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Michelle
11-03-2002, 19:24
A few more tips to help you on your way.
A current Driving Licence is a must (For British visitors a current British Driving Licence. The age limit to hire a car is 21

If you have pre paid the hire charge in your home country do not forget to take your pre paid voucher.

A current Credit/Debit card for the security deposit.

Always carry your driving license and rental agreement with you.

Must wear your seat belt at all times.

The speed limit is generally 55mph, although in non urban areas it goes up to 65mph. Watch all signs carefully for any increase or decreas in the speed limit.

You may turn right on a red traficc light after coming to a stop,to make sure the ways clear, unless signs indiacte other wise.

In the unlikely event of an accident, you must report it to the police immediately and equally important, to the company with which you hired the car.

Petrol Stations (Gas Stations in USA) are numerousand in most cases self service. In some gas stations you may have to pay first before you pump petrol.

When navigating, remember that all roads are numbered, and go from East to West or North to South. At junctions or exits of major roads, signs will have number of the road you will be leading onot.

On most Express routes you will come across toll booths, it is a good idea to keep a couple of dollars in change, although change can be given.

When driving in the rain, it is law that you must have car lights on as well as windscreen wipers.



Edited by - Michelle on 11/03/2002 14:26:09

Edited by - Michelle on 11/03/2002 14:27:00

Edited by - Michelle on 11/03/2002 21:52:31

carole7007
11-03-2002, 21:32
If like us last Easter you get to the Airport, and the airline have changed your flight, don't panick.

We were scheduled to go on a flight to Miami, because of a problem the flight was changed to Orlando (even better thats where we wanted to go in the first place, but no seats available, when we booked).

Panick set in the hire car was booked for collection from Miami.

We rang the number on the booking slip expecting problems, the staff were so helpful, they assured us there would not be a problem, they would sort it.

We arrived in Orlando International Airport, thinking is this going to be a simple as she said.

It was, they had faxed ahead, and a soon as we gave our name in, they had everything organised. No problems at all.

We were flying out of Miami, and it was all organised we could drop the car off there as originally planned.



Carole & Keith

Edited by - carole7007 on 11/03/2002 16:34:17

paul
18-06-2002, 15:30
before my trip i read on a forum that you should bring the rental car back full of petrol. when i arrived the clerk at dollar told me the car was full and asked me if i wanted to pay for it then or when i returned it..i paid then ($28) and expected a refund when i returned it full... i found out a day later that i wouldnt get a refund for any petrol in the tank when i returned...what made me more annoyed was when i refilled and it cost me $9..i have asked dollar how they came up with the $28 and they said they use a higher rate of $1.95 a gallon plus tax which is a dollar more than local stations. so dont pay at the start and bring it back full instead!!....it may sound daft that i am whinging about $20 after spending nearly £3000 but i dont like being ripped off!

another thing which disapointed me with dollar was the hard sell on an upgrade...the clerk told me the car i had been allocated would be too small to get my luggage in (we had 2 cases) and that i wouldnt beable to use the airconditioning as it wouldnt leave enough power to drive up any kind of hill, then she went on that its only once a year and that i shouldnt settle for a downsize in car from what i am used to at home!!..the car turned out to be a medium 4 door saloon with plenty of power and space!

paul

blott
18-06-2002, 16:12
Paul

Sorry you had problems with your rental car petrol/gas.

The advice to take it back full applied if you had not paid for a tank of fuel. Never pay for a tank of fuel if you can avoid it because, as you've found out, the rental companies charge a surcharge.

I had the same problem once but, if you are forced to pay for a tank of fuel and you return it to Dollar with the tank full, go to the car rental desk after you have checked your car back in and checked in for your return flight and ask for a refund. They only do it if you ask before you get on your plane. However, it may be possible still to get a refund if you email Dollar (www.dollar.com) and explain the situation (I did and it worked!), particularly if you still have the small rental slip of paper they gave you when you checked your car back at the airport as it will have your reference number on it and say that the car tank was full.

Florida visitors should also note that Dollar have now made a ruling that you must refill the tank within 10 miles of the airport and retain the receipt for inspection.

Remember that the rental desk clerks are sales persons. They will always try to sell you an upgrade on either your car or insurance as they get paid commission on this. My advice would be to always try to get an all-inclusive car rental in the UK as these are invariably cheaper than buying in USA. If you do this, ensure in advance that you know exactly what you've paid for and that you don't need to upgrade anything. Then you can withstand the 'hard sell' much better when you're tired after your flight!

Blott

paul
18-06-2002, 16:38
i had the full insurance package already prepaid so they couldnt try to force any of that onto me. what really annoyed me was the clerk making me out to be 'tight' for not paying for a bigger car!!

another thing i noted was the mayhem in the car return lanes at Sanford. There was 2 flights going out so there was loads of car returns and no one seemed to know what you were supposed to do. The idea is to move the car up the lane as far as possible and leave the keys in the car. But there was no signs up and some people were expecting to drive up the lanes and were getting irate when they saw people 'abandoning' their cars in front of them, and some were told to wait by their cars for an attendant to check it in while others were told to just leave it...madness!

paul

steph_goodrum
18-06-2002, 16:56
Personally I wouldn't leave the car without having had it checked off and paperwork signed as if it got "bumped" after you'd left it , you can guess who they would say was responsible and try and get the money from.

Babblin Boo

IAFF760
16-01-2003, 05:33
>When navigating, remember that all roads are numbered, and go from >East to West or North to South. At junctions or exits of major >roads, signs will have number of the road you will be leading onot.

Generally speaking roads with even numbers run east/west and those with odd numbers north/south. This is true of all interstate highways/expressways, as well as most state and local roads.