Looking for Rental Advice

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
03/25/2019 at 11:49 • Filed to: None

We are spending two weeks in Cali in June, and I need to rent a car. I’ve got five people, and for their size it’s basically three adults and two teenagers. I can get a pretty good rate on a Ford Edge from Budget. We probably won’t spend more than three or four hours in the car, since we’re doing lots of stops between Oakland and LA. Would three in the second row be doable with this vehicle? I don’t want to spend the money for a van or SUV, since we’re not driving great distances.

DISCUSSION (16)

gettingoldercarguy > ttyymmnn
03/25/2019 at 11:55

Are you completely against Turo? You'll have a lot more options.

412GTI > ttyymmnn
03/25/2019 at 11:55

It’s doable for sure. The Edge is at least a little wider than compact SUVs.

I wouldn’t say it will be the most comfortable and who ever gets “bitch seat” will complain, but it wouldn’t be terrible.

ttyymmnn > gettingoldercarguy
03/25/2019 at 11:57

Never tried it. I looked at lots of other options, and found that renting through USAA, my insurance company, got me good rates.

For Sweden > ttyymmnn
03/25/2019 at 11:57

Is renting from National and picking from their aisle an option?

ttyymmnn > 412GTI
03/25/2019 at 11:58

A couple of years ago, when our Oddy was getting a heart transplant, we drove to and around Fort Worth with the five of us in our Civic. The boys were a bit smaller then, but it wasn’t terrible. At the end of the day, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ttyymmnn
03/25/2019 at 12:02

If you rent from national you could probably get a mini van or full size sedan like a Chevy, Dodge etc... kind of a crap shoot tho you never know what they are going to have. I’ve gotten everything from a Mustang to a Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Tacoma and Ni ssan rogue.

Spanfeller is a twat > ttyymmnn
03/25/2019 at 12:10

When I went to Sacramento, renting through Turo proved to be 80% cheaper than though typical rental agencies. I am an under 25 driver, which is a big influence for them, but I still think that you can bag quite a saving.

Somethings about Turo are different, since you know the owner of the car, you’re less likely to drive it like an ass, and they do have some requests, for instance, the guy I rented the F150 from asked that I either cleaned it before returning it or pay a fee for him to do so. Also specific fuel quality and stuff like that.

My host was tremendously good, and the F150 he rented me was spotless, so I have nothing but good stuff to say about Turo.

Just make sure to get a very highly rated host.

Spanfeller is a twat > Spanfeller is a twat
03/25/2019 at 12:11

https://turo.com/rentals/suvs/ca/inglewood/volkswagen-atlas/384513?searchId=EL6qHX8I

I typed in a random date, but this looks good.

gettingoldercarguy > Spanfeller is a twat
03/25/2019 at 12:18

I rented an ats for the cota GP and fell in love with how it handled. Also, realized that being overly concerned about how the dash looks is bullshit.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > ttyymmnn
03/25/2019 at 12:23

Depends on the size of the humans going into the back seat. To save money, g et the largest car possible- Impala/LaCrosse/Avalon/Chrysler300

Also check Turo

Future next gen S2000 owner > ttyymmnn
03/25/2019 at 12:28

Have you considered 2 911's?

ttyymmnn > Future next gen S2000 owner
03/25/2019 at 12:29

I’d rather have one and leave the kids at home.

Future Heap Owner > ttyymmnn
03/25/2019 at 12:38

I’ll second TAE’s experience and say that I have had nothing but good experiences the three times I’ve rented via Turo, all from highly-rated hosts.

ttyymmnn > Future Heap Owner
03/25/2019 at 12:42

I have no experience with this , but I doubt they would want me to pick it up at OAK and drop it off at LAX, which is what we are planning to do.

phenotyp > ttyymmnn
03/25/2019 at 12:42

I’ve always had good luck with Enterprise, believe it or not. My last four rentals were a Grand Cherokee, Mini Countryman, Kia Sorento, and Infiniti Q50. The Kia is pretty much a tall minivan, and worked really well for a larger group.

Future Heap Owner > ttyymmnn
03/25/2019 at 12:44

Oh, yeah, that rules Turo out.