One-way car rental on the cheap, or alternatives

[RyanAtTanagra]

This summer I'm hoping to go visit family for a month 3000 miles away.  The tricky part is my dog.  I'm not going to board her for a month and don't have anyone that can watch her, so I'm trying to figure out how to take her with me.  She's a little too big to fit comfortably in a carrier small enough to carry onto a plane with me.  I'm not going to check her as she's 16yrs and I'm not putting her through that.  I can't imagine how scary/miserable it is to a dog in the cargo hold.  So I was thinking of just driving it since she loves road trips (as do I), but I don't own a car, and when renting a car for one way they charge for mileage which makes it cost-prohibitive.  Then I thought of just buying a car on CL for the trip and selling it again when I get back.  But that seems like a bit of a hassle and unless I get the seller to lie about the sales price on the title, the taxes would probably be pretty high on a car in good enough shape to be confident making that trip.

Was wondering if anyone could help brainstorm some additional ideas.  Anyone know of a car rental company that doesn't charge mileage for 'return at a different location'?

[purplepants]

Awww.  I'm so glad you're going to take your old girl on a road trip.  It sounds like you'll both enjoy it and make lots of good memories with her. 

And I agree, putting a dog in a cargo hold is stressful for both owner and dog, no matter the animals age.  It can also be unsafe, depending on weather conditions.

Could you arrange for a private rental?  Like, do you know anybody who owns a spare car who would let you borrow it for a month for $500? 

I'm not sure where you're driving to/from and how flexible your schedule is, but since you have some time to plan ahead, you may be able to find an auto transport company who would need a vehicle moved from your area to your destination.  Some companies hire non-professional drivers.  I believe these services are called "Driveaway Services" and maybe you could get at least one direction covered that way?

[Dicey]

Transit companies generally don't allow much leisure time between point A and B, so that option's might be tricky. I'd check with Costco.

Also, not clear from your post as to why it would be a one-way rental. You're not planning on bring your dog home with you?

[RyanAtTanagra]

Could you arrange for a private rental?  Like, do you know anybody who owns a spare car who would let you borrow it for a month for $500? 

Good idea but I unfortunately don't really know anyone out here that I could do that with.

Transport company could be a good idea, I'd have to find one for both ways.

Also, not clear from your post as to why it would be a one-way rental. You're not planning on bring your dog home with you?

Heh, no I just don't want to rent a car for the entire month.  I won't really need it once I get there, so I was just going to do a one-way rental each way.  Although checking into it, if I can get insurance taken care of, the whole month is slightly cheaper than a single one-way rental, which is pretty crazy on their part.  My AMEX will cover the car itself, I just need to find non-owners liability insurance that is valid in any state, which I've tried to find before and never could.

If anyone else has ideas feel free to keep throwing them out.

[RyanAtTanagra]

Hertz apparently doesn't want me driving to Ohio, it keeps saying 'this type of car not available'.  Avis is expensive one-way, but budget is cheapish, but still $450 each way, would be cheaper to keep it for the whole month.  But good call on the 2-week limitation with the loss damage waiver, that may rule out the month rental option anyway.

[Dicey]

Tyan - I rent cars a lot, often for 4 weeks to a month at a time, and often do the one-way thing and have never been charged for mileage. I generally rent thru Hertz which has unlimited free miles on one-way rentals as well as returns. The one way price is generally a couple hundred more than the return rate. They also have monthly rentals but I have found it is cheaper to do a 4 week rental instead.  You can check their website and just plug in different dates and time frames, one way or return, and see what you come up with. Make sure and look at the "discount and coupon" section as they have many discounts. I use my AAA card for a pretty big discount. Also if you have a CC that covers the damage waiver then you can avoid that expense. I also believe Avis and Budget also have free unlimited miles on their one-way rentals.

Ha, Spartana, this is exactly what I've always done. In fact, once I've made a reservation, I check back every few days and run through the special offers again. Often I get a better deal and I cancel the original without penalty. BTW, love that Hertz Gold Service!


However, last time I rented, I tried Costco and got a deal that Hertz couldn't touch.

[chasesfish]

I'll third the Costco recommendation.

Make a base reservation with a car company, then keep checking the prices against Costco.  I think what Avis/Hertz is asking for on a 1 month rental with unlimited mileage is VERY reasonable.  You're going to drive the car 4,000+ miles and use their vehicle for almost a month for under $600

[arebelspy]

Sometimes you can get a free one-way rental, depending on where you're going:
https://www.transfercarus.com/

That may get you most or part of the way there so you only have to rent one for the rest.

[DollarBill]

You can try U-ship.com

or what about a house sitter?

[davef]

I use budget, Unlimited mileage. But Shop around, and consider the round trip and keeping the vehicle for 4 weeks, that may be the way to go.

