usrentacar.co.uk® Car Hire USA Blog

Hi all,

With car manufactures getting more and more advanced with their technology offerings, (see our post technology and car rental) the american automotive authority believes the time is drawing near when we’ll get in to our hire cars and not know how to even start them!

Facebook integration, keyless cars and even vehicles run on electricity are becoming the norm, if you’d mentioned this 10 years ago to the average Joe they would have thought you’d gone mental.

Here at usrentacar.co.uk we believe in being prepared, so before you drive out of the parking lot here are 5 things we believe you should know.

1. All drivers should know how to start the car, it use to be straight forward, stick the key in turn it and hey presto, these days its not so simple, take the Prius for example, to turn on the engine you insert the key, push down the brake pedal and press the “power” button….simples.
2. How to Turn on the lights, last thing you need is to be driving in a foreign Country fiddling around the dash board trying to figure out how to switch the lights on after along day at Universal Orlando!
3. How to Switch on the Windscreen wipers, again you don’t want to be caught in a sudden storm and not know how to quickly turn the wipers on.
4. How to open the petrol cap and where its situated on the car.
5. How to disengage the hand brake. (this one came from our facebook page, via John Young) ”I remember sitting trying to figure that one out for ages the first time we hired an SUV. The parking brake release was a button on the dash”.
6. How to operate an automatic, for UK drivers we generally all drive “stick” then change to automatic can briefly throw you, get use to the controls before leaving the car park. (suggested by Adam Robertson via facebook)
7. How to remove the key from the ignition, some vehicles require a push or a reverse twist to remove the key, better to figure this out before you’re miles away from the rental office. (suggested by Paul Bevan via facebook)

Hi all,

Following on from yesterdays most popular vehicles of 2011 I thought I’d divulge the top 10 Car Hire USA pick up locations for 2011.

Now the list will be prodominatley Florida heavy due to the amount of UK visitors the U.S. state receives however its good to see from non-Florida pick ups creep in this year.

Top 10 Car Hire USA Pick up Locations 2011

1. Orlando International Airport (MCO)
2. Sanford International Airport (SFB)
3. Miami International Airport (MIA)
4. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
5. Tampa International Airport (TPA)
6. Las Vegas International Airport (LAS)
7. San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
8. Denver International Airport (DEN)
9. Phoenix International Airport (PHX)
10. Fort Myers International Airport (RSW)

Orlando International Airport continues to dominate for us Brits, but when you look past the top 10 some of our customers are looking to hire in some truly niche locations like Wilmington, Delaware and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Where would you most like to collect from?

regards,

James

Hi all,

Back in September I posted on the usrentacar blog about the vehicle type’s being collected by our customers from Orlando International Airport. This post proved to be very popular and at present is the most viewed post of 2011.

The information collected is supplied by our actual customers either via the usrentacar app or by the post rental review email we send every customer.

Below is a list of Florida Car Hire vehicle types being collected from Sanford International Airport.

n/a – not applicable, supplier doesn’t offer this category.

Please note that the information above is provided by usrentacar.co.uk customers and does not guarentee the make or model described. The information also doesn’t take in to account any upgrades either purchased locally or given free of charge by the supplier.

As you can see the vehicle types generally do not waiver that much from Orlando International Airport, although it was interesting to note that I could find no alternative Convertible being given by Dollar Rent A Car, all our customers received Ford Mustang in Florida.

What vehicles have you collected from Sanford?

regards,

James

Hi all,

Today’s post covers the ambiguous term we use in USA Car Hire, the terms is “or similar”. As I’m sure you’ve noted, all vehicles we offer on our results page state “or similar”.

Unfortunately we can never guarantee make or model of any of the vehicles we rent, this does mean we cannot confirm MPG, luggage space and engine size etc.

