Car Rental from LA TO Vegas

On my next trip to Vegas, I am considering flying into LAX and renting a car to drive into Vegas. Can anybody give me a total cost on this that has done it before?

I should say that I am totally clueless on renting a car. I have never needed to rent a car. I will be renting a normal car, nothing fancy. Drive it one way from LA to Vegas. Park it overnight, drop it off in Vegas next day. Is there a cost to drop it off at different location?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Yes I would also be taking the insurance as well.

 

One way trips are generally more expensive than a single location rental. You may be better off buying a one way plane ticket.

 

Flying from Atlanta to LAX. Driving in for the experience. Just curious what the total cost would look like.

 

Sometimes yes, sometimes not so bad. I would agree that plane fare from LAX to LAS is often pretty cheap. And, depending on WHEN you are driving, the drive can be terrible.

Check a handful of the major rental companies and see what they quote.

 

I've never done it before, but just plugging in random days...

It looks like it would run anywhere from $35 to $100 per day depending on car type and day of the week. Right now, it looks like Alamo or Thrifty would be the cheapest, but I would suspect rates will change.

 

ive never done a one way rental.

but I drive all the time to vegas from the LA area. Ive done it with rentals also. The rentals (without a deal) usually run 20-30 bux a day for a compact. So for 2 days plus gas.. You are out $100, plus time at least 4 hours and liability of driving. One way rental will be even more.

A flight on spirit airlines from LAX could be 30-60 one way. And 130 one way if you book last minute. Id fly if it was a short trip and you are flexible with flight times. Southwest also has tons of flights from multiple neighbor hoods of LA, that can be 69 to 89 each way.

what part of LA are you visiting?

 

One way out of state rentals often have additional per mile fees. I was going to do Vegas to LA via rental car but the per mile fee way just too much.

 

We did San Diego to Vegas once, which is similar. Dollar in SD did not charge a drop-off fee for one-way rental that time. Sometimes, companies want to move cars from city to city, so they waive the fee. This could be true right now for Florida destinations, for example. You just have to check the company websites, or call, and see what policy is in place for your dates. The fee could be pretty steep.

Take the insurance only if your credit card does not already cover it. Look for "loss of use" coverage. Lots of credit cards already have you covered if you have used them to pay for the rental. Insurance is pure profit for the rental agency. Also, check the car carefully. Take photos on your camera phone before you leave the lot and after you return. Rental companies will try to shake you down for accident damage you didn't cause or that does not even exist.

 

Thanks. Good info there. I am not visiting LA at all, friend and I just think the experience would be neat

 

At the risk of being flippant: Plug your travel date into any of the provider or consolidator websites and see the cost.

As noted above, know what kind of coverage you do/don't have with your insurance and the credit card to be used for the rental. Depending on time of day and day the drive could be 4+ hours to 8. Once you get out of the basin, you traverse a couple low mountain passes and the Mojave Desert. We find the desert quite scenic, even this stretch which isn't exactly Arizona-like in its scenery. Good luck.

 

You might or could get really lucky. Sometimes smaller rental car companies, like sixt, have a car they need to return to Nevada. So they will discount the car rental since they need to return the car back to the state.

I got lucky with a one way rental from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, because the car they had in Nevada had California plates and they wanted the car back to California. It was $34 total taxes fees insurance included for a Toyota Camry. So call around and ask. Im guessing though if you do it same day, you'll have a much better chance.

 

No point in going to Los Angeles for a 1 day or 2. The city is spread out and you would spend too much time driving to see very little.

 

As a native Southlander, I disagree. Not about being able to do a LOT of mindless driving -- whether at 5 mph bumper to bumper or at 80 mph bumper to bumper -- that's a given. But broken down into nodes, LA probably has more to "offer" than any other such space in the states. It doesn't approach NYC for food, Chicago beats it for sports mania, Boston knocks the history. But "LA" has some of most everything.

But the OP obviously isn't interested in So Cal tips from locals and natives.

 

Shit no, you're a) spoiled, b) no longer objective, c) trying to Bogart the good stuff.

 

I did this many times when I worked for an airline and flew for free. Flights to LAS would be full, however I could get into one of the 4 airports in the LA area with no issues. Hotwire always seemed to have a good price, even with the one way fee.