Car Rentals

[Thief]

Does anyone know of any (national) car rental agency that does not require you to have a credit card? I thought I was really smart by surviving all this time without one, but now I find out that these bastards won't accept debit. Thanks.

[Xaerve]

not sure-- zipcar.com?

[Jazuela]

The reason rental companies require a credit card, is because they're trusting you to return the car, and return it in the condition you took it. The credit card is insurance against your failure to do just that. If you run off with it and don't return it, they just charge the amount of the car's value onto your card and the problem is solved. If you return it all bashed up - the cost of repair goes against your card. Even if you took out insurance - the card covers the cost, and the insurance reimburses the card (personal experience, heh. Don't do business with Avis. Trust me on that).

[Thief]

Fuck, Avis was who I was planning to visit tomorrow morning. Any elaboration, or was it just one huge clusterfuck?

[Doughboy]

I got my brother a car from Thrifty on a debit card. So you might want to check there.

[Sean of the Thread]

Use a prepaid low limit card when dealing with car rentals.

[Thief]

Yea, Thrifty was actually the first place I went to. I'm guessing it's just the location I went to, because the 800# approved me. But that one was pretty adamant on the whole "No Debit Card" thing.

[Sean]

After a little bit of back and forth I rented from enterprise with a debit card. I just had to give them a deposit. Just tell them you don't have a credit card, if they want your business they'll figure out how to get you in a car.

[Jazuela]

Dealing with Avis was a nightmare. Hubby rented for a tournament in Alabama. The roads were wet that day, he was stopped at a red light. A car slid into the intersection and hit him. He had to go to a nearby Quick-Stop (like a 7-11) to get the police report; apparently it's so common down there they call it Operation Slick Street and accidents resulting from wet conditions are handled at convenience stores instead of by the police department.

Minor damage, the car was completely driveable. So he turns the car back to Avis, and the bill is here when he gets home from the trip. Over $13000, and he's expected to pay it out of pocket. They wanted the entire value of the car, rather than just the cost of repairs. Even though he paid for the insurance option. They pulled the "acts of god" paragraph out of the policy and claimed that wet road conditions are acts of god and therefore not covered by the insurance.

They tried to sue us. We tried to sue the driver of the car that hit him since it was -clearly- their fault. It was a HUGE mess, and at the end of the ordeal we still ended up having to pay the $500 deductible and the driver's insurance paid the balance. The whole thing took two years to resolve, with our credit hanging on the line the entire time. If they harmed our credit rating, our mortgage company might have called in our loan and we would've ended up homeless. All because Avis tried to get $13000 from us, to pay for around $1000 worth of body damage, on a technicality of their insurance policy which we willingly paid extra for.

[Gan]

If they harmed our credit rating, our mortgage company might have called in our loan and we would've ended up homeless.

Unless thats a law specific to your state, I've never heard of a note call clause allowing a lender to call your note due and payable based on your current credit score. Per the language in your Deed of Trust and Note, the lender has agreed to the rate and term of your loan notwithstanding your promise to pay. I would pull your papers that you signed at closing (Deed of Trust and Note) and review them again just to be sure. The two standard clauses that will make your note called are 1)failure of payment and 2)loan not assumable to another party. Other than those two happening, the lender is legally obligated to extend the note to you as long as you meet those two minimum requirements.

[Sean]

Something I learned last time I rented from Enterprise through my insurance company after my car was hit... always check the roof of the car. Enterprise gave me a F-150 (all they had) that was covered in snow residue because of a rental shortage and my wanting to get out of there. No one checked the roof when I rented it for damage but when I returned it the manager climbed up in the bed and checked the roof and found a couple little dents on the roof. I refused to pay them the $500 deduct and it appears to have gone away since then but I still had to deal with them claims service.

[Thief]

Alright, found a little used car lot that also rents out their merchandise. All the advice was greatly appreciated, thanks a lot.