Exotic rental insurance cover USA
Discussion
Hi,
Not sure if this is the correct forum but perhaps LoonR1 or someone else knowledgeable might be able to help. I have tried Google!
I will be in Florida for a couple of weeks and am going to propose to my other half. I've rented a SUV via the normal channels but as part of the proposal I want to rent a Corvette or similar motor for a day. I've tried a few local firms and also the Enterprise exotic division; they have cars but they don't offer insurance as US citizens would normally have this on their own policies.
I realise you can get 3rd party excess cover policies but does anyone know any way of getting full insurance for this sort of thing?
Thanks for any help
Steve
Not sure if this is the correct forum but perhaps LoonR1 or someone else knowledgeable might be able to help. I have tried Google!
I will be in Florida for a couple of weeks and am going to propose to my other half. I've rented a SUV via the normal channels but as part of the proposal I want to rent a Corvette or similar motor for a day. I've tried a few local firms and also the Enterprise exotic division; they have cars but they don't offer insurance as US citizens would normally have this on their own policies.
I realise you can get 3rd party excess cover policies but does anyone know any way of getting full insurance for this sort of thing?
Thanks for any help
Steve
Roo said:
I've never heard of a non US citizen/resident not being offered full insurance cover.
Yes, I thought it was odd but I've spoken directly with the Enterprise exotic rental representative and they say for those vehicles they expect insurance cover or a credit card that will cover the full cost of the vehicle. Check out Hertz and their Fun/Prestige/Dream collections - all kinds of interesting cars available in the major branches. I've rented plenty of times from them (including a Corvette) with no insurance issues. I used to work for Enterprise (in the UK) - they're geared up for the replacement vehicle market rather than tourism, so probably not worth the hassle if you want something decent.
Edited by JulianHJ on Wednesday 30th December 22:27
Thanks all - appreciate it. I've tried Hertz and no such cars available at the location on the website but will try phoning the UK number tomorrow.
May just rent a limo and a driver for that day although she may then think something is going on - me renting a Corvette would not be unexpected!
May just rent a limo and a driver for that day although she may then think something is going on - me renting a Corvette would not be unexpected!
A sort of thumbs up for Hertz Adrenalin. I originally rented a Mustang online (V8 not the V6) rolled up and sure enough they didn't have my car - not available yet they said, coming in soon. An hour or so later I was told it was available but due to 2 almost bald tyres they wouldn't let it out. Cue some grumbling and told to take my pick of anything else in the garage.
Drove away in a new white Corvette which just squeezed in the skis I was carrying. Sideways to Lake Tahoe. Awesome, awesome fun. Went back later in the trip to try a Camaro V8 which was nowhere near as good, should have got the Hemi might have sounded better.
So basically Hertz is good so long as you are not in a rush and won't get fobbed off with whatever POS they have available right at that moment
Drove away in a new white Corvette which just squeezed in the skis I was carrying. Sideways to Lake Tahoe. Awesome, awesome fun. Went back later in the trip to try a Camaro V8 which was nowhere near as good, should have got the Hemi might have sounded better.
So basically Hertz is good so long as you are not in a rush and won't get fobbed off with whatever POS they have available right at that moment
Sounds like a great trip your planning OP!
Occasionally I head to California for work and tend to treat myself to nice rental *if* I can squeeze a good deal. If you don't mind a slight gamble, its best to book a mid-size car in advance and then upgrade to the "exotic" at the airport. It's far far cheaper this way. Obviously depends on the size of the rental depot and availability, but I had a few trips to San Francisco this year and managed to upgrade every time at SFO. Costs were always around $70 USD per day for the mid-size, and then $75 USD (again daily) to upgrade to the Corvette and unlimited mileage. This does not include advance insurance as this is covered by my credit card, you may want to check this as well.
Try to get the Yellow ones, definitely faster ;-)
Red is not bad either though.
Occasionally I head to California for work and tend to treat myself to nice rental *if* I can squeeze a good deal. If you don't mind a slight gamble, its best to book a mid-size car in advance and then upgrade to the "exotic" at the airport. It's far far cheaper this way. Obviously depends on the size of the rental depot and availability, but I had a few trips to San Francisco this year and managed to upgrade every time at SFO. Costs were always around $70 USD per day for the mid-size, and then $75 USD (again daily) to upgrade to the Corvette and unlimited mileage. This does not include advance insurance as this is covered by my credit card, you may want to check this as well.
Try to get the Yellow ones, definitely faster ;-)
Red is not bad either though.
As above you should have no issues getting insurance from any of the rental places just watch out for the add on scams offered when you rock up to the counter. Book all in the UK and you will be fully covered.
I'm a fan of the c7 but why oh why are the American's obsessed with chrome?
I'm a fan of the c7 but why oh why are the American's obsessed with chrome?
When I rented from the Adrenaline collection for my honeymoon, I arrived to find no Adrenaline cars available despite pre-booking it for the busiest airport in America.
I was given the keys to a standard Challenger despite prepaying for a Challenger R/T 6 months in advance, they obviously hoped I wouldn't notice it wasn't an R/T as they later told me they don't even stock R/Ts anymore. They didn't have any other Adrenaline cars in stock and wouldn't/couldn't tell me if I could pick one up at another location.
Upon returning to the UK their complaints couldn't give a monkeys and I've found similar stories on here. I definitely wouldn't use Hertz again.
I was given the keys to a standard Challenger despite prepaying for a Challenger R/T 6 months in advance, they obviously hoped I wouldn't notice it wasn't an R/T as they later told me they don't even stock R/Ts anymore. They didn't have any other Adrenaline cars in stock and wouldn't/couldn't tell me if I could pick one up at another location.