[RyanAtTanagra]

Thanks for the ideas everyone

Sometimes you can get a free one-way rental, depending on where you're going:
https://www.transfercarus.com/

That may get you most or part of the way there so you only have to rent one for the rest.

That's awesome, unfortunately there's nothing further than Nevada, at least right now.  But if I ever go to Vegas again I may look into that as I much prefer driving over flying.

or what about a house sitter?

I don't really know anyone that could house sit for a month, so it would have to be a stranger, which would only be slightly better than a boarder, since she seems to like the boarding place she's been to before.  But she's a rescue and was in and out of foster a couple times while they tried to find a good home, so I'd rather not cause her the stress and confusion of thinking she got dumped again after me being gone for a month.  She took a few weeks to relax when we first got her.

I use budget, Unlimited mileage. But Shop around, and consider the round trip and keeping the vehicle for 4 weeks, that may be the way to go.

Yea round-trip seems to be the best option so far.  I checked and for $17.95 I can get 42 consecutive of the rental loss damage insurance with my amex.


Anyone have non-owners liability insurance?  Who do you have it with if so?

[Dicey]

I checked and for $17.95 I can get 42 consecutive of the rental loss damage insurance with my amex.

Read the fine print on that AMEX deal. IIRC, once you sign up for it, they will automatically cover (and charge) you every time you rent a car, whether you ask for it or not. It may have changed, but don't let it be a surprise. I never signed up for it, because I had a platinum card that provided secondary coverage at no cost. I never had to use that coverage, so I can't say how good it was.

[RyanAtTanagra]

I checked and for $17.95 I can get 42 consecutive of the rental loss damage insurance with my amex.

Read the fine print on that AMEX deal. IIRC, once you sign up for it, they will automatically cover (and charge) you every time you rent a car, whether you ask for it or not. It may have changed, but don't let it be a surprise. I never signed up for it, because I had a platinum card that provided secondary coverage at no cost. I never had to use that coverage, so I can't say how good it was.

Yea I checked and they cover for 30 consecutive days automatically, which may work depending on how long I'm getting the car for.

I found state farm has non-owners liability insurance.  It's more expensive that I would have liked at $300/yr, but I think I'm going to go for it.

[Dicey]

I checked and for $17.95 I can get 42 consecutive of the rental loss damage insurance with my amex.

Read the fine print on that AMEX deal. IIRC, once you sign up for it, they will automatically cover (and charge) you every time you rent a car, whether you ask for it or not. It may have changed, but don't let it be a surprise. I never signed up for it, because I had a platinum card that provided secondary coverage at no cost. I never had to use that coverage, so I can't say how good it was.

Yea I checked and they cover for 30 consecutive days automatically, which may work depending on how long I'm getting the car for.

I found state farm has non-owners liability insurance.  It's more expensive that I would have liked at $300/yr, but I think I'm going to go for it.

Hey Ryan, who is the "they" you are referring to? AMEX or another CC provider?

[JLee]

Could you arrange for a private rental?  Like, do you know anybody who owns a spare car who would let you borrow it for a month for $500? 

Good idea but I unfortunately don't really know anyone out here that I could do that with.

Transport company could be a good idea, I'd have to find one for both ways.

Also, not clear from your post as to why it would be a one-way rental. You're not planning on bring your dog home with you?

Heh, no I just don't want to rent a car for the entire month.  I won't really need it once I get there, so I was just going to do a one-way rental each way.  Although checking into it, if I can get insurance taken care of, the whole month is slightly cheaper than a single one-way rental, which is pretty crazy on their part.  My AMEX will cover the car itself, I just need to find non-owners liability insurance that is valid in any state, which I've tried to find before and never could.

If anyone else has ideas feel free to keep throwing them out.

You should be able to put insurance on any car, though I'm not sure if you have to have an existing policy for that. I have put insurance on a borrowed car before and the insurance company (Progressive) didn't care.

[Argyle]

Why give up on the Driveaway idea?  I've done Driveaway cars all over the country, and once sent a car from one coast to the other via Driveaway.  Worked out great.  I took a parrot cross-country in a Driveaway car once.  They do give you some leeway and extra time; they just don't want you haring all over the country when you're supposed to be going from Point A to Point B.  It's free for the driver, you know.  You pay for gas only.

[Big Boots Buddha]

Sometimes you can get a free one-way rental, depending on where you're going:
https://www.transfercarus.com/

That may get you most or part of the way there so you only have to rent one for the rest.

Wow, this is great! Thanks so much arebelspy. I knew heard about this once but forgot about it. This would make travel VERY cheap. I have no problem driving 20-30 hour stretches. Thanks for sharing the info!

[arebelspy]

No problem.  If you use it, let us know how it works out. :)