Car hire New York State- Mustang?

[hunt_the_fox]

Dear all,

I'm off on hols soon, flying into JFK and going to stay with a pal in the Hamptons for a week. Obviously I'd like to hire a car and wondered if anyone had any recommendations, firstly in relation to car hire company- the big boys seem to be unreasonably expensive, also I'd like to hire a mustang convertible but am worried on two fronts- firstly- will it fit a rear facing child seat? Also can I hire a car seat over there or do I take our own? Lastly it seems that most of the car rental places say Mustang 'or equivalent' the equivalent being a piece of crap like a Chrysler Cruiser or some such- is there any way of guaranteeing the car that you want?

[GreigM]

Beware the convertible's luggage space - you may end up with the sebring convertible and in my experience you couldn't get a normal sized suitcase in the boot while the roof was down. Sounds like there will be 2 of you + baby, so I'd be extremely careful about luggage space - not sure if mustang will be similar.

Also be aware the rental mustang is pretty much terrible - its not the nice sounding V8, its a wheezy V6 which isn't worth the money.

Also, if this is your first time driving in the New York area, be aware the roads are terrible - complex, very busy and very bumpy/rough in places - I'd be ordering my hire car to be as comfortable and easy to drive as possible, and not worry about performance/looks or the "american experience" of the mustang - I feel you might be let-down.

[Bluebarge]

Hertz will guarantee you one - look at their Fun Collection. They only do the V6.

Not sure it's a great choice of car for a v.small child. It gets pretty breezy in the back, there's not a lot of space (as in most convertibles) and it's not clever to expose small kids to strong sunshine for prolonged periods. Junior may not be very happy back there.

You could go for the coupe, which is a lot cheaper, but the back seat space constraints will still apply. Have a look in the mustang forum in here - someone may let you have a look at their car to see if a child seat would fit.

[daz4m]

The Hertz fun collection is very expensive compared to the normal stuff. SUVs are better suited to the roads out there anyway.

[edo]

Hertz.

They don't only do the v6, we got a v8 (but not convertible), but most are the v6.

To be honest, you'll very likely be very disappointed with the 'Stang. Go for a 'Vette if you can.

[daz4m]

The Crack Fox said:

daz4m said:

The Hertz fun collection is very expensive compared to the normal stuff. SUVs are better suited to the roads out there anyway.

Aw c'mon, an SUV ?! When in Rome... and all that

Your point is lacking, what do a large majority Americans drive, SUVs or Pick ups.

The problem is that the V6 Mustang is poor, the V8 is double the price in my experience and still not that great. The roads are usually wide and straight therefore you want something large and powerful, the SUV fits the bill.

[hunt_the_fox]

Just found a Nissan Xterra for £340 for the week are they any good? Does that sound like a decent price?

[daz4m]

The Crack Fox said:

daz4m said:

The Crack Fox said:

daz4m said:

The Hertz fun collection is very expensive compared to the normal stuff. SUVs are better suited to the roads out there anyway.

Aw c'mon, an SUV ?! When in Rome... and all that

Your point is lacking, what do a large majority Americans drive, SUVs or Pick ups.

The problem is that the V6 Mustang is poor, the V8 is double the price in my experience and still not that great. The roads are usually wide and straight therefore you want something large and powerful, the SUV fits the bill.

Sure, agree with all that, my point is you might want a slice of Americana as opposed to some nasty truck. If I were a Yank coming to the UK a Mondeo would make sense, but my heart would want to rent a Lotus or something. Geddit ?

Yeah I get it, I wanted a Vette but the price they charge for one is just not practical in the grand scheme of things (Freeways and city streets) . As long as you get a V8 car you can get some kind of taste I reckon.

[daz4m]

hunt_the_fox said:

Just found a Nissan Xterra for £340 for the week are they any good? Does that sound like a decent price?

Thats pricey, try Dollar.

[anonymous-user]

daz4m said:

The problem is that the V6 Mustang is poor, the V8 is double the price in my experience and still not that great. The roads are usually wide and straight therefore you want something large and powerful, the SUV fits the bill.

What drivel.

The reality is that if you're on a budget just rent something inexpensive - which means an everyday V6 saloon of some kind. By all means make it a Mustang if you want to but just bear in mind you'll be paying a lot more for the privilege. The Hertz fun collection is, as others have said, expensive. Child seats are IIRC rentable from the usual car hire companies, albeit at a price. I do know that US child seats differ from European (as do regular seat belts and air bags) but I can't say whether the ISOFIX system is used both sides of the Atlantic. The car rental companies should be able to tell you on the phone.

If you're thinking of Satnav you may want to consider getting US maps for your usual Tom Tom. Rental of Satnav adds up if you keep the car for long.

[mattman]

check out usrentacar.com - got the best prices through them

[daz4m]

5 USA said:

daz4m said:

The problem is that the V6 Mustang is poor, the V8 is double the price in my experience and still not that great. The roads are usually wide and straight therefore you want something large and powerful, the SUV fits the bill.

