"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
01/08/2019 at 12:04 • Filed to: None
3
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"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
01/08/2019 at 12:04 • Filed to: None | 3
| 13 |
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
In an exhaustive search for a 6 adult person trip to San Diego, I have finally settled on and booked a vehicle. The intial thought was to just reserve a minivan from Enterprise or whatever but due to luggage concerns and wanting something a little nicer for the money, I turned to Turo. More importantly, I could choose the exact model that I wanted to make sure we had enough space for everyone and everything. Girlfriend’s parents are going to be out here for 3 weeks (1 week ocean cruise, 1 week san diego with us, and then around town another week) so they are going to be packing gigantic bags full of everything they own. So our luggage requirements would be 2-3 FULL size suitcases, 3-4 carryon size bags, and probably a few backpacks and other stuff. This led me to just look for whatever vehicle would have maximum storage space. The key part to this search (that most automotive comparison websites ignore) is maximum space WITH ALL THREE ROWS IN USE by real people with legs and torsos. Plus a nice to have would be some level of extra comfort and some sort of fun factor since I’d be doing all of the driving.
Here were some of the vehicles I was actively looking for:
GMC Yukon XL; preferably a Denali trim but I couldnt find one on Turo so the regular XL would work
Lincoln Navigator L. Specifically the Longwheelbase version since there would be enough space inside
Then I was looking as well at the brand engineered cousins like the Suburban and Expedition since they are basically the same car anyways, but just hadn’t found any to consider. Model year for the Lincoln was not all too relevant since it hadnt really been updated in a while until last year. And the newest ones like that were just too expensive/too far away to pick up. I was also still considering Honda Odesseys and Toyota Siennas but they had a bit less cubic feet of space for stuff in the back. Access to the third row would have been nicer in the vans and gas mileage significantly higher but storage space was just enough to sell me on the trucks. Plus, why wouldnt I want a V8?
Girlfriend’s mom did approve tying her bags to the roof though if the bag is too large to fit so at least that won’t be a point of contention if the suitcases are larger than the trunk opening lol. This particular one I picked has a low mileage restriction (400 miles) and by my math, including driving around a bunch in town should end up around 500 by the time I return it. At $0.45 per mile beyond 400, this is still a very affordable option and my estimate is conservative anyways so it should end up cheaper.
Only catch will be if Turo ends up being a sham like it is from time to time and I end up with a cancelled reservation day of. Only happened to me twice so far so what’s the worst that can happen...
Also, t his airbnb that my girlfriend has picked out and reserved for this trip as well is stunning , looking forward to such a legit house!
Might not be pool weather in February but if the sun’s out it will be a nice spot to relax.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
ToyotaFamily
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/08/2019 at 12:27 |
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We rented out a Suburban for our family trip in California. It did well with all our luggage and 3 rows full of people. My parents even enjoyed the 3rd row, granted they’re a bit shorter than most.
MPG wasn’t bad either on the highway, we did Sacramento to LA & back.
Hopefully your Turo doesn’t get cancelled, and enjoy your trip!
sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/08/2019 at 12:35 |
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My only experience with Turo, the Mini we rented while visiting your neck of the
woods, was
a good one.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> ToyotaFamily
01/08/2019 at 12:38 |
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How was access to the third row? I guess the middle row just folds down or pops up to allow access and then the passengers are locked back there for a bit? Both the Burb/Yukon and Navi/Expedition seemed to have some of the best 3rd row comfort which was my goal! Final call between the two was pretty much just based on pickup location. Navigator technically reported as more space too but it was negligible.
And for gas mileage, should still be able to turn 20mpg on the highway so not really a whole lot worse than my STi anyways.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
01/08/2019 at 12:42 |
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Yup, plenty of good experiences here too. I have rented 11 cars since 2012 through Turo and only two of them have had Turo caused issues. 1 car (the first Mini I rented) was pretty junk between the bald tires and massive oil leak. But it still turned out to be a great trip regardless. Even the Turo caused issues sorted out since I rented the cars for cash anyways. But it is always a fear to me now lol.
lone_liberal
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/08/2019 at 12:46 |
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Rented a Yukon XL a few years ago to tote a large number of people around on vacation . Not that much luggage space with the 3rd row in use and it wasn’t all that easy for people to get to the “ way back” seats. If I did it again I’d probably go for a minivan, even with the Yukon being a lot cheaper. This was on Maui so we didn’t put in big miles and the parking lots and spaces were tight which didn’t favor the Yukon either.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> lone_liberal
01/08/2019 at 12:53 |
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At least I won’t have the space issue in Socal! Sitting in traffic on the 405 and 5 will be nice and comfy, no matter how long it takes. I was considering a 12 passenger Ford Transit from Budget to really maximize space but that seemed like overkill. It was only a little bit more money but I really didnt want to drive a bus around all weekend. SUV should be fine in San Diego although some areas parking will certainly be tougher.
Tapas
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/08/2019 at 13:06 |
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Please take a look at your insurance and see if it covers Turo rentals. I don’t think most insurance plans recognize Turo as a rental, so you may not be covered.
When I rented from Turo a heckin long time ago, I just got insurance from them to remove the hassle.cjust my 2 cents.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Tapas
01/08/2019 at 13:11 |
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Oh yeah, I ALWAYS pay for the Turo insurance for that reason. Adds a little bit of cost and its not really all that much coverage but its certainly better than nothing and its pretty affordable compared to traditional rental coverage.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Tapas
01/08/2019 at 13:20 |
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I did just check my insurance policy on the matter anyways , it states that “driving any non-owned car” is covered by liability assuming I stay in the US. In particular, fees arent covered but the actual cost of the car and damages are covered. That should definitely apply to Turo with that wording. I figure with both of those coverages I am adequately covered. I doubt my additional credit card coverage applies to Turo since that specifically calls out rental cars and I have to deny the rental coverage for that to apply at all anyways. That is generally my primary insurance when renting cars. I use USAA for both my credit card and insurance though so they should be able to figure that out adequately in a normal rental.
So yeah I have full coverage pretty much in a standard rental and slightly less/more expensive in a Turo. Its a tradeoff but doesnt seem overly risky.
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ToyotaFamily
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/08/2019 at 13:52 |
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Yeah, it had the usual flip up 2nd row. Luckily we weren’t constantly stopping so 3rd row access wasn’t that big a deal.
It was kind of scary how normal 80 mph felt in the Suburban. Had to stop from creeping up higher than that every so often.
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Tapas
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/08/2019 at 14:25 |
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Yeah, I think you’re more than covered. Enjoy the trip! :)
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lone_liberal
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
01/08/2019 at 14:43 |
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Part of my issue with the Yukon was probably that I don’t normally drive large vehicles so trying to pilot that behemoth in tight quarters wasn’t very much fun.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> lone_liberal
01/08/2019 at 15:08 |
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As a Miata and ‘06 STi driver myself, even driving something like a Camry feels overly large to me lol. I get over it pretty quickly usually but yeah I feel you on that! The ride height is definitely the most offputting to me. I am used to being on the ground so its pretty unnatural to be that high up. When I first bought my STi even that felt like a monster truck compared to the racing seat in the Miata.