Have you tried to rent a car these days? It used to be pretty simple. I would go to Kayak.com, do a search, find the best price and book the car. Then I would search discounts and check back a week before the rental to see if I could do better. This approach used to work pretty good but these days its gotten way more complicated.

Our latest experience was at O’Hare International Airport dealing with Fox Rental car. Now, I have used Fox at least six times and always been pleased with their service. They are owned by Eurocar which is one of the biggest car rental agencies in Europe. On this occasion we had a car rented for one week and were flying on an early morning flight into Chicago from Florida. Our plan was to pick the car up, drive over to Ohio for a few days to handle some business and see fiends, then return to spend 3 days with my parents in Glenview, Illinois. Everything was going smoothly and we arrived early at the Fox Rental Car Counter at the Rental Car Facility.

I approached the counter with our Priceline Itinerary, Driver’s License and Credit Card in hand and was greeted by a not-so friendly counter agent. “Can I see your Driver’s License and Credit Card please?, she asked. “Sure”, I replied and handed her the requested items. “So, what are your plans while in Chicago?” I responded that we were in town to check on my parents and see some friends. Reva added, “yes, we are going to see some family over in Ohio for a couple of days and then come back.” The Agent kept typing and things appeared to be going well. The agent smiled with an evil grin and stood up and handed my Driver’s license and Credit Card back to me. “I have good news and bad news for you”, she said. “The good news is that your reservation was not prepaid. The bad news is that we don’t let our cars be driven to the State of Ohio and therefore I am not renting you a car.” The smile on her face said it all. She was happy that she could destroy our travel plans. “You have got to be kidding”, was my response. I was in a state of shock. “Well, Payless might rent you a car but not us.” This exchange went on for a few minutes and we ended up just walking away, shaking our heads in disbelief and determining our plans for the week.

While we were at the counter, another man was deemed to be “DNR”. “Do not resuscitate?” I thought that was unusual for a rental car company to dictate life and death health decisions and factor that into rental agreements. It was quickly clarified that it meant “Do not rent”, since the system had identified an unpaid parking ticket in the man’s file….which was an error. All told, during the 20 minutes in line, I only saw one car actually rented by Fox…everyone else was denied. Kind of a strange way to run a business. Just turn away your customers and leave them stranded. I don’t think they are going to have much of a future.

We ended up taking an Uber to my parent’s house and re-booked a car from a local Hertz agency for about $130 dollars more for the week (much more expensive if we had rented on short notice at the airport), but we lost several hours doing the transaction and had to book an extra night in a hotel along the way. So this cost me about four hours of frustration and an extra $200 plus 10,000 Marriott Hotel points. Not a great start to a trip, but a good opportunity to revisit our rental car approach and share how we are doing it … it seems that just about anything goes in this wild rental car world.

1. I still use kayak to screen for the best rental car deals and usually book through Priceline or the car agency directly. I go through mypoints or a similar service to get money back (usually 4 to 6 % after the rental). I also check the price and rebook the car if the price drops…..it usually does about 2 weeks out from the rental period. But now, I read the special conditions for each rental. Turns out that unlimited miles does not really mean unlimited. In the case with Fox, they limit what states you can drive in and it turns out that most states are excluded…not just Ohio. In the case of the Illinois Fox location, they also exclude Michigan which is less than 100 miles away……but Kentucky is OK? So read that small print!
2. Avoid, at all cost, the cheaper than dirt, rental car companies…especially at the Orlando Airport. These scam agencies, typically lure you in with a $6/day rate and then refuse to accept your insurance and force you to pay $100s more at the counter. The horror stories are endless. I used to fight with them but its not worth the frustration. One time, I was going to be refused a rental, unless I presented my return flight documentation…because I had a Florida Driver’s license. Another time, I was rented a car with a nail in the tire, I had to stop twice a day to keep air in it. I didn’t want to take a chance and tell the company that the tire was damaged and have to deal with extra charges and paperwork.
3. My Capital One Venture X credit card provides primary rental car coverage and free “President’s Circle” access for Hertz Rental Car, which is a good option for most of our rentals. Sometimes an extra $20 on a rental is a good investment for the service provided. I have been told horror stories of rental cars being returned a hour late and drivers being assessed charges up to $80. With Hertz we are supposed to have a four-hour grace period, but I haven’t tried it yet. Also, I have read that they have very low prices if the car has minor damage. For example, if the windshield gets chipped, they supposedly will allow you to pay $15 when you return the car and they will repair it themselves. I have not utilized this, but there are many comments on the web regarding this policy.
4. In regards to rental car insurance, a good travel credit card will protect you from damage to the vehicle. However, remember that you still need liability insurance. Your personnal policy should cover that, but if you have USAA and have placed your car in storage, you may have very limited liability coverage.
5. Toll roads and rental cars are a nightmare, especially in Florida. We have our own toll transponder and use it with rental cars. Since they started the “toll by plate” system it has gotten more difficult. You need to make sure you change the license plate number in the account for the transponder and don’t forget to change it back. Often charges don’t post for several days and in the meantime you may pick up charges from others who rent the car after you. Also, if you change it before the tolls post, the rental car company will charge you after the fact with extra penalties. If you are renting only for a few days, it may be best to just accept the deal the rental car company offers you for tolls. We get burned every time on this!

So these are our lessons learned. Please feel free to comment and share your experiences. Good luck, getting on the road out there, ducks!