Last summer I stumbled on a way to save some money going to the races. RENT A CAR!

I didn't have anything bigger than a suitcase, an ice chest, and a camera bag, so I didn't really need my B-250 Dodge Van.

The Van was on its last legs, uneaven compression, 180,000 miles, 11 MPG, and a malfunctioning Air Conditioner (the last straw.)

I had a 300 mile round trip and did a quick calculation to find out I could rent a small car for the weekend, pay for the gas, and drive to the race and back cheaper than for the gas alone for my van.

I did it several weekends. I got to drive an almost new car every trip and saved $$each time.

For this to work financially, you have to get good rental rates, and your regular auto insurance must cover liability and collision/comprehensive for the rental car. It also helps if you have a credit card that provides supplemental rental car insurance to cover the deductibles for your insurance and the dreaded "loss of service" charges, should you crash the rental.

If you don't have to haul the bikes, and your only vehicle is a gas-guzzler check out the price on a rental.

I got good terms from Enterprise, but you may find other deals as well. Rental rates vary depending on demand, so reserve early if you decide to do it.

Remember, check into the insurance angle. Unless your own car insurance covers your rental, the rental car insurance can eat up your savings and you do NOT want to take the risk of crashing a rental and having to pay for it.

It's better than staying home because your car is a gas guzzler like my van.

...
Don Potter

I have been renting Enterprise to travel to the Road Races for five years.

Big problem with a damaged rental car is your contract for rental clock continues to run while the vehicle is out for repair and not available in their fleet for rental. That can add up to be a big bill quick.

There is no way I could put 7,000 plus miles on my 1989 pick-up truck in a 10 race season traveling to announce those events.

I have a corporate account with Enterprise and we use it for renting passenger vans to move talent from motels to the venues, our staff rents under our account, we use cargo vans for equipment transportation and even for some time off leisure trips.

Sure is comfortable knowing you have tire repair coverage and replacement coverage should the rental develop a mechanical problem along the trail. When a couple of thousand people are relying on me to introduce the race

Down side to car rental is the $200 hold they place on your credit card for each and every rental. So on the months I am required to travel two or more times, I am hit with a $200 hold for up to 30 days for each rental. One month I had $800 held on my card, and it does not release until 30 days past the return date of the car.

Other than Thanksgiving weekend when I had a cargo van reserved and was informed on Wednesday night that they could not rent me the van due to some issue with the credit card I have, I was not a happy customer. Never have had anyother problems other than having to wait until around 5pm to leave when I am due at the track at 5:30am the next morning following a 12 hour drive. I reserve all my car rentals for the 10 race series in October when the schedule is published. One would think a corporate repeat customer making reservations 4 plus months in advance would have some credentials, but apparently not.

I still like the folks with Enterprise. Despite a few hick-ups I still suggest Enterprise.

AMP wrote, in part:

QUOTE:

Big problem with a damaged rental car is your contract for rental clock continues to run while the vehicle is out for repair and not available in their fleet for rental. That can add up to be a big bill quick.

Bob,

Thanks for the info.
That is the "dreaded loss of service" issue I was talking about.

As you indicated, the insurance issue is probably the most complex and risky part of renting a car.
You've got to invest some of your time talking with your insurance company to find out how much they will cover your liability and collision/comprehensive insurance for the rental car.
If you have a major credit card, especially a "platinum" card, they may cover some insurance as well, but you've got to check it out.
Also, their coverage for vans/trucks may not be as good as their coverage for passenger cars.

You can save money IF you can decline the rental car company's insurance coverage (sometimes equal to the car rental). But don't decline it unless you are covered by your own insurance/credit card. You do NOT want to be on the hook for damage to a $30,000 rental car and you definitely don't want to be on the hook for a major personal injury liability judgement.

Check all this out when you reserve the rental car. You don't want to be caught without information when you're standing at the rental counter at 11:30 Saturday and the rental office closes at noon!

Two more items,
- Check out on any restrictions on where you can take the car. (My rental contract in Hawaii specified that I couldn't take the car out of state.)
- If you are "car pooling" and want any additional drivers authorized, you will at least have to have a copy of their drivers license and they may have to be there in person.

I will admit that it took a real readjustment of my thinking to consider renting a car when I had my own van available, but it made sense financially and the breakdown coverage is a good thing.

Happy traveling,

Don Potter

Well if you're not racing than it really doesn't make sense to drive anything with a large gas guzzeling motor. But if you want to get 2 or 3 bikes to the track for a whole season as efficiently as possible, I still believe a good full size van is the way to go. Smaller, more fuel efficient vehicals may be available but they won't hold up under heavy-duty, year-after-year conditions that real world racers will probably put them through. A modern full size van with EFI will get surprisingly good highway mileage. I generally travel with at least one other racer so we split gas cost. I will transport legal items for others if they make it worth my trouble. I try to plan ahead to get good room rates. I sleep in the van when conditions allow. I take as much food as I need with me instead of buying on the road. Sorry, I'm not going to buy the event T-shirt, the money is going in my tank {but if it's free, I'd like 2 please}. This is how real world racers will make it through the season. I'm sure others have some very practical suggestions too.

Nick Taylor