or less

loads of people fo a flydrive and forget the car with virgin and go elsewhere as its cheaper to do so. bear that in mind for cheaper flights too keith

[Dawn]

ooo thanks :D I'm sure I'll have lots to ask!

How bad are the "small" cars? I mean you know what I'm like over here, I like my large luxury cars but over there it's just getting to and from the mall and so on so as long as they weren't REALLY annoying it'd be ok. By really annoying I mean I was stuck with a tiny honda jazz thing last time mine was in for some work. No offence to honda jazz fans, it was just very very very very underpowered compared to what I was used to and it was a very frustrating experience. I'm not talking about going 500mph, but just yah know, pulling out of roads and things :lol:

I'm the opposite - I drive a tiny Peugeot 107 to school and back but when in Florida I get behind the wheel of a 7 seater Dodge Caravan and I'm all "power" and turn into Jeremy Clarkson. By day 3 of our last trip Adrian was already sick of me wheel spinning out of our driveway. :lol:

Go for an intermediate - you should get at least a 2 liter engine then.

[ukwdwnut]

get a new camaro keith from dollar then you know you have some grunt under your right foot ;) :lol:

[Keith]

:lol:

[Isafari]

We always go through usrentacar and shoose Dollar - everything paid for up front, no extras needed.
Like Sandra, we know they have no two door compact cars so, that's what we go for. We always get upgraded to intermediate, usually a 4 door. Not sure if this has anything to do with the Dollar Express card that we have or not :unsure:
The Dollar Express card is a huge bonus too so I'd sign up for that if you end up choosing Dollar. There's no charge and you don't have to stand in line at the hire point - you go straight to the 'garage' or area where the cars are and your car is waiting for you. It can save a lot of time.

[Lisa1976]

Keith I can't believe your finally thinking of venturing out with a car ;)

We always go with Net Flights and book with dollar and take the platinum insurance so everything is included. We only go for economy which is usually a Chrysler PT Cruiser (which I love) but it does simon and I and has loads of boot space. Costs us £277 for two weeks for end of Jan this year.

Probably not the cheapest but we've never had any problems (touch wood) and the service has been great. We both get to drive and a full tank to start us off :)

[uscwest]

I totally cannot believe the insurance rip off that you Brits have to go through. My credit cards cover me anywhere in the world.

[robertcraig]

I book direct with direct with DOLLAR AND TAKE OUT GOLD INSURANCE also you can pick size of car you want and pay acordingly

[Keith]

I book direct with direct with DOLLAR AND TAKE OUT GOLD INSURANCE also you can pick size of car you want and pay acordingly

thanks Robert!

How hard IS driving over there? :/ it doesnt look too bad and I drive automatics over here so that cant be too bad right? whats the signing like? am I going to get lost getting from the airport :lol:

[Dawn]

Easier than driving here. I love it - all part of the adventure for me. I've never got lost and I am the master of taking random turnings.

[Keith]

Easier than driving here. I love it - all part of the adventure for me. I've never got lost and I am the master of taking random turnings.

that sounds promising! If anyone can get lost though, it's me :lol:

[robertcraig]

thanks Robert!

How hard IS driving over there? :/ it doesnt look too bad and I drive automatics over here so that cant be too bad right? whats the signing like? am I going to get lost getting from the airport :lol:
I find the driving isfine. The signing is good from either SANDFORD OR INTERNATIONAL BOTH GO ONTO A TOLL ROAD so make sure you have $ available. before you leave airport make sure know all the controls and lights.you can also hire a GPS

[Dawn]

Yep make sure you know the controls before you set off. Cue embarrassing moment at first toll booth as I try to figure out which one of the 40 buttons on the door opened the window. :D

Seriously everything is so very well signposted. Remember it's a country where people would rather drive than walk so it's all set up for the car.

[daveann]

keith its so simple i do the driving over there and it is easy the run off roads at junctions on i4 are like a mile long so you have plenty of time on disney property everyone is in the same boat visiting so if you make a mistake so what you get honked but you learn quickly to honk back :lol: remember you can turn right on red as long as there isnt a sign saying stop on red and turning left is easy cause its usually got lights and just follow the white line in the middle of the road and parking bays are huge doors open wide not like over here :)

[Slowhand]

I`ve really done the rounds regarding car hire Keith but nowadays I wouldn`t use anyone else but Carhire 3000.
They use Dollar car rental and I`ve always found them to offer the best deal..they often throw in upgrades at no extra cost.
One thing to bear in mind is that the trunk [boot] on many of the cars is relatively small, however you may get away with hiring a compact depending on the amount of luggage you take with you.
We often prefer a bit of comfort so we usually have a 4 door Dodge Charger which swallows up most of our luggage and [by US car standards] seems to have a bit of "grunt" also....it also looks the business!

[robertcraig]

I had a dodge charger last year it was a nice car to drive

[ukwdwnut]

thanks Robert!

How hard IS driving over there? :/ it doesnt look too bad and I drive automatics over here so that cant be too bad right? whats the signing like? am I going to get lost getting from the airport :lol:

keith i find it so much easier to drive there than here...mind the school bus law mind, if you overtake it while the flag is out the driver can report you to the police also you can turn right on a red light....first to arrive at a x road has right of way...so do look up on driving laws for over there. they are 100% more curteous than here. you can under and overtake which is cool and no one is in a hurry to get anywhere :)

[Slowhand]

and no one is in a hurry to get anywhere :)
Unless you happen to travel on I-95 near to Miami that is! :shocked: