SanDiegogirl

The quote you get from the rental companies does NOT include third party/comprehensive insurance.

Also, remember that most rental companies do not rent to under 25's (just mentioning it since it appears this is first trip for OP)

Pulaski

It's similar in my Mustang, which "fits like a glove". It's not quite as bad as a driver getting into an F1 car, but it's similar.

Nutek

Is this it?

Pulaski

Mine doesn't have the stripes, and has a Union Jack front tag.

Rete

Exactly how I felt about the last car I rented this year. A Toyota Corolla. I would never drive this car again or purchase one.

Twinkle0927

I have always been impressed with AutoEurope. Once I had rented with them once, I started to receive emails with codes for 10% off on a regular basis. I found them on carrentals.co.uk which is a good starting point to compare various brokers and rental companies in one place. You can set your search to show prices including insurance. I usually end up picking Alamo through AutoEurope if only for the reason that Alamo at Sea-Tac allow you to pick your car from the lot, rather than giving you a set of keys and saying "that's the one you're having" (as Avis did when we rented through them).

cautiousjon

In my experience, if you book a US rental car direct via a car rental agency's UK website, your price will include all the insurances that you need (collision damager waiver, supplemental liability, etc). However, if you book a US rental car via any other means (US website, third party like Priceline, etc), then insurance won't be included.

This seemed to be the norm whenever I booked US rental cars via Avis UK, Hertz UK, Alamo UK, etc.

I just did a search on Avis UK's website. From the screenshot below, you can see that the Avis UK quote includes:
- damage excess
- theft
- liability insurance
- collision damage waiver



It seems that 28 days is the maximum for a standard, consumer rental. Avis has a product called Avis Flex for rentals that are over 28 days in length.

Owen778

Just a bit of advice. When booking a rental car, especially through the company's US website, always try to use coupon codes to reduce the cost.

For Budget and Avis and some others, the codes for Southwest Airlines are perhaps the best available to the general public and doesn't require you to arrive on a Southwest flight. Google for more info, and then try out what you find.

I'm sure others here have more information.

petitefrancaise

There's nothing wrong with a focus sized car. I've been driving OH's for 3 years and even in Texas it's perfectly fine. I wouldn't go smaller though, my first car here was a Honda Fit and there were definitely times when I wished I'd got a bigger car. Usually this was when it was raining and those concrete roads become slippery and Texan's DO NOT know how to drive in the rain.

dj6372

Not unique to Texas, its raining today and utter carnage on the freeways!!

petitefrancaise

ooohhh! The penny's dropped! The Texans actually blame the new arrivals from California for appalling bad tempered driving!!

dj6372

Keep them please!

Pulaski

Amateurs! NC drivers don't need excuses like "rain" to have pointless, avoidable accidents.
A Fusion hatchback is only 12" longer than Fit (Jazz). .....There is an additional risk to driving small cars. A few years ago near where I live someone drove their Civic into the path of an F250. The driver of the F250 walked away without injuries. .... The Civic driver was reported dead at the scene.

MidAtlantic

Don't drive "into the path of an F250" whatever vehicle you are in. It will not end well.

mrken30

Slightly off topic, but just booked a car through hotwire and it appears I pay when I pick the car up in the UK. This probably means I will incur foreign transaction fees or use a UK credit card. I was hoping to use the car insurance included with the credit card which is only available on my US card. Hotwire was one of the few that has a standard size station wagon which fits my needs.

Do all these 3rd parties require you to pay when you pick up the car in the local country?