Pizzawheel

If I rent a car here, can I decline all of the add-on waivers and drive it on my own policy??? Thinking of renting a couple of days if mine isn't fixed for next week at work.

Also, any suggestions for a cheap compact rental???

Aviator

You decline any of the add on insurances whether you have other cover or not. Whether you are covered by your car policy you would have to check with the insurance company to be sure.

Your credit card may provide some coverage as well.

scrubbedexpat091

Have to call your insurance provider. With ICBC we have to pay a bit extra per year for it which also included a few other benefits, but far cheaper then buying any coverage from a rental car company.

Even with your own coverage, some locations will really try and pressure you into buying their's still, I think the companies put a lot of pressure on their employees to sell the LDW and other coverage they provide.

HGerchikov

I have rented a car a few times here and never purchased any of the extras. You do need to check your policy though as the driving another vehicle is an add on to your insurance, ours had it on automatically but not all do. I tend to use Enterprise, largely because I have had to rent because OH has taken both sets of car keys to work and they are the closest to our house. Cost was $40 for a day, I suspect it would be cheaper if you took it for longer and perhaps with more notice than a phone call to say I need a car now.

haggis88

Most AMEX cards provide rental car cover if you have one of them!

SchnookoLoly

If you have a Costco membership, check the rental rates through Costco, as they often are quite competitive. We've rented through Costco a few times, they've consistently had better prices, although that was for trips to the US, so not certain about renting here!

As others have said, do double-check your insurance policy and what coverage you get on your credit card as well.

orly

Our RBC credit card coverage came in useful when my wife wrote off a rental in Michigan not long ago.

The lesson learned there was "you can never have too much insurance" if it's someone elses car!

Pizzawheel

I will call the insuranceco if I have to go through with this- with a bit of luck the part I need for the European Sports Car (TM- Sarcastic mate) will arrive today and I won't need it.

Enterprise was starting at around $50 a day for a compact- I guess I could google a coupon- and a local noname place was $35.

But I am a Costco member so Scnook's suggestion would be well worth checking out and something I'd never have thought of- so



( and while we're on Costco they have anchovies back in stock so I can threaten the mini wheels into silence whilst cooking pizza. They have a palpable fear of anchovies!!!)

SchnookoLoly

Hehe, we were the same way. When we went to Florida in January, we'd originally booked a rental through the "normal" way, then Mr Schnooks had the idea to check Costco... the identical rental was notably cheaper, so we cancelled the original then rebooked through Costco. Result!

Oh excellent - I have to go by there at lunch today to pick up a few things for Mr Schnooks' birthday this weekend and I am in need of anchovies, so will have a peek! Thanks for the heads up!

Pizzawheel

Only mine is the Scarboro location on the 401 at Warden... The poor side of town ;-)

scrubbedexpat091

I must be the only one who can never find anything cheaper at Costco....lol On my last trip I tried to use their rental car booking but they had prices nowhere near what the car rental place was offering, we paid 12/day direct, Costco booking engine was 23/day, previous trip Costco was more as well.

haggis88

Nope, I'm in this boat too.

Have a lot of friends who pay the costco membership and can't see past it...and while there's a couple of things that are slightly cheaper than buying from another retailer, it's not enough for me to personally go get myself a membership and travel the extra distance to the store.

If it's a really good offer, then I'll just get one of said friends to pick me one up when they're there!

SchnookoLoly

I've done a bit of comparison to see how much stuff is actually cheaper.

A few things I can think of off the top of my head:

Salmon fillets. $22/kg at Costco, $28/kg at the grocery store.

Huggies Size 2 diapers: $31.99 for a box of 165 diapers at Costco, so 19c/diaper; $13.97 for a box of 28 diapers from WalMart, so 37c/diaper (And if you get the Kirkland brand diapers, they're even cheaper, but in the interest of comparing like-for-like...)

Finish Quantum Dishwasher Tabs: $20.99 for a box of 96 tabs, so 22c/tab; $15.97 for a box of 48 tabs at WalMart, so 33c/tab.

Cheese is definitely cheaper, I think I pay about $10ish for a 400g or 500g block of Cheddar, depending on the brand.

4L of 1% PurFiltr Milk: $3.79 at Costco (I think, might be $4-ish, can't remember offhand), $5.99 at Longos

There are some things that aren't cheaper, but for the most part I do find most things cheaper there, particularly things like toilet paper, paper towel, etc.

dbd33

Taps.

dbd33

Industrial shelving.