Now “or similar” is a term all car hire suppliers use, the reason for this is explained below

5 reasons we use the term “or similar”

• Its inevitable, but vehicle’s do get in accidents, in this instance the supplier may have to replace that model with a different model within the same category.
• Late returns, although customers pre-book a set amount of time, suppliers tend to allow customers to extend their rentals locally, which mean’s that the original vehicle is not returned as planned.
• One Way Rentals, collecting from one location but dropping off at another is common, with the new choice product offered by both Alamo Rent A Car and Dollar Rent A Car the supplier wont know until the day of collection which vehicles will actually be returned to an alternative location.
• Breakdown’s, as with anything mechanical, vehicles are susceptible to mechanical failure, although its obviously in the best interest of the supplier to keep their vehicle in tip top shape, breakdowns do occur and can keep a car off the road.
• Re-Fleeting, at certain times during the year suppliers will take advantage of the very profitable second hand market, when they do this they obviously have to replace those vehicles and sometimes with different models.

Now here at usrentacar.co.uk we do offer the customer the chance to see what vehicle’s previous customer’s have collected in their category, you can find it by clicking on the review section on our results page. I also recently posted about which car’s our customers were collecting in Florida.

We understand that a specific make or model can really make a holiday, which is why we are always happy to request a specific vehicle for our customers, obviously we cant guarantee you’ll get it but we like to think we have a certain sway. If you’d like us to do this for you, please email your preference to info@usrentacar.co.uk stating your booking reference number and your model of choice and we’ll try our best for you.

regards,

James

Hi all,

As you may or may not know, after our customers have completed their rental we send them an email offering them the opportunity to review their car hire.  Part of the review also asks our customers to tell us what make and model of vehicle they were actually given.

Below is a list of vehicles given to our customer for their Florida Car Hire from Alamo, Dollar and Budget based from Orlando International Airport in August 2011.

n/a – not applicable, supplier doesn’t offer this category.

Please note that the information above is provided by usrentacar.co.uk customers and does not guarentee the make or model described.

What vehicles have you recently received?

Have a great weekend.

Regards,

James

Hi all,

The company that runs Tampa International Airport will meet next month to consider charging $2.50 for every car rental collected.

Since Alamo/National joined Budget, Dollar Thrifty and Hertz on airport at Tampa, the car rental facility has been pushed close to busting, Tampa is one of the few airports in the United States with a covered car rental ready line so close to the baggage areas but at a capacity of only 1300 cars development is required.

Faced with a car rental facility operating close to full capacity, the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority on Thursday agreed to weigh the new fee to stockpile $8.9 million annually for expansion and pay down debt for current rental facilities.

Board members noted that less than 5% of car rental deals are booked by local residents and that Tampa is among the few big airports not charging a fee.

usrentacar.co.uk notes that the 4 on airport companies that pay around $30 million a year in rent have informally agreed to the fee, which will also fund a $20 million, two-year overhaul of the main terminal building.

At present this is just speculation and nothing has been confirmed or agreed, however it will be something for car rental brokers to consider when negotiating rates for next year.

Regards,

James,

Hi all,

Not the most exciting piece of car rental news but Florida Southwest International Airport’s car rental centre is getting a make over.

At present it look’s like SchenkelShultz will be given the job of resdesigning the out of date centre including redoing the adjacent vehicle spaces, and car-cleaning and fueling facilities, a final decision will be made of September 12th.

The cost of the redesign will be solely paid by the car rental companies and construction work is most likely to begin by May 2013, with completion by November of that year.

regards,

James

Hi all,

The summer peak season is upon us, which basically equates to BUSY!!! July is by far the busiest time of year in the world of car rental, thousands and thousands of usrentacar customers will collect vehicles over the next few weeks; so after some recent negative press for car hire I thought now would be a good time to just refresh some of you on the collection process.

To collect

To collect your rental you must present the supplier with the following items

1. Your full driving licence, if you have the new (ish) UK licence you must produce the card part and the paper copy.
2. A credit card (alamo, budget & dollar) or avisa debit card (alamo & dollar) to leave as security on the vehicle.
3. Your usrentacar.co.uk voucher – either printed from our website (www.usrentacar.co.uk/booking) or via our voucher app, downloaded from the app store or from google Android Market.

Once you have produced the above documentation you will be asked to sign your rental agreement.

Your rental agreement

The rental agreement is the contract between yourself and the supplier (alamo, budget, thrifty or dollar). It will list all the relevant details associated with your car hire. It will also list any additional charges payable locally; for example, one way rental charges, child seats, petrol.

It is imperative that you read and fully understand this rental agreement before you sign it.

