Anyone ever rent a car for a long distance trip?

KILL KILL

KILL KILL

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Alright, gents.

So I have to drive from Georgia to New Jersey on Friday (roughly 800 miles). Earlier this week, I was on the way to my local mechanic to get a basic diagnostic so I didn't have trouble on the road. literally a half a mile from the shop, my transmission completely broke.

I don't have enough time to get it completely replaced and need to bring a bunch of stuff up with me.

So, I'll be forced to rent a car for the trip. From everything i gather, renting a car is the biggest rip-off of all time. Here is what Enterprise quoted me;

- $36 for a one day rental (not bad)
- $150 deposit (annoying, but ok)
- $292 "drop charge" to leave the car in Jersey (well that sucks)
- After the first 300 miles, I have to pay an additional $0.25 per mile (what the fuck?)

This trip is going to cost a ridiculous amount of money. Does anyone have any experience with rental services that knows of a better way?
 
KILL KILL said:
Alright, gents.

So I have to drive from Georgia to New Jersey on Friday (roughly 800 miles). Earlier this week, I was on the way to my local mechanic to get a basic diagnostic so I didn't have trouble on the road. literally a half a mile from the shop, my transmission completely broke.

I don't have enough time to get it completely replaced and need to bring a bunch of stuff up with me.

So, I'll be forced to rent a car for the trip. From everything i gather, renting a car is the biggest rip-off of all time. Here is what Enterprise quoted me;

- $36 for a one day rental (not bad)
- $150 deposit (annoying, but ok)
- $292 "drop charge" to leave the car in Jersey (well that sucks)
- After the first 300 miles, I have to pay an additional $0.25 per mile (what the fuck?)

This trip is going to cost a ridiculous amount of money. Does anyone have any experience with rental services that knows of a better way?
Click to expand...


You can't borrow a family vehicle or anything I take it?

I remember reading about a fellow once put an ad up on Kijiji or whatever that he is driving cross country and if anyone is needing a vehicle shipped to the same location, he will drive it for them free of charge, effectively solving a problem for both.
 
KILL KILL said:
Alright, gents.

So I have to drive from Georgia to New Jersey on Friday (roughly 800 miles). Earlier this week, I was on the way to my local mechanic to get a basic diagnostic so I didn't have trouble on the road. literally a half a mile from the shop, my transmission completely broke.

I don't have enough time to get it completely replaced and need to bring a bunch of stuff up with me.

So, I'll be forced to rent a car for the trip. From everything i gather, renting a car is the biggest rip-off of all time. Here is what Enterprise quoted me;

- $36 for a one day rental (not bad)
- $150 deposit (annoying, but ok)
- $292 "drop charge" to leave the car in Jersey (well that sucks)
- After the first 300 miles, I have to pay an additional $0.25 per mile (what the fuck?)

This trip is going to cost a ridiculous amount of money. Does anyone have any experience with rental services that knows of a better way?
Click to expand...

basically you have a shit mechanic
 
GhostZ06 said:
basically you have a shit mechanic
Click to expand...

I think you misunderstood. I was on the way to get a diagnostic when my transmission broke. If i had gotten there in one piece, then perhaps it would have been alright.
 
Rent a car from Hertz or any other rental company if you are traveling out of state. Enterprise does you like the drive thru so I would avoid them if you can.
 
I rented a 2015 tricked out Yukon and drove it from central VA to northern Nj at Thanksgiving , 6 days and the cost was $378 when all said and done. I lucked out though aS I had reserved a minivan since it was cheap . They were out so they gave me a " large SUV " for the minivan price. Would have been $600 and change if I'd played the right price.
 
KILL KILL said:
Alright, gents.

So I have to drive from Georgia to New Jersey on Friday (roughly 800 miles). Earlier this week, I was on the way to my local mechanic to get a basic diagnostic so I didn't have trouble on the road. literally a half a mile from the shop, my transmission completely broke.

I don't have enough time to get it completely replaced and need to bring a bunch of stuff up with me.

So, I'll be forced to rent a car for the trip. From everything i gather, renting a car is the biggest rip-off of all time. Here is what Enterprise quoted me;

- $36 for a one day rental (not bad)
- $150 deposit (annoying, but ok)
- $292 "drop charge" to leave the car in Jersey (well that sucks)
- After the first 300 miles, I have to pay an additional $0.25 per mile (what the fuck?)

This trip is going to cost a ridiculous amount of money. Does anyone have any experience with rental services that knows of a better way?
Click to expand...
Yes.


/end of thread
 
If you don't need a car in NJ, use craigslist.

There used to be really cheap rentals available, so I would also shop around.
 
Thundarr said:
Rent a car from Hertz or any other rental company if you are traveling out of state. Enterprise does you like the drive thru so I would avoid them if you can.
Click to expand...

Enterprise was cheaper for me and the quality of Car was about the same
 
heavyarms21 said:
Enterprise was cheaper for me and the quality of Car was about the same
Click to expand...

I just looked at Hertz's website and they quoted me at $227, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they didn't mention any of the hidden fees. I'll have to call them first thing in the morning.
 
I drove from Jersey to Indiana. I think it cost 140 total, Thursday-Sunday. My friend set it up though. We returned the car. No drop off. We definitely didn't have that mile limit. We drove well over 300 miles. The only other thing i remember was that we weren't allowed to cross the Mississippi River. Any additional charges we'd have gotten would have been from that or damage.

That was a 10.5 hour drive. I'm guessing yours is about 13, based on Orlando being 18 hours from Jersey. Don't feel like you should be paying much more than i did.
 
Last edited:
KILL are you driving because you are bringing a lot of stuff ? If not then have you considered a One Way flight up there if it's cheaper than the Drop off fee other wise the drop off fee for out of state is the best option since you will have a car up there. Also will you be able to use your Car in NJ to drive down ?
 
Usually rental car companies don't have miles limits anymore. Go to another one and get a quote.
 
That .25 charge after 300 is bogus. The dropoff sounds a little bit high but it's probably in the ballpark.

Shop around.
 
I've traveled 3,000 miles in a week with no mileage charge. It's been 10 years but I don't think that everyone charges mileage. Shop around.
 
heavyarms21 said:
KILL are you driving because you are bringing a lot of stuff ? If not then have you considered a One Way flight up there if it's cheaper than the Drop off fee other wise the drop off fee for out of state is the best option since you will have a car up there. Also will you be able to use your Car in NJ to drive down ?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm bringing a lot of stuff, including my dog. I'm going to keep scouting out places in the area because it seems outrageous to pay that much to rent a car for a single day. Very weird.
 
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