2000 mile USA road trip, worth spending the $$$ on car hire?

[Trustmeimadoctor]

seriously suv or luxo barge with v8 is the way to go will be more enjoyable when your not aching from a sporty suspension etc cooled seats are a god send when its 115 deg the shade

[Roo]

yellowbentines said:

I think thirsty V8 land barge is the way forward, return it in Vegas a couple of days before we fly home, and explore the surrounds in a 'Vette for a couple of days.

Perfect solution.

[anonymous-user]

Do it on a bike like wot we did.
Tahoe money for Mustang fun.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 24th October 01:20

[Nickyboy]

Just finished a 1200 mile trip in a Tahoe, lovely cruising machine. Mainly driving across from Vegas to Arizona so a lot of it was flat so the car just cruised nicely on 4 cylinders. It has no power obviously but its not like you need it. It has all the toys etc so is ideal for a road trip.



With Vermont plates it was certainly a long way from home.

Showed this a lot however




Also had this for a day, lovely car! 2nd time of renting one, looks awesome, drives lovely and out of the 3 cars you listed was the loudest.




My brother had a Challenger, while this looks awesome the interior is very dated in comparison to the Camaro and in my opinion not a nice place to be for long periods of time.


We chatted to the chap on the Hertz desk for a long time as both my brothers cars were out, one was upgraded to a Vette from a Mustang and the other had to wait as his Challenger was being prepped. What he did say was that if you want a muscle car such as something from the Adrenaline collection the cheapest option is to upgrade at the desk from your standard car, they'll happily upgrade you as they want the standard cars for package deals and on the days renters. We were offered a new Stingray for $150 for a day, normally its $850. You run the risk of them not having what you want but then you just stick with the Tahoe but he said they always have something.

[Kenty]

SUV every time for me, see more, roomy, go well.
Had a Durango and think it is best out there. As said above yank muscle cars are awfull to drive and only perform in a straight line and sometimes not that!

[FiF]

Trustmeimadoctor said:

regarding what i said unmade gravel roads also void insurance there is quite a risk of punctures !

Well some years ago I asked this very question. Instead of a car from the job garage we were given a renter which had the off road clause.

But we had to go to an area where we would be on gravel roads so I called the rental firm. Explained the situation and asked if it meant just to stick to blacktop and they were very clear that by off road they meant literally off roads, i.e. not on mapped roads. Blacktop / gravel made no difference, if you were on a mapped road then OK.

Having said that one of the property driveways we drove up was about 5 miles long and as rough as old a-holes but got away with it.

Was a few years ago now and rules may have changed but they were very clear about the situation.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

You were lucky ours specifically said unpaved roads

[Matt..]

I've been on a few US road trips over the last few years (11,000miles +), and tend to have something normal for the majority of it, then something fun at the end. When i did a trip that had your route at the end of it, i had a Challenger R/T for SF to LA. For my cross country trip i had a Charger for most it it, then a Corvette for California.

I'd recommend that approach if you're unsure. Though it's not always easy to get a one way rental on the fun cars anymore.

[zedstar]

Last year I had 2 cars from Hertz, one was a GL450 mercedes, loved that car as it was so comfortable and perfect for long distance cruising, going shopping etc. For the first 3 day rental we had a Penske Mustang, that was great, very powerful, very loud and very slidey. For 3 weeks cruising I'd go for an SUV all the time.

Or play the Hertz lottery. Book something standard and see what's available for upgrade.... I was very lucky, got the GL as an upgrade from a RAV4 (all full size SUVs were on offer), and got the Penske from an adrenaline Mustang.

[yellowbentines]

Thanks all for the input, the decision was made and I booked a Tahoe "or similar" full-size SUV with guaranteed gas-guzzling V8 engine, for the perfectly palatable all inclusive sum of £740 for 3 weeks, unlimited miles, all insurances.

Re: the post above quoting $850 daily rate for a Corvette Stingray, I think the desk agent may have been telling porkies to make the deal seem better than it is! In addition to the SUV I'm going to hire something nice for a day or two along the way, and on the Hertz website a Camaro SS is yours for £109, a Corvette convertible £128 and so on - all inclusive price and no haggle required, the only car that came up at around $850 a day was the E63 AMG.

Time to plan a route...

[Nickyboy]

yellowbentines said:

Thanks all for the input, the decision was made and I booked a Tahoe "or similar" full-size SUV with guaranteed gas-guzzling V8 engine, for the perfectly palatable all inclusive sum of £740 for 3 weeks, unlimited miles, all insurances.

Re: the post above quoting $850 daily rate for a Corvette Stingray, I think the desk agent may have been telling porkies to make the deal seem better than it is! In addition to the SUV I'm going to hire something nice for a day or two along the way, and on the Hertz website a Camaro SS is yours for £109, a Corvette convertible £128 and so on - all inclusive price and no haggle required, the only car that came up at around $850 a day was the E63 AMG.

Time to plan a route...

The price i quoted was one i had seen myself when they were first introduced to the Hertz fleet, now they seem to be a more palatable $300

[yellowbentines]

Nickyboy said:

The price i quoted was one i had seen myself when they were first introduced to the Hertz fleet, now they seem to be a more palatable $300

[thehawk]

I've had all 3 of their muscle cars. The Mustang GT is definitely the most muscle car like IMO, great noise from the V8 and looks the part.

The Camaro SS is too civilised. The Challenger R/T Hemi is pretty good, looks wild but is just not as well sorted overall as the Mustang.

[K50 DEL]

When I did that route it was part of a 3 week 6,000 mile road trip all the way around California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon etc
I chose to hire a Nissan 350z roadster for the trip, was pretty much the same cost as a mid-size SUV but a lot more fun

[David Beer]

I love the Camaro SS convertable had five over the years. Took one from New York and dropped off in LA. The maddest route was San antonio Texas to Palm springs on Xmas day, 1400 miles .