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Old 11-24-2014, 10:56 PM
 
Location: SoCal
542 posts, read 1,548,277 times
Reputation: 756

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I haven't been on city data much for several months, but am excited to be posting that it looks like my husband and I will be visiting Colorado Springs soon! We will be landing at Denver airport this Saturday and leaving Wednesday. We will just be driving around Colorado Springs, not driving to the mountains. I have never rented a car myself before, so I have a few questions.
- Any car rental companies you recommend? Any we should avoid? Looks like Advantage, Fox, EZ, and Payless are much cheaper than the other companies (Hertz, Enterprise, etc.), is there a catch?
- How will the driving conditions be? What type of car should we rent (based on road conditions)? Can you select a specific type of car, like AWD, when renting?

Thanks in advance!
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Old 11-25-2014, 06:11 AM
 
6,813 posts, read 10,508,707 times
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Monitor the forecasts - 10 days out is not super reliable. But at this point it sounds like road conditions should be normal. I see a chance of snow for that Thursday that could move to Wednesday or something. If you're driving on the Interstate and main roads primarily it probably won't matter at all what kind of car you get. As for renting - others may know more than me.
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Old 11-25-2014, 08:34 AM
 
Location: Santa Fe, NM
1,836 posts, read 3,164,406 times
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You will have options when renting a car, and prices will increase for larger cars, AWD, etc. They will try to get you to pay for their insurance, but you might check your existing auto insurance to see what they cover regarding rental cars, so maybe you will not need to buy the extra insurance. Also, check your credit card company to see if they provide auto rental insurance.
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Old 11-25-2014, 08:56 AM
 
Location: Colorado
2,483 posts, read 4,370,184 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Galaxie Girl View Post
- Any car rental companies you recommend? Any we should avoid? Looks like Advantage, Fox, EZ, and Payless are much cheaper than the other companies (Hertz, Enterprise, etc.), is there a catch?
No catch. A higher end company like Hertz offers more services and upgrades but at the economy level the cars are basically the same. When I travel for business I use Hertz because my company has an account with them and they cater a little more to business travelers. When I travel on my own I use budget because it's cheap, and all I need is a car that drives. As long as you choose any of the national brand companies there should be minimal issues with he car itself, since they have to keep their fleet pretty new and clean. You just need to make sure you take a good look at it on pickup and report any problems before you drive off so that you don;t get charged for it when you leave. I agree with what others said too, check with your bank, credit card, act to see if they cover the insurance for you, and then choose a company that they cover. Avoid upgrades, use your phone to navigate. If you plan to take E-470 (toll road) work that out with the rental agent at the time of pickup. Or just take Pena Blvd/225 and forget about it.
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Old 11-25-2014, 10:34 AM
 
34 posts, read 56,805 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beezle1 View Post
You will have options when renting a car, and prices will increase for larger cars, AWD, etc. They will try to get you to pay for their insurance, but you might check your existing auto insurance to see what they cover regarding rental cars, so maybe you will not need to buy the extra insurance. Also, check your credit card company to see if they provide auto rental insurance.
Yes, please understand your insurance before getting to the rental car desk. If they talk you into insurance it may easily double your cost. If you have Visa, you more than likely are covered. You're own auto insurance may also provide some coverage.

As for vehicles any front wheel drive car will do just fine as long as you take it easy. You'll probably have to get an SUV if you want AWD.
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Old 11-25-2014, 11:20 AM
 
26,204 posts, read 49,007,205 times
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Current forecasts are for temps in the 40s and 50s. No snow other than maybe a flurry. Rent whatever suits you.

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Old 11-25-2014, 11:53 AM
 
Location: SoCal
542 posts, read 1,548,277 times
Reputation: 756
Thanks everyone! I will contact my auto insurance to see what they cover.

I'm baffled by how much cheaper those companies are than the others. For example, EZ is offering a mid-size car for $7 a day (plus taxes, etc.), so the total should be around $70 for our whole trip. Compare that with Hertz, Budget, Alamo, Enterprise, etc., which are each over $60 a day! I don't know how they can be a fraction of the cost of other companies, seems fishy.
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Old 11-25-2014, 01:06 PM
 
Location: Colorado
2,483 posts, read 4,370,184 times
Reputation: 2686
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galaxie Girl View Post
EZ is offering a mid-size car for $7 a day (plus taxes, etc.), so the total should be around $70 for our whole trip. Compare that with Hertz, Budget, Alamo, Enterprise, etc., which are each over $60 a day! I don't know how they can be a fraction of the cost of other companies, seems fishy.
I've not used EZ rental car, but my guess is they they aren't at the airport so you have to get to some lot in the city where a guy has a car he'll let you drive for $7+ a day. I did that once in Hawaii and it worked out fine, but the car was old and dirty and it took him a while to find my reservation (handwritten in a paper ledger) and figure out if he even had a car for me. If you want to avoid old cars and uncertainty, use Budget or one of the other services at the airport.

This might help...
http://www.yelp.com/biz/e-z-rent-a-car-denver
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Old 11-25-2014, 02:02 PM
 
67 posts, read 108,607 times
Reputation: 166
To elaborate a bit on Otterpods comment about inspecting the rental car...... Be sure and inspect every inch of the car including getting on your knees to look under the front bumper at the plastic molded shroud that hangs below. I didn't....WAS ACCUSED OF THE DAMAGE....and ended up paying. I was TORKED off and asked if I'm supposed to crawl under the car to inspect the undercarriage too? I guess I learned.
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Old 11-26-2014, 01:17 PM
 
Location: SoCal
542 posts, read 1,548,277 times
Reputation: 756
Thanks!

EZ appears to provide a shuttle from the airport to their lot, like all the other car rental places do. I'm going to call and confirm a few things with them before i decide who we rent from.

And yes, I will definitely give the car a good once-over for any prior damage before we drive it away.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!
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