Hi

We are looking at hiring a convertible to travel around new england in the summer. We are flying into JFK and returning to central New York for the last 3 nights. i'm looking on various sites which suggest it would be better to hire outside of the airport especially if we're returning to New York. Any suggestions of any companies we should use.

Thanks

My suggestion would be to fly to Boston and rent the car there to tour new England. Nearly all rental cars have good air conditioning. If you really want the wind blowing in your hair roll down the windows with the AC on full blast.
The time to find out there is a leak in a convertable is not during a driving rainstorm. Return the car to Boston and then take the train to NYC and then fly home from there. Just my opinions.

If you want a guarantee of a convertible I think you will end up paying a premium price for one - most companies guarantee only a group of car, not any specific model. And I've rented a car many many dozens of time and have never seen a convertible.

I'm sure some companies will do this but I think you will need to contact them directly to search for the best deal.

Hertz will guarantee you a convertible. It may not be that Mustang they like to picture but it will be a convertible and I rather doubt it is going to leak but who knows?

Usually anytime you use any agency's rental point that is (way) off the airport you are going to avoid some fees.

traveling in a convertible is not as fun as you may think...

first of all the top and mechanism eat up a ton of luggage space and you may have to keep your bags in the back seat...

if you stop anywhere (even to eat or just look) you will have to put the top up for security reasons and even with the top up, your bags make a tempting smash and grab for robbers...

to get to certain attractions, you will have to drive on highways with lots of wind, noise, stone chips, big trucks, changing weather, and a harsh summer sun...

I have owned several convertibles, and traveling with one is different than using one for local touring... I especially learned this on a trip to Hawaii when all of the above made the trip much more difficult... we ended up trading it back for a Minivan... much better for travel...

Well, I live in New England, I own a convertible, and there are lots of beautiful places to drive.

We have rented a convertible in LA and driven to San Francisco, so I certainly feel the attraction.

I would do what you want to do if

1. you are committed to taking slow but scenic highways rather than motorways;
2. If you understand that New England in the summer is humid like the UK, not dry like Oz.
3. Some places, even small ones, have heavy traffic in summer when you will want to have the top up for sun protection and to reduce pollution. Cape Cod and coastal Maine near Wiscasset and Boothbay both fit this.

On the other hand, rural Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire would be terrific with the top down.

We have rented a convertible before and owned several. I own a jeep now. Frankly, my wife and daughter hate them.

A quick search on kayak shows that Hertz JFK actually has the lowest prices in the area. But very pricey for convertibles in July. However we don't know your dates or what country you're from. Some car rental agencies have good rates for citizens/Autoclub members, Costco members etc , others (like Hertz and Alamo/National) have their best rates for non-citizens.