Advantage Car Hire - cheap!

[duncanb]

Greyfriars hits the nail on head.
I've given you the add on insurance you need to take this at as I posted 100 odd quids and do a bit of sorting when or if an accident or issue happens.
Don't drive without proper cover.
You've found an available US price for US users who have insurance who cover own car or C C cover.
You need to top up.
Not having a go just be covered.

[martyn321]

I recently read about buying your own excess car hire insurance on martin lewis money savig email. Theres a website called moneymaxim and they sell this insurance, i did a dummy quote for 2 weeks and it was about £65. Ive never used such a site and have always booked via uscarhire / usrentacar and all insurances have been included and never had a hard sell at the check in desk.

One thing he did say in the email, is if you have this insurance they may still try on the hard sell, but you need to stand your ground.

It may be a suitable option?

[YorkshireT]

I've hired cars and bought the UK policies before. I used carhireexcess.
No basic third party protection is not the same as SLA/ SLI.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

OP. I have done some digging for you and done a dummy booking

Some things to consider

The rental only covers the basic State Minimum for CDW
Glass isn't covered. It is by other companies
Car condition/damage is the renter responsibility - as one would expect if full CDW isn't taken
There is no SLI - that needs purchasing
Reviews are poor.
No free cancellation at any time - $50 fee.

So even if you buy a UK based policy at circa £75 you still can't cancel/amend the booking if the price drops.

Not for me sorry. Plus your 'headline' figure of £477 I got £25 cheaper in 2 mins of looking elsewhere with a UK based supplier.

I lay odds I could get it cheaper still but sadly the Alamo website Worldwide has crashed at the moment.

Edit. be very careful about these UK based policies that quote for coverage. I agree they are quite reasonable for CDW. However they aren't cheap for adding on SLI if it's not rolled up into the original price.

[Erwego]

Interesting points and well worth considering, thank you all.

I should have been clearer on how I came across this, my apologies.
It was found through travelsupermarket, booked through EasyrentCars.com and paid for in pounds. Easyrentcars allow free cancellation.

I've emailed easyrentcars to see what insurance is included and the cover amount.

The voucher includes:

Collision Damage Waiver
Theft Waiver
Basic Third Party Liability Protection
Note: There is 0 excess liability on your rental.

If booking direct through Advantage their website says:

Do I need insurance?
No, if you are renting from an Advantage Rent A Car location in the United States then you do not need to provide your own insurance. Most of our locations offer collision coverage and/or liability insurance for an additional daily fee, but these options are not mandatory and are simply offered for your convenience and peace-of-mind. If you are renting from an international location outside the U.S. then you might need to purchase or provide insurance; please reach out to the affiliate or refer to their local policies for more information.

So Easyrentcars is an affiliate, I'll let you know what they say. SLI is the big question.

[mrs rcch]

We used them last year, didn’t have any problem at all with the policy, it was the same as everyone else’s... HOWEVER. The nearly 3 hours we lost waiting in the line, was more than enough to put us EVER hiring from them again. They went for the hard sell with everyone, when people refused they put it on anyway, they then had to get the manager to remove it... that would be the manager who had just decided he needed to stretch his legs by walking round the airport, and suddenly became unavailable.
If you challenged them, they became very rude and obnoxious, we witnessed them behaving appallingly with an older couple from our flight, luckily a member of their family stepped in, who was at another counter, leaving the older lady in tears.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS

[chmurf]

OP you currently have basic third party protection
you're covered for up to $10.000 for the damages you do to other people or property

Alamo's (and other big players) SLI covers you for 1 million dollars

crash into a $30k car, and total it ... pay $20k from your savings and pray you don't get sued for anything else.
or take the extortionate extra insurance you'll get the hardsell for.

skipping the counter is not only a way to go quicker to your car
it's the way to insure that you will be left alone. You will have booked what you need, and all you need, before going, and won't have any so called rep. trying to tell you the car you booked is not big enough, or will make you look stupid if you drive it, as the color don't match your skin complexion and hair color ...

from where I stand, and only talking about my own money, I'm one of the many who try to make it as cheap as I can.
But £200 saved to be underinsured ... and having desk reps trying to get advantage of me being tired after a long flight ... not worth it.

my opinion.