Ford Mustang/convertible car rental in Los Angeles

AzZ

AzZ

AzZ

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Joined
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Manchester
Hey everyone, I know a few people here have done this kind of thing before so I was looking for some advice regarding car rental in the US.

Basically, I’m going to be flying to LA next month with a couple of friends and wanted to hire out a convertible dates are: 14th May- 28th May. Usually this wouldn’t be an issue but where I’m running into difficulty is the various age policies of the rental companies. We’re all 24 , so I’m not sure how much of an issue this is going to be. Some say you have to be 25 for certain vehicle classes, others say there will be a young driver fee.

Are any rental companies more lenient than others with regards to age when hiring with a UK license? I’ve managed to rent before (not in the US) and they’ve not bothered with a young driver fee so it seems a matter of luck. Ideally I’d like to secure a Mustang but at this point in time any drop top would suffice.

I’ve just used price comparison engines to get rates for now (Kayak, Skyscanner) but if there’s a better way to secure what I’m after I’m all ears. Can anyone offer some input as to who I need to contact or where to look? I’d hate to arrive there and have them say ‘Sorry mate’ or shaft us with a load of fees.

Just to add, one of my friends who works for Enterprise here in the UK has reserved a convertible through their staff portal but again, he is not 25. What’s the likelihood of them rejecting this reservation when we arrive (pay on arrival so nothing has been paid yet)

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.
 
My advice would be, and I apologise for being a little negative. To email the companies and ask them specifically. Seems like a varying option on whatever car or contract you take, with that in mind they would be best suited to just email you back surely?
 
This is going to be a pain.

The good news is that renting a convertible that ISNT a Mustang is more difficult than renting one that is - they are cheap, cheerful and the rental fleets are full of them so there is little point in rental firms ordering anything else.

The bad news is that rental firms hate under 25's.

Alamo, who are usually my number one recommendation, will charge you $25+tax a day for underage drivers, for each underage driver. The base price of a Mustang is about 473 quid for your dates, the underage fees are going to add about 300 quid on top of that. They are offering no availability on Convertibles direct but you can get one if you book it through Virgin Holidays.

This is probably your best bet.
 
I waited until just after my 25th birthday (4 days iirc) to do our first American road trip in a Mustang for this very reason.
 
I drove one when I was 22, You can hire them they just charge you a fortune on top.

Luckily I wasn't paying and I was the only person who had/willing to drive on the wrong side.

Who ever is in the Back I hope they have little legs and you don't have a lot of baggage the boot space is tiny, a couple of suitcases is your lot
 
Get in touch with RentalCars.com - they have a free phone number in a UK based call centre with trained staff who can help. When you call though, don't select the option or call the Sales Line, you need to speak to Service (used to be option 2 on the phone picker)

When I worked for them (a few years back) they have a Young Drivers Premium Package which includes all young driver fee's, additional drivers (who are aged 21 years +) and your first tank of fuel

I think it was offered by all 4 of the big hire companies (Dollar, Alamo, National and Thrifty) and I am sure RentalCars have more suppliers on offer now.

You pre-pay for the rental upfront so its all sorted before you arrive in LAX.

You lose nothing by calling in to them so I would give them a bell and see what they say
 
As covered above, a convertible with more then 2 people would be too many in my opinion. That said, the limit of 25 years old and over still applies to all cars.

VincentHanna said:
Well yeah, but what's the point in having a convertible and not having the roof down?
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You won't want the roof down in mid-Summer ! :D
 
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ChroniC said:
I would just rent it under one or two drivers and then do the dishonest thing of letting them drive it anyway.
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He said they are all 24.

I actually forgot to do my wife's documents at Alamo when collecting the car and she drove around for 3 weeks uninsured before I mentioned it on the flight home.
 
The problem i am finding with car rental is that no one will guarantee that the car you think you have ordered is the car you will get. All the major companies have a "or similar" caveat on their websites. I even emailed a few of them and they confirmed that ordering any car may result in getting the "or similar" option. You may think you ordered a Mustang but when you pick up the car it is something else.
 
flowrider99 said:
The problem i am finding with car rental is that no one will guarantee that the car you think you have ordered is the car you will get. All the major companies have a "or similar" caveat on their websites. I even emailed a few of them and they confirmed that ordering any car may result in getting the "or similar" option. You may think you ordered a Mustang but when you pick up the car it is something else.
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I found Alamo great, we went SUV class and then I waited outside until a GM Tahoe became available as all the other SUV's were not as good, was determined to have a V8. :D
 
flowrider99 said:
The problem i am finding with car rental is that no one will guarantee that the car you think you have ordered is the car you will get. All the major companies have a "or similar" caveat on their websites. I even emailed a few of them and they confirmed that ordering any car may result in getting the "or similar" option. You may think you ordered a Mustang but when you pick up the car it is something else.
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If you order a convertible class (Mustang or similar) you will either get a Mustang or Camaro. Every time I have rented this class I've been able to pick either without issue.

If for some reason they have no Mustangs you could wait round for a few minutes until one is returned (they have hundreds of cars coming in and going out each day at LAX so you wouldn't be waiting long) or you could just take the Camaro and come back the next day / pop into any Alamo swap.

For me, renting a Mustang or similar is as close to guaranteeing me a Mustang as possible.
 
I rented a mustang from Alamo in LA and they had eight of them to choose from, each a different colour (which the Mrs then chose).
 
ChroniC said:
I would just rent it under one or two drivers and then do the dishonest thing of letting them drive it anyway.
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This is the most stupid piece of advice you can possibly give - do not screw with insurance in the USA, if you are involved in an accident, perhaps it might not even be your fault but the perp runs away, you are in for a whole world of hurt and pain if you are not properly insured. You might not get the opportunity to pretend somebody else was driving.

Seriously - don't do it. Don't do it anywhere let alone the USA.
 
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