What drivel.

The reality is that if you're on a budget just rent something inexpensive - which means an everyday V6 saloon of some kind. By all means make it a Mustang if you want to but just bear in mind you'll be paying a lot more for the privilege. The Hertz fun collection is, as others have said, expensive. Child seats are IIRC rentable from the usual car hire companies, albeit at a price. I do know that US child seats differ from European (as do regular seat belts and air bags) but I can't say whether the ISOFIX system is used both sides of the Atlantic. The car rental companies should be able to tell you on the phone.

If you're thinking of Satnav you may want to consider getting US maps for your usual Tom Tom. Rental of Satnav adds up if you keep the car for long.

What exactly is drivel, the saloons that tend to be rented are a terrible plastic mess at least with an SUV you get something a little more upmarket and for not much more!!

Edited by daz4m on Thursday 29th April 12:58

[5lab]

not sure why the average us SUV is 'more upmarket' than the average US saloon. Both pretty comparible - at least the saloon wont have a seperate chassis (some SUVs have discovered monocoque by now, to be fair)

also I'm not sure why the stang v6 is so 'poor' - 300bhp seems reasonable to me - won't be as nippy as the 400bhp v8, granted, but its not the end of the world

I found Avis were quite good with my camaro (v8) when I rented it. I was a bit worried by the 'or equivilent) bit, but they had 4 in stock (Phoenix airport) when i went to collect. Worked out at $30/day more than whatever tat was cheapest

[BigBen]

5lab said:

not sure why the average us SUV is 'more upmarket' than the average US saloon. Both pretty comparible - at least the saloon wont have a seperate chassis (some SUVs have discovered monocoque by now, to be fair)

also I'm not sure why the stang v6 is so 'poor' - 300bhp seems reasonable to me - won't be as nippy as the 400bhp v8, granted, but its not the end of the world

I found Avis were quite good with my camaro (v8) when I rented it. I was a bit worried by the 'or equivilent) bit, but they had 4 in stock (Phoenix airport) when i went to collect. Worked out at $30/day more than whatever tat was cheapest

Have you driven a v6 'stang ? I have and can confirm it was a sack of st, although I will concede it did look quite good from the outside.

[smack]

5lab said:

also I'm not sure why the stang v6 is so 'poor' - 300bhp seems reasonable to me - won't be as nippy as the 400bhp v8, granted, but its not the end of the world

I found Avis were quite good with my camaro (v8) when I rented it. I was a bit worried by the 'or equivilent) bit, but they had 4 in stock (Phoenix airport) when i went to collect. Worked out at $30/day more than whatever tat was cheapest

We hired this in November from Hertz. The hardtop is cheaper than the soft top (didn't care for it), but it wasn't all that fast, and speed limited to about 114mph...

[AdeTuono]

edo said:

To be honest, you'll very likely be very disappointed with the 'Stang. Go for a 'Vette if you can.

Excellent advice! You can put the baby in the boot with the luggage. You should be able to squash him/her in if you push hard enough

[H]

hunt_the_fox said:

Just found a Nissan Xterra for £340 for the week are they any good? Does that sound like a decent price?

Junior off roader with ladder frame 'technology' and a functional interior but also with immense off road ability and a thunderous 290bhp 4.0 engine. 340biffs for a week sounds ridiculous!

A Mustang will be a let down unless it is a V8 as in a car where the engine is the main feature you're never going to be wowed by the economy version.

[RDMcG]

Watch NY state for speeding. They have a huge number of troopers and they are very good at what they do. Lots of POP radar, laser and the like. The tolerance is about 74mph in a 65, ( I travel there all the time), but above that they'll nail you. No speed cameras.

[hunt_the_fox]

Anyone had any experience of a Buick Lucerne? Quite a good price for that and with GPS.

[Bluebarge]

5lab said:

not sure why the average us SUV is 'more upmarket' than the average US saloon. Both pretty comparible - at least the saloon wont have a seperate chassis (some SUVs have discovered monocoque by now, to be fair)

also I'm not sure why the stang v6 is so 'poor' - 300bhp seems reasonable to me - won't be as nippy as the 400bhp v8, granted, but its not the end of the world

I found Avis were quite good with my camaro (v8) when I rented it. I was a bit worried by the 'or equivilent) bit, but they had 4 in stock (Phoenix airport) when i went to collect. Worked out at $30/day more than whatever tat was cheapest

Only the 2011 V6 'stang just now rolling off the production line has 300bhp, the one on most rental fleets will have 210bhp. Likewise, the 2010 V8 has 300bhp, only the 2011 5.0 V8 has 400bhp.

I've driven a 2010'stang V6 convertible in Florida - nice car, but a bit short of poke. It's more of a boulevard cruiser than a sports car. The roads round there don't really allow you to use the power much anyway, so it wasn't an issue. I assume NY State has some more interesting twisty bits, where a V8 would be worth the extra.