Once you have signed this agreement you are legally agreeing to its contents and usrentacar.co.uk will not be able to intervene on your behalf for any additional extras.

Local extras

Our suppliers do have the right to offer additional optional extras locally. Your usrentacar.co.uk package is sufficient for your rental needs however all suppliers can offer the following.

Upgrades – Suppliers may offer you an additional daily rate to upgrade your vehicle to a higher category. Remember that the rate offered maybe subject to local taxes.

Advanced Roadside assistance/roadsafe – Your rental comes with basic roadside assistance covering mechanical failure, our suppliers can offer advanced roadside assistance or RoadSafe more information available here

Sunpass/Ezipass – Is basically a toll pass allowing you to drive through the tolls, Florida is slowly phasing out all manually operated toll booths so this maybe an option some might consider more information available here

Remember these are optional extras and are not required

usrentacar.co.uk Tip – if you notice after collection that you have signed for something locally we suggest you contact the location immediately and ask them to remove this cost. If you have elected to upgrade your vehicle you will have to return it.

On return

When you return your vehicle some suppliers will provide you with a receipt confirming any amounts due, we advise that you query any charges you do not recognise.

Also remember to check the vehicle for your own belongings as retrieving forgotten items is very difficult.

I hope this quick guide is useful, if you can add to any of the above please feel free to comment below.

Enjoy your car hire

regards

James

Hi all,

Hope you all had a great bank holiday weekend. Today’s post centre’s around the car hire USA term “or similar“.

With all our U.S. rentals we are unable to guarantee make or model of specific car’s, when you hire a vehicle you are booking a category of auto mobile and different makes and models fall in to these categories.

Today I thought I’d elaborate on the vehicle types that could be hired in each specific category.

Economy – Chevrolet Aveo, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Yaris

Compact – Ford Focus, Dodge Caliber, Nissan Versa

Intermediate – Hyundai Sonata, Dodge Avenger, Kia Optima, Toyota Corolla

Standard – Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu

Full-size – Dodge Charger, Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Impala, Nissan Altima

Premium – Ford Crown Victoria, Chrysler 300, Ford Edge

Luxury – Chrysler 300 Touring, Lincoln Town Car

Minivan – Dodge Caravan, Chrysler Town & Country

Intermediate Sport Utility – Ford Escape, Jeep Liberty, Jeep Compass

Standard Sport Utility – Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Explorer, Chevrolet Equinox

Convertible – Ford Mustang Convertible, Chrysler, Sebring, Mitsubishi Spyder

As above we can never guarantee make or model of our vehicles however we are more than happy to request a specific model for you, remember though this is not a guarantee.

What other vehicle types have you collected?

Regards,

James

Hi all,

Today’s post is a guide on how to collect your car hire voucher from our website.

Assuming you haven’t got an iPhone and therefore haven’t taken advantage of our free voucher app, available here – usrentacar voucher app you will need to print a copy of your voucher from our website.

The voucher is confirmation to our suppliers that you have pre-paid in the UK and also lists exactly what’s included in your rental.

Step 1

At the top of our homepage and on every page are two options for logging in to your usrentacar.co.uk account both are shown with green arrows in the above picture.  The first is a link to a separate login page, the second is a direct link to your account, you can access this by entering your email address, the password reconfirmed on your confirmation email and the verification code found in the box to the left of it.

Step 2

If you opted to click on Collect Voucher from stage 1, then you will be redirected to this page www.usrentacar.co.uk/booking. Here you are required to enter the email address used at the time of booking, your password which is reconfirmed on your confirmation email and enter the verification code situated below the box. The verification code is used to identify you as a human and not a robot or crawler.

Stage 3

Once you’ve successfully logged in to your account you will notice a button titled “Collect Your Voucher” an icon of a voucher will appear as soon as its ready to download. Clicking on this button will open up a new window, displaying your voucher.

Stage 4

Once you click on “collect voucher” in stage 3, your browser should open a new window displaying your car hire voucher (you may need to disable pop up blockers momentarily) at the bottom of the page is a button that states “Print Voucher”, clicking on this button will start the process of printing off your voucher.

We always advise you to read your voucher and make sure you fully understand it, if you ever have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us on 0845 226 8523.

regards

James