Nice tips Ben! Will be handy in the future. In case you're interested, I remembered that I asked for some tips for driving routes http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-driving-routes-in-and-around-the-Bay-Area
Stay safe! Rai On Mon, Jan 2, 2012 at 7:10 AM, Ben Sand <b...@bensand.com> wrote: > Thanks for the replies, especially Rai who led me to a $500 saving on > insurance. > > Here's what I ended up doing and some further savings. > > Car: > Booked an iCar (Corolla/Focus/etc) with Alamo via Kayak.com > Pickup in San Francisco downtown > $21/day for the car > > Insurance: > $15/day for the LDW (loss damage waiver) = first party property, fire and > theft > this comes straight from Alamo. > $454/6months of Non owner's insurance from Farmers insurance > http://www.farmers.com/. Just use google maps to find a local agent, I > used Nancy Hu in Downtown SF, let me know if you want her details. > You can get a pro rata refund when you cancel it, less the $15.90 policy > and government fee. You can select options to cover third party property > for 500k/1m, third party personal for 500k/1m and people inside the car for > 10k/25k medical expenses and choose the level of the deductible (what we > call "excess"). > > Further savings: > * If you're willing to get a car one size smaller, then the car is $1/day > cheaper and the LDW is $6/day cheaper. I prefer the iCar size or larger for > safety. > * You can still save $6/day on LDW insurance if you use one of the > booking websites to provide insurance instead of the rental company. I > would advise against this, as they will only pay up once you've already > paid the rental company, so you need a spare up to $20k if the car gets > totalled. > * If you use a-acar.com rentals then you'll save ~$250/month on car hire > and insurance, but you'll have an older car and won't get unlimited kms > included or a state wide support network of replacement cars should > something go wrong. He can only offer you a collision damage waiver though > (at $9/day), so there's no way to get fire or theft coverage for his cars. > Steve is a really nice guy though, but just didn't have options I was > comfortable with. > > Happy new year and safe driving to all, > > Ben > > > On 14 December 2011 14:19, Rai <dekraz...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Hey Ben, >> >> I used http://www.a-acar.com when Enterprise raised their insurance >> rates. The guy runs it out of a trailer next to a mechanic garage, but >> don't let that turn you off. His cars are ok - I go an early 2000s Camry >> which ran fine. The airconditioning wouldn't cool, but overall no >> complaints. (Although I went with him cos I wanted the Impreza, but they >> were all out :() >> He organised insurance for me through State Farm and it was a year ago >> now, but if I recall correctly, it cost me something between US$200-300 for >> 6 months. And they refunded the remaining months' fee when I was done with >> the rental 3/1/2 months in. >> Worked out well enough for me. >> >> You might be able to do the same with State Farm even if renting from >> another company. >> >> If you do go to him (I forget his name now) - he's an F1 fan and warms up >> when you chat about it. He doesn't get enough of that conversation in his >> part of the world :) >> >> Hope that helps, >> Rai >> >> >> On Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 2:46 AM, gap <obscure...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Insurance isn't a bigger deal for rentals in the US because apparently >>> majority of Americans have insurance coverage by way of their personal >>> car insurance and many US issued credit cards provide some insurance, >>> hence if you're from Australia you need the full load of insurance. >>> Ignore the people that tell you that stuff is included with your >>> credit card, etc. >>> >>> The other thing to be careful of are the payout limits - different >>> states have different rules, but you want to calculate for you causing >>> the write-off of some person's sports cars or huge medical bills for >>> some family, etc. i.e. Don't skimp. >>> >>> Whether you buy coverage for the lose of your personal belongings from >>> the car is something you could weigh up as optional. Do your research >>> from the car rental websites regarding what the three letter insurance >>> codes mean. I find they have limited info at the rental counters, or >>> it's on something you can't sit down and read. If you prebook from >>> Australia, they will try to upsell on stuff when you go to pick up. >>> >>> The refuelling tip is a good one. You can either return full, pre-buy >>> an option where they refill (which costs more than yourself), but if >>> you do neither they will charge you some outrageous amount. >>> >>> The usual point of doing business over there applies (which really >>> hits for hotels) is that prices are ex-tax and charges, so be ready >>> for trickle of extra charges. >>> >>> Greg >>> >>> On Dec 14, 3:17 am, Patrick Collins <pcolli...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> > For a one month booking you have a lot of bargaining power. I booked a >>> car for a month and got the costs cut in half by being in their face and >>> haggling. >>> > >>> > Insurance is typically covered under standard work errors & omissions >>> insurance coverage and so they actually expect to you to not buy insurance. >>> > >>> > Be sure to fill up the car before you return it or then you will feel >>> the true sting of rental costs. >>> > >>> > Patrick. >>> > >>> > Sent from my iPhone >>> > >>> > On Dec 13, 2011, at 3:03 AM, Ben Sand <b...@bensand.com> wrote: >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > > I'm planning a one month car hire in January. Any tips on how to cut >>> the insurance cost? >>> > >>> > > Plenty of cars for $20/day but they all seem to come with zero >>> insurance. >>> > >>> > > All the companies are quoting rates like this: >>> > > First party property: $15/day >>> > > 3rd party personal + property: $13/day >>> > > First party and passengers personal: $6/day >>> > > total: $33/day >>> > >>> > > Most have a $1million max payment as well, so here's hoping I don't >>> hit a Veyron. >>> > >>> > > I've been told using a Visa or Mastercard will take care of 3rd >>> party personal and property, but I've spoken to Bendigo Bank, NAB and HSBC >>> and they all seemed to think that wasn't the case. >>> > >>> > > I've heard if you have car insurance in the states it will cover you >>> while you're using a rental - any chance I could sign some up while I'm >>> over there before I drive the car out of the rental lot? >>> > >>> > > Thanks, >>> > >>> > > Ben >>> > >>> > > -- >>> > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon >>> Beach Australia mailing list. Visthttp://siliconbeachaustralia.orgfor more >>> > >>> > > Forum rules >>> > > 1) No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself. >>> > > 2) No jobs postings. You can usehttp:// >>> siliconbeachaustralia.org/jobs >>> > >>> > > To post to this group, send email to >>> > > silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com >>> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> > > silicon-beach-australia+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >>> > > For more options, visit this group at >>> > >http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en?hl=en >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon >>> Beach Australia mailing list. Vist http://siliconbeachaustralia.org for >>> more >>> >>> Forum rules >>> 1) No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself. >>> 2) No jobs postings. You can use http://siliconbeachaustralia.org/jobs >>> >>> >>> To post to this group, send email to >>> silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> silicon-beach-australia+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en?hl=en >>> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon Beach >> Australia mailing list. Vist http://siliconbeachaustralia.org for more >> >> Forum rules >> 1) No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself. >> 2) No jobs postings. You can use http://siliconbeachaustralia.org/jobs >> >> >> To post to this group, send email to >> silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> silicon-beach-australia+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en?hl=en >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon Beach > Australia mailing list. Vist http://siliconbeachaustralia.org for more > > Forum rules > 1) No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself. > 2) No jobs postings. You can use http://siliconbeachaustralia.org/jobs > > > To post to this group, send email to > silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > silicon-beach-australia+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en?hl=en > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon Beach Australia mailing list. Vist http://siliconbeachaustralia.org for more Forum rules 1) No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself. 2) No jobs postings. You can use http://siliconbeachaustralia.org/jobs To post to this group, send email to silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to silicon-beach-australia+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en?hl=en
