Car hire in L.A.
 

Does anyone know whether it's cheaper to high a car from Australia before we leave, or should we organise it once we get to LA? We went to drive it one way to Vegas.

Thanks!

Book ahead. Walk up rates at car rental companies can be pretty high.

Why do you want to drive to Las Vegas? It is a boring 5- to 6-hour drive, there is nothing along the way of interest, and there are lots of cheap flights or very cheap buses...

Unless you make a long swing through AZ (Grand Canyon?) etc., then the car could be worth getting.

But you have to read the fine print of the rental contract as to which states you are allowed to take it to. Not that they have a tracking device in the vehicle, but if you have a mishap in the "wrong" location, you're hosed...

Other than that, if you insist, definitely book ahead, it can be very cheap, I often rent from Dollar or Thrifty or Fox for about USD20 per day at the LAX locations.

Use Priceline and bid low - I recently bid $15 per day and got a Hertz car, with fees and taxes it came to $20 per day, at an airport location no less.

But for a one-way rental with a drop-off in a different state that could be very different.

Are you sure you want to drive?

Lux Bus <http://www.luxbusamerica.com/index.php> is another alternative, especially if you are going one way. They do pick up at LAX.

book ahead at carrentals.com

And BTW - in the US a "hire" car is a limo with driver. You "rent" a car that you drive yourself.

(Prawns = shrimp, boot = trunk, bonnet = hood, footpath = sidewalk, singlet = muscle shirt, thongs = bits to cover the naughty bits - just barely. Ya can't trust those septics...).

Are you renting the car just to go to Las Vegas? Seems like a waste.

But, if you're staying in LA at all you'll need a car there too - very complicated and time-consuming to get around without one.

Thanks for all the replies. A particular thanks to DalaiLlama for your help with the US translations ;-)

I want to rent a car because I like to see as much of a place as possible, and also (probably patheticallyl) Fear and Loathing is one of my all time favourite movies. So I'd like to do the drive. And yes, we are hoping to stop off at the Grand Canyon along with way.

DalaiLlama - what is priceline? In Australia it's a pharmacy/drugstore but am I safe in assuming it's a car auction website?