It is not normally worth taking the 'free' car - and in most instances, you don't have to - the taxes and insurances they slap on often means it is normally much cheaper to book one yourself independently. Its just another way tour operators can make a few bucks off those who are new to the game.

Try looking at the prices on USrentacar, Airline Network etc. (plenty of others people will recommend) and make a comparison with what it would cost you through your package.

I agree with jdybnsn a free car is worth about £30 a week but you will pay a lot for the extras, find a good all inclusive gold package on the net and book it here before you go.

do i take the 'free car' and pay the high insurance, or book independantly direct with the source?
going florida may 2008, flying into sanford.

thanks Mark

Neither - I'd book with a third party agent specialising in car rental; Usrentacar, Airline Network etc ...there are many more that people on here can recommend.

If you book direct with Budget, Dollar, Alamo or Hertz etc. you will often find yourself paying more than through an agent.

If you book direct with Budget, Dollar, Alamo or Hertz etc. you will often find yourself paying more than through an agent

We were going to book through Hertz as the woman on the Hertz phoneline insisted the price you see was the price you get? Is that not correct? Hiring the car seems to be the most difficult thing so far for our trip!

I was refering to their general competativeness, rather than the fact they may add on/sell you extras.

From my experience you normally get a better deal from a broker rather than direct with the company - don't really understand why, but I suppose it the same principle that we usually get better accommodation prices from accommodation only providers, than booking direct with a hotel.

That's not to say you can never, get the best deal direct (I'd never say never ).

However, do be careful if booking direct , particularly with a US based website (not to be confused with a US company, with a UK website !) as often prices quoted don't include various taxes and sometimes, due to the fact they are largely dealing with Americans, who have their own personal cover, do not have insufficient insurance cover for your purposes. Just be very careful
Moral of the story - check the detail & shop around......price variations can be significant between companies for basically the same thing. A good starting point is Travelsupermarket and other comparison websites.

best buy for intermediate seems to be Alamo by a fiver
This is all in insurance with tank of fuel
came out at £268 for 14 days

MaRK

now got that down to £252 booking Alamo through floridacarhire.com

Prices as low as £223 with insurance (Holiday Autos), for standard family car (doubt if that includes full tank of petrol though ) doing a quick search on Travel supermarket, for first fortnight in August (peak season)...

......but as I said the devil is in the detail. lol

PS.. if you are a stickler for a bargain, you can always ring up the second lowest quote and see if they will price beat the lowest

You'd be surprised how low they can actually go sometimes !

£249 with carrentals.co.uk.....all in with fuel

£238 with Usrentacar - fuel included all taxes (Gold cover) - take a look there Markas .

Good game this .... !!!

you didnt check the discounts/offers then?
£238 best for intermediate, but book online and get £5 off
alternetively, if going on hols before end sept 07, book compact at £214 and get upgraded to intermediate!!!!!!!
.....shame i dont go til end may 08

Mark

can get focus for £190 but no fuel
travelsupermarket n budget

Take a look at Enterprise rental- they always have very competitive rates and they will come and pick you up.

Oh no oh no shhhh lol im more confused now
Ok i will wait until the morning to get my head around all this!

We are wanting to hire the car for 15 days from 12th Sept 07 until 27th Sept O7, so we still have "plenty" of time to shop around. I just panic about these things - dont want to think we have it all under wraps, only to arrive at Sanford to be told "Ok thats £100 please!" for something we've missed out........at the same time, dont want to have a bump on holiday then find out we arent covered for it!

Do these company's like Hertz try to "Catch you out" or do they encourage full cover etc?

Also, if anyone could list the specifics we NEED to get for America/Florida - the Waiver thingy's etc? Then at least we can make sure we ARE fully covered! Would be great if someone in the know could do this for us Thanks!!

you didnt check the discounts/offers then?
£238 best for intermediate, but book online and get £5 off

oopps you got me there ...and I should have known Markas because we've booked with them and claimed this very discount

GlitterGirl - try not to stress too much - if you book with a broker, and get a gold or platinum cover (depends what they call them)you should have no worries as this should cover all your needs and you shouldn't get stung for any extra charges. Though do watch out for the (sometimes VERY) hard sell at the airport, on persuading you to take a vehicle upgrade.

Brokers tend to lump all the things you need together, where as the hire companies themselves (whom you will be using anyway), do tend to expect you to chose from a list of options, what you'll need (which is fine if you know what you want !).They are not necessarily trying to rip you off, but you will be vunerable to their sales pitch, if you don't know exactly what you need. and as previously stated you aren't necessarily going to get the best deal, dealing direct with the supplier.

If you really don't know what to go for I would suggest you look at Usrentacar as they are one of the most competative brokers around (maybe not the very cheapest - but if you don't want to / don't have time to hunt around, they will have given you a good deal) and go for their gold cover. They have a user friendly website , plus they have telephone customer support (UK base operators) should you need it. Oh, and don't forget to put in the promotion code 'ONLINE' to get your £5 discount.

Another point to bear in mind, and a bug bear of many a car booking - where possible get yourself a deal that includes a 'free' tank of fuel - which is obviously not exactly free as you probably be paying more for the car hire. Or go for a deal that allows (and make sure it is specified in the deal) you to return the car back to the airport FULL of fuel. There are two advantages to this ;

1. Many hire car companies will specify for you to bring it back to the airport empty, and then merrily charge you for filling it for the next customer - the cost of which will be considerably more expensive than if you were allowed to fill it before arriving at the airport yourself. This is a nice little earner for the hire company, and an added cost to your car hire price at the end of the holiday - they hold your credit card details don't forget, so can charge what they like.

2. Petrol (or 'gas') prices are rising steadily in the US at the moment, so if you pay now for a tank of fuel, before you go, you are not only helping to budget your holiday more effectively, you may well be paying less for at least one tank of fuel you are going to use over there !

Hope this helps with your decision.

Actually, gas prices have decreased quite a bit in the last few months. They are creeping up a little at the moment but that's because it is summer and prices traditionally increase at this time of the year.