One Way Car Rentals- LAS to SFO- without drop off charges-What to check-
 

I checked on the internet for One-way rentals without drop off charges.
I couldn't find anything that would give me a guaranteed information. I could finally get one quote from "Economy Car Rentals"
Pick up- Las Vegas Airport- 12th june 13
Drop off: San Francisco airport- 19th June 13
Toyota Corolla Automatic @ 225 $
with all charges including

drop off charges at different location
(One way Charge)
ZERO Deductible
Rental Rates & VAT
Airport Taxes
Collision Damage Waiver
Sales Tax
Third party insurance / RLP + SLI
Theft insurance
Unlimited mileage
Premium Location Fee
Out of Office hours drop fees

I am coming from India and do not know the finer details to look for in a Car Rental contract and what would be a reasonable rate. Can someone please suggest if the terms are Ok and should I go ahead and book it...

I would email or go directly to car rental agency pages and ask them for your dates and to be clear on the drop off fees. I know sometimes it says " A drop off fee MAY be incurred at your destination".
So to be sure, I prefer to never reserve a car if I have to give my credit card number. The car agencies themselves do not require that, usually, giving you time to find out the details in an email from the agency directly which you can carry as proof when you arrive.

Make a reservation.. then ask the question, but all on their website. Look for discount coupons by googling "AVIS coupons, etc.".

Travelocity.com shows which agency/company will be cheapest, then contact them .

However, the above looks like it includes everything, so you do have a good point of reference.

lincasanova, Thanks for the info.
I did have a "Live Chat" with the website representative.
She confirmed that it includes One Way Charges.
I also checked on many websites including Kayak and Travelocity.
As you mentioned correctly, they suggest that there will be some charges applicable. But they do not mention the figure, insist on booking first and then contact the car agency. Some of them do not include CDW or LDW. Becomes very uncertain.
This was the best I got by far. Do not really know if there is a catch or something between the lines that I cannot read.
Please help. Is it is good enough?

It depends, greatly. IF the agency you use has a car they need to have returned to SFO they may rent it to you and not charge a drop fee. I have done this between the Los Angeles and San Francisco airports but you have to ASK at the rental counter.

Thanks Dukey1, I need confirmations before I fly into US. So cant afford to wait and ASK at the counter. I have checked and found that there are many rentals which dont charges one way fees within California but not when it is another state.
This one by far was the best and more transparent. They have given it in black and white that their rentals include the drop off fees. Anything else to look for? Is it a fair price?

$225 for a one week rental is a good rate.

I looked at their website and put in your dates and came up with the same quote. There is no one-way drop charge for LAS to SFO,at least not on any of the websites I've looked at.

Under their terms and conditions, it states they include Zero Deductible:
"ZERO Deductible (protects you against damages to your rental car)
Third party liability protection (Liability Insurance for damages or injuries to any 3rd party outside the car)
Theft insurance (protects you against theft of the rental car)

With this package you are FULLY Covered and your liability in the event of damage or theft is ZERO! "

That sounds to me like you are covered for any damage to the vehicle and wouldn't need additional LDW or CDW.

According to the website you're looking at, you may cancel at any time after booking. I suppose if you book and don't like the terms, you could just cancel and rebook elsewhere.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ar-rentals.cfm

This thread has a discussion about Economy Car Rentals (albeit in Italy). Part way down someone mentions that the insurance is included, but if there is damage to the vehicle the renting agency will charge your credit card and then Economy will reimburse you. So keep that in mind. At this point I think you should at least book the car because it is a very good price, then take some time to search around for customer reviews and decide if you're comfortable with them or not.

I looked on Travelocity and found a car for about $325 from a major agency but that did not include CDW or LDW. Again, no one-way drop off charge either.

That rate seems quite low, and rather suspicious. Indeed on the "economy car rentals" website it states the following:

Your rental excludes:

Collision Damage Waiver

Third party insurance

Theft insurance

As a non-citizen, you will be required to purchase these, and they probably add up to $30 or $40 per day.

Your best bet is probably Hertz.com.........at the top of the web page where it says "United States English" you should change it to INDIA, and then you will get rates that include all the fees and insurances that you need. Click through to the final quote which will include all taxes and fees.

Clarkgriswold.. when I do the same booking, putting in India as country, I do not get EXCLUDES but rather INCLUDES all he mentioned above.

Paragkash, If your hotel is downtown SF I would take the car back THERE, downtown, instead of at the airport ( probably cheaper) so you don't pay garage fees in town on top of it. However, if you have free parking, you can use it to get to the airport if your flight is that last day. Otherwise it can be a burden to have a car in the city and pay a LOT every time you want to park.

lin...Hertz INCLUDES, Economy does not, I do not even see an option to choose INDIA on the EconomyCarRentals website.

