USA Car Rental - Optional Extras!!

[cemeterybird]

I am trying to organise Car Rental in America and it is a nightmare with all the extra charges, some sites include some but not others and are not very clear what the 'other's cost...... so far I have come across: State Tax, Rental Tax, Airport Concession Fee Recovery, Government Service Fee, Customer Facility Charge, Vehicle Licencing Cost Recovery, Liability Insurance Supplement, Loss Damage Waiver, Personal Accident Insurance/Personal Effects Coverage, Uninsured Motorist Protection, Vehicle Licence Fee, Collision Damage Waver plus 'Hold on Card' costs, full tank/empty tank options and of course, extra driver charge (which is about the only one I understand!! What a nightmare!!
Can anyone enlighten me please as what are mandatory and which, out of the optionals, are wisest to have? I am assuming that those sites where you cannot find out what these extras cost, just spring them on you on your arrival at the Pick up Desk? I would much prefer to find out about them and pay for the ones I want in advance, than to be pressurised when I am tired from a long transatlantic flight. Any advice received with thanks.

[dzug]

DON'T organise it in the US.

Just book through the likes of Holiday Autos or Auto Europe here - they will include all the extras you need in an inclusive price that is normally less than booking direct with the company in the US once the extras are added..

[dzug]

Oh and if you do go the US route you need everything except Personal Accident Insurance/Personal Effects Coverage which you will already have on your holiday insurance.

The rest are either unavoidable (taxes, etc) or highly advisable to ward off a multi million dollar law suit in the case of a serious accident.

If you do book an inclusive rate the only thing to avoid is being sold an upgrade to a more expensive car on arrival. They will either have run out of, or pretend to have run out of, the grade you booked. Hold out - if they have actually run out you'll get the upgrade for nothing.

[cemeterybird]

Thanks dzug for your advice. I did a lot of research last weekend into a number of sites, both UK & US. I had so much info whirling around in my brain, I ended up doing a spreadsheet to compare them all (sad, I know :-) but the outcome was that I am now a lot wiser about all these charges and for the benefit of anyone else who reads this posting, the most comprehensive 'all inclusive' quote, which hid nothing and made all the info easily accessible was www.dollar.co.uk. (NOT dollar.com). They are tailored for UK visitors to the US and include everything!! Their quote might seem a little higher than some of the others (not a lot!!) but they won't spring you with anything extra when you reach your destination.
I'll bear in mind your advice about being pressured to take an upgrade :-). As it is, we are booking a 4 x 4 to travel around Arizona, Grand Canyon etc., so I hopefully don't think they'll offer us anything larger!!
Thanks again for your advice.

[VillageVicar]

May I offer some sound advice: Hertz and Avis offer a 'pre-pay' rate that is inclusive of everything. PAI, CDW, PEC, etc.
As a visitor to the country, I think peace of mind is important. Whilst Holiday Autos is nice, the challenge with them is that they sub-buy from different companies. Should anything, Heaven forbid, happen to your car, it's tremendous peace of mind to have companies who literally have locations everywhere. This is often not the case with franchise rental companies such as Thrifty, Econocar, etc. If you choose not to use the prepay feature, use a company like orbitz to look at their matrix which details all the additional fees and hidden fees, such as ...are you under 31 years of age...are you over 65, will there be an extra driver, pre-pay tanks (don't do it!) etc.,

The adage to remember is: The cheapest is not always the least expensive! Bon Voyage Fr. Bill