Orlando Car Hire

The1nonly1 · 23 Oct 2018 at 20:01

Hi, I'm looking to book a trip to Orlando next September and usually I would book everything through Virgin but this time I'm doping it separately as it's cheaper but the one thing I am not sure of is car hire. With Virgin, you get their car insurance but how do I get this if I book car hire on it's own?

Also, what is the best website to book a car through?

Thanks.

Azza · 23 Oct 2018 at 20:05

My parents used Dollar Rent a Car while there were there a couple of weeks a go and had no issues.

b0rn2sk8 · 23 Oct 2018 at 21:50

Virgin holidays normally offer a decent price on car hire when booking it on its own through their site, just make sure which ever site you use has all the insurances included. Its normally refereed to as a 'collision damage waiver' and normally absolves you from any damage to the car with zero excess. Check the small print as always.

Comparison sites:
carhire3000
uscarhire

Usual travel site:
Kayak
Sky Scanner
Expedia
Travel Supermarket
Holiday Extras
etc.

You could also go direct, through their respective UK website:
Alamo
Avis
Enterprise
Dollar
Hertz
Etc.

Just book which ever is cheapest for the class of car you want and includes insurance. Pretty much all the companies are the same and offer very similar stocks of vehicles. Don't book it through a US website as it will certainly not come with the required insurances and is often more expensive.

You don't need to take any additional insurance they will try and sell you when you get there, it is optional but its up to you if you take it or not. Don't hire a satnav and use google maps and a local sim card/roaming on your phone.

EDIT:
https://www.autoeurope.co.uk/travel-blog/car-hire-coverage-in-the-usa-explained/

/thread

Calpol · 23 Oct 2018 at 22:13

I used Rentalcars.com, I also bought Excess insurance separately in the UK. YOu can shop around comparison sites for it. One thing to watch is the Toll roads in Orlando. Not all of them have cash tolls and many of the rental co.s will charge you a fee for any that you use the auto toll (think Dart Tag from UK). It cost me c $60 retrospective.

The1nonly1 · 23 Oct 2018 at 22:13

Thanks @b0rn2sk8 lots of useful information. I've seen commissio damage waiver on a few sites but didn't know what it was.

[TW]Fox · 23 Oct 2018 at 22:36

Calpol said:
I also bought Excess insurance separately in the UK.

Why? It's zero excess isn't it?

Howard · 24 Oct 2018 at 07:46

When I went to Florida last year, the hire car (including all the right insurance clobber) was a fair bit cheaper through Virgin Holidays than anywhere else. It included an extra driver at no cost, too.

Abyss · 24 Oct 2018 at 07:57

Same when we went to Vegas, the car hire through Virgin was very competitive.

I've also used usrentacar as a broker and Dollar before.

The1nonly1 · 24 Oct 2018 at 11:33

Thanks. I never new that you could just book car hire through Virgin.

acemastr · 24 Oct 2018 at 13:23

Orlando airport has MANY rental places around it, SixT was always cheapest for me when I came here.