car rental Archives - Your Mileage May Vary

Learn What You May Have To Pay For Toll Roads BEFORE Renting A Car

When you rent a car anywhere in the U.S.A., you will always encounter some charges tacked on to the cost of the actual rental. Taxes. Fees. Surcharges. Upcharges. You know what I mean. If you’re going to be on any toll roads during your rental period, you should know ahead of time what the charges will be for tolls, especially if you’re going to be on a toll road that doesn’t take cash (a situation that is happening more and more often). Not following each rental car company’s respective rules for same could potentially gain you extra penalties that could run from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars. Here’s the rundown on what to expect:

Continue reading “Learn What You May Have To Pay For Toll Roads BEFORE Renting A Car”

Timing Your Flights To Save Money On Your Rental Car

Did you know that taking a different flight may save you money on your rental car? It can, because of the way car rental companies figure out your final bill. Unlike other reservations, like hotels, your car rental is calculated using a 24 hour clock. Here’s how that can make a big difference in the price of your rental.

Continue reading “Timing Your Flights To Save Money On Your Rental Car”

Silvercar Is Offering Different Cars, Opening New Locations And Changing Their Name

We love renting cars from Silvercar and have always had a good experience when using them. Their no-hassle pricing model, that doesn’t charge extra for going through a toll booth or having them fill the car with gas, is wonderful, especially if you’re in a hurry. If you want to read more about why we love using Silvercar so much, here’s our article about how our biggest problem is we hardly ever get to use them.

Anyway, Silvercar has been busy making some big changes over the last few months:

They’ve added new rental locations
They now rent three different Audi models
They changed their name

Continue reading “Silvercar Is Offering Different Cars, Opening New Locations And Changing Their Name”

How To Tell Various Map Apps To Avoid Tolls

There are plenty of driving apps out there. Regardless of which one you use, the most important setting to know is the one telling the app to avoid tolls. On my recent trip to New Jersey, I knew that I’d be traveling through a major toll road area. I set Waze, my preferred map (when I’m traveling somewhere with reliable cell service), to avoid tolls.

The first leg of my trip was easy because, unknown to me, New Jersey has eliminated tolls on the Northbound Garden State Parkway (GSP). Going from my lunch with family to my grammar school reunion was another story; I knew there’d be tolls.

Continue reading “How To Tell Various Map Apps To Avoid Tolls”

What To Do When A Rental Car Company Is Out Of Cars

We don’t rent cars all that often. We’ve become much more comfortable taking public transportation to/from the airport in major cities like New York and Chicago and then using Uber/Lyft/Taxi to get around whatever city or town we’re in. We only need a rental car on trips when we’re going to places where public transportation isn’t an option (like when we went to South of the Border).

So why is it that on about 50% of our trips, there are no available cars when we get to the rental car counter/garage? Continue reading “What To Do When A Rental Car Company Is Out Of Cars”