Seeking advice on renting a car. Probably mostly dumb questions.

As far as Valet, if you don’t mind walking I’d skip it. You usually won’t save any time, as you have to wait for the valet. I’m a germaphobe, and in Covid-19 era, I’d especially stay away from valet. I also use anti bacterial wipes to clean everything I’ll touch. I’d hate to do that every time I valet, that’s why I don’t use it. Plus I like the exercise I get from walking.

 

As others stated...sign up for Members, ala Budget Fast Break, Dollar, etc...
You go DIRECTLY to the car or kiosk, NO waiting at the counters.

I have signed up for Budget, Dollar, Thrifty, Alamo, and Payless.
And then I continue to look for the best deal, even though most of the time it's Budget/Costco or Dollar.

 

Though it was not clear, I do not think the OP has a car, and therefore does not have any auto insurance already, like most of us.

 

Know YOUR policy, if you even have a policy. Do not ASSUME your CC has the added coverage your policy might be lacking.

 

Yeah, good point. I only skimmed through the posts. He probably doesn't.

GG

 

As NSH stated, that is indeed correct that I do not have a car and thus no car insurance of my own.

I specifically didn't seek out insurance-related info in this thread at first, primarily because my situation is unusual compared to that of the average VMB member (since most of you own a car, and wouldn't be able to speak firsthand about renting a car without your own insurance), and secondarily because of how complicated insurance is when you're talking about inter-jurisdictional considerations between any insurance I may have here in Ontario, and any insurance I might get at the level of wherever I rent.

98green, you are absolutely spot on from what I have read so far about insurance. I won't be cutting any corners at all, even if it ends up making my rental more costly.

And Ken - yup, that echoes exactly what I was thinking... and this is arguably a third factor in why I didn't bother bringing up insurance here. While I'm sure 95% of general best practices about credit card insurance for car rentals is consistent, that's not something I'm going to leave to chance. As I stated in an earlier post, I'll be running this by a local expert who will know my exact policy, and will be able to find where my gaps are. I don't know much about car insurance, but I do know that car insurance isn't the kind of thing to assume "it's probably fine" about considering what's at stake.

I'm reasonably comfortable navigating urban Toronto, though admittedly that's only because I either know where I'm going or because I've been told (e.g., by my instructor) where to go. Getting more navigating experience is definitely part of what I want to get out of some roadtrips I'll be doing here likely before it's time to take any trips. But you're absolutely correct that getting a feel for traffic and congestion combined with navigating will take some practice.

This is a great point to bring up. Admittedly, I've always wanted to do the "baller" move of tossing my keys to the valet like I've seen in movies. But considering that using valet in a rental is an insurance liability with relatively little benefit to outweigh that risk, I can feel rather confident about skipping it.

 

My experience as a Brit is that we will not get coverage from our home insurer, and will, therefore, get a better deal going with a third party that includes the full insurance package.

We usually check with Travelsupermarket, Netflights, Expedia, Rentalcars.com and then cross-check directly with the company with the best prices. Usually, the prices with the third party which include the full insurance package are not a great deal more than the direct cost from the supplier.

I have recently cancelled a 14-day reservation with Rentalcars.com that we had booked for our next (now cancelled) trip in April/May. We got a full refund as per their policy. Have never had a problem with them.
The price for that rental, including all insurances but excluding sat-nav and digital radio was $350. The price direct from the same company without any coverage was $289. I dread to think how much they would have charged us for the full insurance package since we could not use our UK insurance.

Several years ago we were in line at TI to pick up our Dollar rental car. The couple in front of us were Australian and thought they had a great deal booking direct. Their deal was slightly cheaper than ours and we congratulated them. We listened when they got to the counter, and it cost them almost the same price again to be able to drive out of there with full insurance. No bearing on you as a Canadian, but a cautionary tale all the same.

I also agree with the people saying no to valet, not worth the risk if anything happens. When Dollar was at all the MGM casinos, they had a message board on the counter to say that if you handed your keys to a third party, your insurance would be void. That was a long time ago, but I expect that is still valid.

 

Just flip over any valet ticket and read the liability disclaimer.

