Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [362]
Super Cheap Cars 310-645-3993; www.supercheapcar.com; 10212 La Cienega Blvd; 9am-4:30pm Mon-Sat) has no surcharge for anyone over 21, but you must buy full insurance from them. This is also one of the few companies renting to 20-year-olds, albeit with a $10 per day surcharge.
The following major international car-rental companies have dozens of branches throughout California:
Alamo ( 800-327-9633; www.alamo.com)
Avis ( 800-331-1212; www.avis.com)
Budget ( 800-527-0700; www.budget.com)
Dollar ( 800-800-4000; www.dollar.com)
Enterprise ( 800-325-8007; www.enterprise.com)
Hertz ( 800-654-3131; www.hertz.com)
National ( 800-227-7368; www.nationalcar.com)
Thrifty ( 800-367-2277; www.thrifty.com)
Overseas travelers should look into prepaid deals or fly-drive packages arranged in your home country, which often work out cheaper than on-the-spot rentals. Search the rental and airline companies’ websites as well as online travel agencies for deals.
MOTORCYCLES
With a heritage that predates Easy Rider and The Wild One, motorcycling in America is an iconic experience. You need a valid motorcycle license and preferably also an International Driving Permit, endorsed for motorcycles, to simplify the rental process. To drive on freeways, you must have at least a 150cc engine.
Motorcycle rentals and insurance are not cheap, especially if you’ve got your eye on a Harley-Davidson or BMW. Eagle Rider ( 310-536-6777, 888-900-9901; www.eaglerider.com) has rental outlets in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Palm Springs and Las Vegas. Depending on the model, it costs $60 to $150 per day, including helmets, unlimited miles and liability insurance. Collision insurance (CDW) costs extra. You can rent in one city and return in another for an extra $100.
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ECO CARS
If you’d like to minimize your contribution to SoCal’s polluted air, consider renting a biodiesel-powered car from Bio-Beetle ( 877-876-6121, 808-873-6121; www.bio-beetle.com), based at LA International Airport (LAX). With rates starting at $50 a day and $200 a week, these cars are a bit more expensive, but with 30 to 45 miles per gallon you’ll get a major break at the pump. Besides VW Beetles, their fleet also includes the larger Golf, Jetta and Passat.
Fox Rent-a-Car ( 800-225-4369, ext 1; www.foxrentacar.com) rents Prius, Honda Civic and Escape hybrids from $50 a day and $270 per week. The company has offices at LAX, John Wayne, Palm Springs and San Diego airports.
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RECREATIONAL VEHICLES
Traveling by RV is a popular way of exploring Southern California. It’s easy to find campgrounds with hookups for electricity and water, but in big cities RVs are a nuisance, since there are few places to park or plug it in. They’re cumbersome to navigate and burn fuel at an alarming rate, but they solve transportation, accommodation and cooking needs in one fell swoop.
Costs vary by size and model, but you can generally expect to pay from $100 per day for a small campervan sleeping two or three adults to as much as $300 for a mansion on wheels. Your local travel agency may have the best deals, or contact Cruise America ( 800-327-7799; www.cruiseamerica.com) or LA-based Happy Travel Campers ( 310-675-1335, 800-370-1262; www.camperusa.com).
Insurance
California law requires liability insurance for all vehicles, but it’s not automatically included in rental contracts because many Americans are covered for rental cars under their personal car-insurance policies. Check your own policy carefully and don’t pay extra if you’re already covered. If you’re not, expect to pay about $15 per day. Foreign visitors should check their travel-insurance policies to see if they cover rental cars.
Insurance against damage to the car itself, called Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) or Loss Damage Waiver (LDW), costs about $15 per day; it may require that you pay the first $100 to $500 for any repairs. Some credit cards, especially the gold and platinum versions, cover CDW/LDW for a certain rental