I am off to New Orleans in a few weeks and would like to hire a car.
Does any one have any company preference?
What should i look out for as far as extra insurance,damage wavier etc.
Last but not least is that i still have the old fashioned pink driving license without a photo.Will they accept this ok?
Sorry if all this has been covered before.
Regards
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I use Dollar - I got a Dollar Express Card - www.dollar.com/express/learnmore.aspx
Saves a lot of messing and queuing with smelly Brits.
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Yes, they'll accept the old licence.
If you book through the UK webpage of the the hire companies then you'll get an all-inclusive rate. There are lots of agencies that people use too - we've used USRentACar a few times, but there are loads of them.
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Just booked a car in Phoenix - Argusy was the best price I could find and my b-i-l had used them before. They are a broker type operator and I have to collect my car from a main hirer (can't remember who offhand)
And if you use quidco you get cashback as well.
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I always use Hertz. Nice modern Ford fleet.
Although using my friends cars is a better option.
ps. The Hertz convertible aka Mustang, is only the crabby 4.0 V6 variant.
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We always use Enterprise, had dozens/hundreds of cars through them, never had any problems.
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I use Hertz, as said, modern cars, good handy depots and good back up. Plus I have a Hertz gold card with my old corporate discount still valid on it!
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Thanks for the answers so far guys.I am glad they will take my old style license.I will check out Hertz and Enterprise and the others and let you know.
Are there any pointers to driving in America?Can you hire sat nav's with the vehicle?
Whats this i've heard about driving through red lights if turning a certain way?
Any other differences in driving over there?
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There are four major things to watch in the states when driving.
1/ The school bus
If the yellow school bus stops and lights flash and signs suddenly flap out the sides, traffic flowing both ways has to stop.
2/ The 4 way stop. Crossroads, where every side has a stop sign. everyone stops and filters over in turn
3/ Undertaking. On the freeway undertaking is allowable.
4/ Turn right on red. You can filter right on a red light if the traffic is clear except where signs forbid it.
Hertz rent sat nags, tomtoms now mainly, called "never lost" or some such thing. you'll need one, American road and direction signs are the very worse known to man.
Personally I avoid driving at night, cats eyes and lane markings are poor at night, and in the southern states in the heat there is a heat haze that shimmers over the road surface - quite disconcerting.
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Spot on advice from Zero
When turning right on red I always check & check again there are no signs forbidding it. And if pulled over for speeding, keep both hands visible on the wheel.
I booked flights with KLM last night, flying out next Monday. Looking forward to a dose of driving my friends 4.7 V8 Tundra around Tahoe again.
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Main thing about turning right on red is you're supposed to come to a stop first and not treat it like a give way - although in practice many do.
Check the local state's vehicle department driver guide. Many are strictly enforcing the "move over" law now, where you must move over to leave a clear lane between you and a stopped emergency vehicle, or slow to 20 below the limit if you can't move over.
One thing that's generally done in the US is to turn on headlamps if the wipers are on.
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>> 3/ Undertaking. On the freeway undertaking is allowable.
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Actually it's not (usually). You need to be careful in the US as the rules can vary by State usually you can undertake on all roads except freeways. In reality everyone does though.
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Stop sign means stop even if you have good visibility and there is nothing coming.
The car in front will stop. A bit like some drivers over here that always stop at roundabouts regardless if the way is clear.
I stupidly didn't research driving in the US and found the stop signs and priority confusing until googled.
Basically, priority is the order in which you arrive at the stop sign.
I used Budget. They were the best/clearest on price for picking up in Seattle and dropping of in Vegas.
No problems at all. Limited on car choice because of pickup/drop off. Mitsibushi Galant 2.3 V4 was a very capable cruiser.
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Car hire in America - R.P.