 

The actual car rental cost will be far less than insurance. With that said, I would continue to NOT rent while in Vegas. Only rent when you are doing the trips out of town.

 

Over the years, I've had conversations with the local TA down the hall, my insurance agent, and a Visa insurance supervisor, mainly regarding coverage (or lack of same) for nuisance items such as loss of use, loss of value, etc., in the event of a rental car accident or incident.

The good news is that technically, I appear to be covered by both my primary auto insurance and credit card insurance and will, eventually, be made whole in the event of an incident.

The bad news is that should there be an incident, it will seldom be "walk away" unless I take out the LDW offered by the rental agency.

My insurance agent, that's the lady with all of the Cxxx titles after her name on her business card, says that even with coverage for those items, it's seldom hassle-free. Rental agencies are legally allowed to ding the credit card for "losses" well into the 4-5 figure range, although some agencies are more amenable and will work with the renter's insurance/card company. She said that she takes out the LDW herself and recommends it for anyone who does not want a hassle in the event of an accident.

I asked her about those rental car insurance sites, which do claim to cover such things as loss of use and she said that would simply duplicate the coverage I already have and would not negate the hassle of claim filing and such. She did say that one advantage to it is that if I took that coverage and had a claim, it would probably not appear on my claim record (CLUE database?) and probably would not ding my insurance score. I did pay attention to "probably" used in a few cases.

The TA pointed out that many national-brand rental agencies are franchises and some are more willing to play nice than others. She said that agencies in popular tourist locations can indeed be jerks about things.

The credit card company was a run-around, and FINALLY I was transferred to a supervisor who knew what I was talking about. I remember a few of her statements, such as "We end up paying maybe 10% or so of the loss-of-use claims." and "They will often back off when we start requesting fleet utilization records ..." but would not commit to stating flat out that I would be covered for nuisance loss-of-use and loss-of-value and such.

The bottom line seems to be that industry professionals are very hesitant to say that yes, I am fully covered for such nuisance charges.

So? Do I take out the LDW?

Sometimes.

In Las Vegas with Enterprise, usually not. They always inspect the car with you and note any dents and dings and said that their standard is something along the line of a golf-ball size dent. I get the vibes that they would work with me if an incident occurred, and I would be made whole, eventually.

In the NYC area, usually, even with Enterprise, just to be sure in the event of an incident.

If I ever have to go with Budget/Dollar/Popeil/etc. I'll often times take out the LDW as, as I said, as I grow older I'm more willing to pay for convenience and lack of hassle.

Please throw soft stones.

 

As a frequent car renter for business you have been getting some GREAT advice here. I've only ever had one jackpot renting for a business trip and it was a nightmare. Thankfully my employers insurance handled it but the rental location tried to pull a fast one.

I KNOW you will be prepared NFC and will protect yourself, but given your history a slice of advice. PICTURES. Take pictures of the car before and after the rental. I know they go over it with you, but even if they note whatever the scratch, dent etc might be they won't take pictures of it. Do a very thorough walk around before and after your rental. They can get you out of any potential situation a devious rental place might want to put you in.

 

I remember taking a business law class taught by a local lawyer, and him specifically saying the language on a valet ticket is all bullshit. He specifically called out the "No bailment is created" line. Now, he could have just been blowing smoke, but I tended to believe him.

 

Unless enforced, it's all bullshit. I also don't know a lot of cases being litigated or settled. Your mileage will vary.

 

I have lawyers in the family and they use the term "contract of adhesion" for such drek. I know there are several points where they fail to meet the legal definition of a binding contract.

 

Driving in Las Vegas and surrounding areas is ten times easier and nicer than Toronto and surrounding areas. Vegas drivers get a bad rap but sorry Toronto drivers are way worse and traffic way more congested. In terms of knowing where you are going $10 cell phone holder on the windshield with Google maps and bobs your uncle. Insurance wise I always just depended on my credit card but I'm a little more fly by the seat of my pants than you are. I'm sure you will research the credit card coverage better than anyone and would be nice to find out what you come back with. Congratulations on the DL no idea how you made it this long without. Don't forget when in US 100 is not highway speed 60 is lol. You're trips were quite extensive without a car, can only imagine with one.