We've often discussed the many challenges of renting cars domestically and internationally; however, I couldn't find a dedicated thread, so here it is. Maybe I should aggregate previous interesting discussions here. To start off, here's a NYT article about something I've often wondered about:
The final paragraph of the article is hard to swallow because I view third-party car insurance as a racket in cases when your credit card explicitly tells you to decline additional coverage.
What's to stop the rental agency's car insurance from throwing up roadblocks to foreigners who've returned home (similar to travel insurance -- "if you'd read the fine print in the contract, you would know that we require this and this and this") -- and the hapless tourist would likely just give up at a certain point and not contact the NY Times ombudsman. In that case, the customer is out the $1,300 damage fee AND the additional cost of third-party insurance!
The final paragraph of the article is hard to swallow because I view third-party car insurance as a racket in cases when your credit card explicitly tells you to decline additional coverage.
There is one tactic that could help prevent these types of headaches when renting a car abroad — counterintuitive as it may seem to most seasoned travelers: If it’s not too expensive, consider just buying the rental agency’s damage protection.
What's to stop the rental agency's car insurance from throwing up roadblocks to foreigners who've returned home (similar to travel insurance -- "if you'd read the fine print in the contract, you would know that we require this and this and this") -- and the hapless tourist would likely just give up at a certain point and not contact the NY Times ombudsman. In that case, the customer is out the $1,300 damage fee AND the additional cost of third-party insurance!
about the U.S.-Canada border crossing.