Car Rentals!

[XPav]

So, I'm planning a trip.

It would be convenient if I could fly into Nashville, rent a car, spend time there, then drive to Atlanta, and fly out of there. Some people say "one way rentals are $$$", other people say that for major airport to airport, it's not that bad.

What does the hivemind know?

[jerri blank]

The hivemind says check the car rental web sites.

[Leah C]

Call an airport location and ask them directly. Sometimes they'll have a one-way that needs to go back to the state of origin and if that happens to be where you're going, they may cut you a deal especially if it's not exactly the kind of car you'd otherwise be renting. A friend and I got a deal going cross country that way.

[Enduro_Man]

Generally, the greater the distance and the more state lines you cross, the bigger your drop fee will be. I can't imagine it being too much for Nashville-Atlanta, but do as jerri says and check the price breakdown at the major agencies. The transporting charge should be a fixed cost, and could vary significantly between rental companies.

In my experience, I've never seen discounts given for airport locations. You always pay extra for the convenience and better selection.

Also, Google around to find some discount codes.

[Greedo]

Leah pretty much gave the same advice I would have. If you're not dead-set on a certain category of vehicle, you might be able to find a pretty decent rate. Call around and see what each of the agencies have to say.

There are also certain categories of vehicles that they won't send one-way to certain cities for whatever reason. A couple of years ago, Hertz wouldn't let us rent a Ford Excursion for a one-way trip from Chicago to Denver.

[Diana Baba]

Whether there will be a one way rental fee depends on distance and how much trouble it is to get the car back to its home counter. This is not a hard and fast rule however. If they have to send a staff member expect it to cost big bucks. Typically its free if there is enough tourist traffic driving cars back and forth, ie renting in orlando and dropping off in lax. (that used to be free with Alamo). There are cases where you cannot bring a rental across state lines due to local or state law. (I would have to go to work to check, I'm a travel agent) There are other cases where they won't permit it simply because they are afraid the car won't come back or they only keep one of that type in the lot (smaller counters) and/or they have a rental lined up for it. The rental company's insurance also comes into play for this somehow. I've seen fees as high as $500 but average seems to be $100. Typically within the same state/city there is no fee, but do not always assume this is true.

So the answer is, it depends.

[Timemaster Tim]

We flew into San Francisco and meandered our way down to San Diego in a rental and flew out of San Diego. The one-way fee varied significantly by rental agency. We went with the one that was $0.00 so it pays to call around.

[Houngan]

Also, stick with the major brands. The reason for the fee is that you're crossing franchises, and they don't want to deal with handling someone else's car.

H.

[BennyProfane]

I did one-way rentals several times last summer, driving from NC to Michigan and then taking the train back when I needed to return. The rental companies LOVED me because NOBODY was going TO Michigan, everyone was running from there as fast as they could. So they needed to get vehicles back there. I got a great rate every time. But YMMV, it really depends on what they need.

[WildElf]

Generally, the greater the distance and the more state lines you cross, the bigger your drop fee will be. I can't imagine it being too much for Nashville-Atlanta, but do as jerri says and check the price breakdown at the major agencies. The transporting charge should be a fixed cost, and could vary significantly between rental companies.

Drop fees can also vary by location. Usually renting from an airport will charge a one-way fee no matter where you end up (even if its to a location in the same city). But outside of airports I found there's often no fee. Although, this was mostly within 200-500 miles of the origin, so cross country might be different, but calling around will definitely help you.