Car Hire in San Francisco
 

I'm visiting SF at the end of April and spending 4 days driving down the PCH. Can anyone tell me the cheapest place to hire a car from and also does anyone know if it's cheaper to book it in advance from the UK or just to book it when I arrive?

I would search on Travelocity.com. It will give you the best range of options, prices, and pick up locations. I have found that I often get better deals when I reserve in advance.

It is often cheaper to rent at a non-airport location because most of the car agencies have very high surcharges at the airport locations.

Also, they charge much more to rent at one location and drop off at another, so plan accordingly.

I rented from Hertz, which has a downtown location near Union Square. There are also several other rental car companies in the downtown area -- very reasonable.

I booked in advance, and when I got there, they had my reservation, but it was several $$$ higher. I had a copy of rental agreement that I booked on line, and they honored that price.

I would definitely book in advance. Check out several companies/prices. ((b))

Little bit of trivia here - there is no such thing as the PCH anywhere near San Francisco. It only exists in the LA area. It's called the Cabrillo Highway up here - if you are referring to Ca Hwy #1 that goes up & down the coast of Calif.

Stu Dudley
San Mateo (San Francisco), Ca

While travelocity is a good source, I don't believe it always gives you cheaper one way rentals.

If you don't find what you want on Travelocity, I would suggest that you go to the websites of the major car companies: Avis, Hertz, Alamo, National, etc. and search each one individually. There can be a pretty hefty drop-off fee for one-way rentals.

In the past, Avis and Alamo have provided the best rates for me for one way rentals. They usually charge either NO fee or a small drop off fee, no more than $25.

4 days is almost a week. I would further suggest that you look at a weekly rate. A reasonable weekly rate should give you unlimited miles for about $125 - $150 (all fees and taxes included)with little/no dropoff fee for the smallest car available. "Small" cars in the US tend to be about the size of midsized cars in Europe.

Once you find something you like, book the car in advance. You can always cancel the booking with no penalty, provided that you cancel sufficiently ahead of time (In other words, you can't walk up to a car counter the day of the rental and say I'm cancelling my current booking. This has gotten me in trouble in the past!)

If you find something better later on, book the second car and cancel the first booking. Be sure to get a cancellation number when you cancel.

Even with travelocity, you have to go back several times to get a good price. It'll be too much of a coincidence for you to find the best rate on your very first try, so don't hesitate to continue searching.

Budman is 200% correct. Whatever you book, make sure you print out a copy of your booking immediately. If you arrive with a copy of your booking/reservation in hand, no problems. If you arrive without one, there is a good chance the rental company will attempt to give you a car at a much higher rate.

Good luck planning! :)

www.priceline.com

I used to be a travel agent in South Africa - it is much cheaper to book car hire in the US from out side - travel agents get really good agreements with car hire companies.

My plug for the day try Flight Centre.