Upon returning to the UK their complaints couldn't give a monkeys and I've found similar stories on here. I definitely wouldn't use Hertz again.
marting said:
When I rented from the Adrenaline collection for my honeymoon, I arrived to find no Adrenaline cars available despite pre-booking it for the busiest airport in America.
I was given the keys to a standard Challenger despite prepaying for a Challenger R/T 6 months in advance, they obviously hoped I wouldn't notice it wasn't an R/T as they later told me they don't even stock R/Ts anymore. They didn't have any other Adrenaline cars in stock and wouldn't/couldn't tell me if I could pick one up at another location.
Upon returning to the UK their complaints couldn't give a monkeys and I've found similar stories on here. I definitely wouldn't use Hertz again.
any money back? If not raise a dispute with your credit card companyI was given the keys to a standard Challenger despite prepaying for a Challenger R/T 6 months in advance, they obviously hoped I wouldn't notice it wasn't an R/T as they later told me they don't even stock R/Ts anymore. They didn't have any other Adrenaline cars in stock and wouldn't/couldn't tell me if I could pick one up at another location.
Upon returning to the UK their complaints couldn't give a monkeys and I've found similar stories on here. I definitely wouldn't use Hertz again.
HotJambalaya said:
any money back? If not raise a dispute with your credit card company
I had the difference in cost between the base model and R/T returned after a lengthy complain letter. Still not good enough IMO when they advertise them as "reservable models" and feature images of the Challenger R/T everywhere despite pulling them out of service (or so I'm told they did)marting said:
When I rented from the Adrenaline collection for my honeymoon, I arrived to find no Adrenaline cars available despite pre-booking it for the busiest airport in America.
I was given the keys to a standard Challenger despite prepaying for a Challenger R/T 6 months in advance, they obviously hoped I wouldn't notice it wasn't an R/T as they later told me they don't even stock R/Ts anymore. They didn't have any other Adrenaline cars in stock and wouldn't/couldn't tell me if I could pick one up at another location.
Upon returning to the UK their complaints couldn't give a monkeys and I've found similar stories on here. I definitely wouldn't use Hertz again.
Thats pretty crap. We got a standard Challenger just by booking a premium car. They had 3 along side Chargers etc. premium wasn't much more than a standard full size car.I was given the keys to a standard Challenger despite prepaying for a Challenger R/T 6 months in advance, they obviously hoped I wouldn't notice it wasn't an R/T as they later told me they don't even stock R/Ts anymore. They didn't have any other Adrenaline cars in stock and wouldn't/couldn't tell me if I could pick one up at another location.
Upon returning to the UK their complaints couldn't give a monkeys and I've found similar stories on here. I definitely wouldn't use Hertz again.
It was a decent enough fun car, but not something I would have paid a huge premium for.
Interesting comments. In the end I couldn't get anyone to rent me something tasty without my own insurance. I hired a limo and a driver but more importantly she said yes :-)
On another note, I used Thrifty for the trip rental motor which was said to be a "Grand Cherokee or equivalent" so they offered me a Kia Sorento. I protested and after a big argument they provided me a GC that they said should have been for a "premium customer". I suggested that as he wasn't there right then and I was the bigger problem they should let me have it so they did... In the end I was quite surprised by the car - it was a poverty spec RWD job although it performed reasonably well. It came with some ridiculous hybrid off road tyres that were truly terrible in the wet although allowed for some amusing "incidents" that my OH did not appreciate. I didn't take out the pre-paid fuel option and due to a female packing issue we were late getting to the airport and there were no fuel stations between the final hotel and the airport, so they charged me $25 plus $10/gallon for fuel which seems like extortion to me - although I guess no comeback.
They also charged me $105 for a Florida "Sunpass" which I specifically did not request as I didn't think I would exceed that in tolls, given that the car was already equipped with a pass and the admin charge was only $15 total. I am wondering whether to claim that back but of course have no idea how much I actually spent on tolls. Further a local tax of $40 on top of the pre-paid amount. Thrifty seem like a company to avoid.
Anyway, rant about Thrifty over - I have a wedding to plan.... :-) Hope it's not the end of my amateur motorsport ambitions....
Thanks all for assistance
Steve
On another note, I used Thrifty for the trip rental motor which was said to be a "Grand Cherokee or equivalent" so they offered me a Kia Sorento. I protested and after a big argument they provided me a GC that they said should have been for a "premium customer". I suggested that as he wasn't there right then and I was the bigger problem they should let me have it so they did... In the end I was quite surprised by the car - it was a poverty spec RWD job although it performed reasonably well. It came with some ridiculous hybrid off road tyres that were truly terrible in the wet although allowed for some amusing "incidents" that my OH did not appreciate. I didn't take out the pre-paid fuel option and due to a female packing issue we were late getting to the airport and there were no fuel stations between the final hotel and the airport, so they charged me $25 plus $10/gallon for fuel which seems like extortion to me - although I guess no comeback.
They also charged me $105 for a Florida "Sunpass" which I specifically did not request as I didn't think I would exceed that in tolls, given that the car was already equipped with a pass and the admin charge was only $15 total. I am wondering whether to claim that back but of course have no idea how much I actually spent on tolls. Further a local tax of $40 on top of the pre-paid amount. Thrifty seem like a company to avoid.
Anyway, rant about Thrifty over - I have a wedding to plan.... :-) Hope it's not the end of my amateur motorsport ambitions....
Thanks all for assistance
Steve
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