tallsteve

I know, they don't handle particularly well but.. I'm probably going to be renting something to do a bit of a fly-drive trip and would like to get something vaguely decent for the trip but don't know which (if any) of the rental motors are worth going for.

Part of me says go for the trad Mustang stop top - but the new ones seem a bit weedy (190bhp from a 3.2 V6!?)

What about the Camaro, or is it more of the same?

Budget is about the £250 mark for about 8 days rental.

Would be grateful for any experiences of US hire motors.. Cheers!

RON

Went earlier in the year, and bokked through www.holidayautos.co.uk went smoothly, no problems, we had a chevy trailblazer 4wd thing.... but wallowy.... but went nearly everywhere we asked it to over 23 days..... 3810 miles in total, 3-400 off road....

scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

My dad is going to Florida next week and has booked a Chyrsler Sebring Convertible for 2 weeks, I think it cost him £350. Showed me this morning a picture of the car and how much, but driving round in the Florida sun with the roof down doesnt get any better.

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

eleanor

JackClark

Rent a Thunderbird, very nice car.

RON, I'll put money it wasn't 4WD. The majority of Trailblazers are 2WD, and I know that the ones hired out by at least one rental company sub'd by holiday autos only have 2WD. All the same mine went for a few desert excursions no problem.

NotoriousREV

Thunderbird is a very nice car. **** all boot space, though as anyone that saw me driving up and down the Las Vegas strip with suitcases in the passenger seat will testify

CyprusScooby

Get a Mustang! Sounds Great!

Dan J

Misubishi Eclipse convertible?

carl

Driving round in the Florida sun is better with a tintop and the aircon on, IMHO.

v8voodoo

New Mustang or new dodge charger I say.

Don't get a soft top.

ben1413

iTrader: (5)

We had a Jeep Grand Cherokee for a week which was OK. A really good lazy car, auto gearbox and 3.7 V6 but it was really sluggish and wallowy and the best we managed was 16 MPG!!

Nich B

Booked through holiday autos, cheapest I could find when you add in second driver all insurance etc

Out of New York State and up into Canada 16 days 2800 miles Chevrolet Malibu 3.5, OK for what we needed, in the past I have had a Ford F150FXT, which was awsome, Izuzu off road thing which was good for the trails we went up, and some other large Chrysler 4 door

Check your credit cards to see iif they give you discount mine did, 5% discount off of holiday autos

Petrol has gone up but nothing like it is here

Air con is a must, you only need a 4x4 if going off road, wouldnt get soft top, easy driving outside of the cities.

Enjoy

scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

Yeah you right.

But you get a better tan, with a convertible

Brendan Hughes

Check the insurance - they often rely on you to use your own insurance!

Most will also absolutely refuse to rent anything on a debit card - credit cards only. So if you have the money, they don't like you - if you need to borrow it, they trust you (Seriously, it's something to do with the guarantees offered... )

billythekid

I always use YES car hire. They use Alamo.

If you go for their "luxury" car (about £150 a week) then you get there you can choose any of the Alamo "VIP" cars. When I was there last (Jan) we got in quite late but there were still a few nice cars left, Escilade, STS, DeVille, couple of mercs and others. I wanted a 300c but they did not have any. I ended up choosing the STS Hemi. Was quick and not bothered about handling as all the roads are straight. Drove from Miami to Orlando and back in a day - was very comfy.

If you do use YES its worth checking that you get the "VIP" deal.

RON

Nope, Defo 4wd, cos i had them all spinning in snow
Plus the fact, it had a button which gave me the choice of 2wd, 4wd, or 4wd diffs locked

tallsteve

Thanks for the input guys!

I've had a bit more of a look around and I must admit that the thought of a Ford 150 Lightning is appealing! The Thunderbird is another possible, fair warning about the luggage space!

I'll be using the credit card so no problems there - will check out the Alamo VIP range as well as the STS and big V8 beasties are appealing!

I'm thinking of going from Phoenix up to the Grand Canyon, then up into Utah to see more colourful and picturesque rocks (I'm a scenery junkie) before looping back into Vegas for a day or two and then back to Phoenix. Top down in the sun is appealing, but the sensible side says sunburn and more comfort with tin-top and AC.

Also found a place hiring out S4 Convertibles - I know it's not American, but it IS classy, has a V8 and would be something I'd actually aspire to...

Decisions!

Has anyone got links to various sites where they found their deals?

Nich B

If your in the Vegas area get yourself to the Northern Rim of the Grand Canyon less busy awsome views worth the trip

The Chief

Yes car rental seems very cheap - are they ok? they seem a lot cheaper than Hertz etc.

billythekid

I have used them several times for trips to the US and never had a problem. They use Alamo as YES are just agents. I was a bit worried the first time I used them but like I said always been ok.

TopBanana

I had a Pontiac Grand Prix which did the job but I wish I'd gone for something beefier

RON

If you fancy a little challenge, you could always drive the ONLY road to the bottom of the canyon, well, more of a gravel track really.....

Me and mum at the bottom.....


And me driving back out to show what we had to drive through to get down there..... 21 miles of gravel/dirt, and 1 miles of river bed.....WET!!!

JackClark

Doh!!

~~ Cal ~~

I got a Pontiac Grand Am thorugh Avis - 3.0 litre V6 - handled like a dawg but was very comfortable I could lay down nice nice balck lines with the auto box too