"Under their terms and conditions, it states they include Zero Deductible:
"ZERO Deductible (protects you against damages to your rental car)
Third party liability protection (Liability Insurance for damages or injuries to any 3rd party outside the car)
Theft insurance (protects you against theft of the rental car)

With this package you are FULLY Covered and your liability in the event of damage or theft is ZERO! "

That is exactly what their terms and conditions state on Economy Car Rentals' website. I had that info in my previous post.

They also have a drop down menu to choose your country of residence right on their homepage, as part of the search for a rental car. It is directly below the drop off date menu.

clarkgriswold: Visitors from overseas can get all-inclusive packages that include all insurance and drop fees.

You're not interpreting the Terms & Conditions correctly. Not all of their rentals include the same things. There's no way that they could, because Economy Car Rentals is not a rental agency, they are just a middle-man dealing with several agencies, a type of travel agency if you will.

SOME rentals include "Zero Liability" and the terms go on to explain what that means.

What the site actually states is "Details on the Inclusions/ Exclusions or Mandatory items relating to your rental are shown on our website during the booking procedure". (In other words, each booking will have different terms and conditions.)

There are constant "horror stories" from foreigners who deal with such "agencies", then show up at the rental counter with a "voucher" that does not even cover half of what the actual charges turn out to be when they return the car.

114 Replies, some good and some bad, regarding EconomyCarRentals.com here:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...rian_Alps.html

clarkgriswold, like you, even I thought that the rate seems quite low, and rather suspicious. I have been doing search on the web for last 10 days. Most websites have hidden charges and open ended contracts where we do not exactly know what is the Plus+Plus amount that we may have to pay at the end of the period. This website has the most transparent terms among all of them. Though it does not state the maximum value of CDW cover, but I assume with Zero deductibles, it covers me sufficiently.
What it does not include is the damage to to the Tyres, wind-shield, and underside of the car.
I will check the reviews on Economy Car Rentals. I feel, they are only the agent and the service depends on the local agency who gives the rates and the car.
Surprisingly, on the Google search, one does not get a concrete information and the agency name that does not charge "One way charges" and full insurance cover.

Para....Hertz is one of the more well-regarded rental car companies in the U.S. and you will have no trouble with them. They are quoting $257 per week with no additional charges if you book on the hertz.co.uk website and note at the top right that you are booking from India.

clarkgriswold, Thanks for the efforts and warning me. I did go through some of the 144 replies to the Economy Car Rentals scam. They are scary. Plus, all is rosy if nothing happens to the car. You need a reputed company when such a thing happens.
After going through all that, I was planning to contact the local agency that is going to give me the deal. You do get the name after you do the booking. If I find them trustworthy, I continue with the booking. Unfortunately, the local companies don't give the same deal when you approach them directly. They have a special tie up with these agents and have a separate quota for them.
I will check Hertz too before booking. Thanks again.

Check Autoeurope website, I almost always use them for car rentals all over the world. It's much easier to see what is included or not, as a non US citizen you need all the insurances you can get. Picking up a car in one place & dropping off in another is not unusual esp in the US. I have done so many times eg pick up SFO & drop off in LAX.
If it is not clear on the website about dropoff charges, you can call Autoeurope to find out. Sometimes they might ask you to book the car & once booked they will call you back in a day or two to confirm whether there is a dropoff fee or not. If there is one & you don't like the price, you can cancel with no penalty. This is how it worked for me.
Car rental companies do need a credit card to either prepay or at least guarantee reservations & alot of car rental companies will charge a no show fee if you don't turn up.
With Autoeurope I always prepay, makes life easier.

You can also check local Indian sites eg Expedia India, this way you will get correct insurances added to the cost. If you go onto US sites like Travelocity.com you will get US based info re insurances.

Maybe we aren't looking at the same website? I clearly see on the booking form where you state what country you are living in AND that is includes everything mentioned.. does not exclude anything, just like the OP said.

However, for $30, I do agree that Hertz, if all else is equal, would be a good choice.

and here are complaints about Hertz..

http://www.ripoffreport.com/directory/hertz.aspx

I could add a few about Avis, Advantage, etc. but most problems were satisfactorily resolved by writing a letter to the head of the Department.

Good luck. It has been interesting to see the reasonable rates from LAS to SFO and how also returning the car downtown saves a bit in this particular case.

re Autoeurope. I have YET to find a cheaper price for my rentals through them. I'm not sure why since everyone touts them so much. I'll keep trying though.