[Technocrat]

Early this year, I had rented a car in LA & dropped it in Vegas. I traveled 3(or was it 4) states.

Only thing is, they will charge you extra if you drop the car in a different city/state.

[Superleggera]

Guys, Beltronics RX65 Radar detector is available for $149 (Red), $169 (blue) wit free shipping here
Seems to be a good deal. I bought the blue one today.

[leodelg]

Originally Posted by balajird

Thanks for your comments Mohit and Vineeth. I am now kind of leaning towards "Continental PureContact Tire 215/60R16SL 95V", hope this is a good choice. Please let me know if this is good.

Mohit, Michelin Defender is not showing for the size that I require.

Sorry to cause further confusion, but even though Vancouver doesn't get as much snow as interior BC, I don't think all-season tires are the solution. Generally, the performance of all-season tires (grip/stopping distance) reduces when the temperature drops below 7C as the rubber compound starts losing its flexibility.

I would suggest getting all-weather tires instead (specifically the Nokian WRG3 - you can get these from Kaltire). These should do you fine in Vancouver all through the year and winter trips to Whistler. However, if you plan serious winter driving like crossing the Coquihalla in winter, I would recommend getting proper winter tires.

https://shop.kaltire.com/tiresdetails2/tireid/8145/

In terms of road noise, I just changed my winter tires to the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 and the road noise is actually less that my Continental ContiProContact all season tires.

[Superleggera]

Originally Posted by arun_kun

I was specifically talking about the insurance provided by rental companies.

My colleague in US was saying the same, that they do not need to take any insurance while taking rental as their insurance will cover. I felt strange, did not
get chance to discuss in detail. Felt strange though. Is it same in European countries too?

The rental insurance can be divided into two-

1. Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) for your car : This means the insurance that you pay is to cover any damages for the rental car, regardless of fault. Typical it comes to an average of $20 a day. Credit card companies like Amex offers a good deal on this - you pay a onetime fee of $26 and your LDW is covered for next 40 days. There are similar options for VISA card too - which is free - you need to pay with the VISA card for rental. I would recommend Amex Insurance, it seems to be reliable.

2. Third party : If you already have a rental insurance in US, third party coverage is covered by your insurance and you don’t have to take this again. Else you need to take this coverage. LDW will not cover third party insurance.

If your brother is already having an insurance, put him as a the primary renter and add your name as the driver and take LDW, either by paying full day charge or using other facilities like Amex/VISA.

Alternatively in some states (Nevada included) you can purchase renters insurance on a monthly basis which covers both LDW and third party.

Pls see the links below:
http://www.aig.com/travel-insurance_3171_441378.html
www.americanexpress.com/CarRental‎

[amitoj]

Guys, what all DIY stuff have you done on your cars?
All I have been able to do so far is:
1. Install a Cold Air Intake
2. Change spark plugs.

Both were fairly easy jobs. In hindsight of course.

Now, when the summer comes, a friend of mine and I are thinking of taking up replacing struts on his Accord, which has cross 100K miles. We are still debating whether to go for aftermarket ones or just OE replacements.

Anyway, we both are novices but what has somewhat boosted our confidence a bit is the discovery of a U Do It Autoworks shop here where you can rent a bay for $20/hr and can also get a mechanic to guide you for another $30/hr So, has anyone had any experience with something like this?

[balajird]

Originally Posted by leodelg

Sorry to cause further confusion, but even though Vancouver doesn't get as much snow as interior BC, I don't think all-season tires are the solution.

Thanks for your suggestion Leo, this is the first time I got to know that there is an All-Weather tire which is different from All-Season tire, unfortunately, I have already placed an order with Canadian Tire for the Continental Purecontact tire, I will now hope that this works for me.

I have no plans for whistler or visits to snow covered mountains, its just lower mainland between Surrey, Richmond and Vancouver, hence, I dont think I need a full blown winter tires and if on one of those days where you have icy roads or heavy snowfall, I will take the transit.

I also noticed from the web reviews that there is a big difference between the ProContact and PureContact tires from Continental and I am hoping that this meets my expectation.

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by TheInterceptor

Hey guys,

I'm planning a trip to Los Angeles by mid-December. I intend to take a car on rent from Los Angeles airport (LAX).

The car would be rented in my brothers name who is 25 and lives in LA. We'll be using the car for trips in and around LA and a few long trips being
LA - Vegas
Vegas - San Fransisco
San Fransisco - LA

I've mainly got 2 queries.

1. Can a car rented from California be taken into Nevada without any additional procedures?

2. Insurance
How does insurance work? Is it car-wise (like in india) or is it driver specific?
I plan on taking a medical insurance from here, will that be enough?
Is third party insurance mandatory?


I also plan on driving along with my brother. I'm 23 years old.

1. Yes car can be rented, but you will have to mention that you plan on driving into Nevada. I think there are certain cars that cannot be driven into another state.
2. Medical insurance is fine, but you will have to take the insurance for the car(as mentioned by Superleggera). You can additionally use your credit card for one of the insurance by paying a one time fee to visa or amex.

[TheInterceptor]

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

1. Yes car can be rented, but you will have to mention that you plan on driving into Nevada. I think there are certain cars that cannot be driven into another state.
2. Medical insurance is fine, but you will have to take the insurance for the car(as mentioned by Superleggera). You can additionally use your credit card for one of the insurance by paying a one time fee to visa or amex.

Thanks for your reply.

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

I stay away from Mullholland due to number of squids(both cars and bikes).

I was particularly interested in what you meant by this. Because I was planning to do this drive on a Sunday with my cousins car.

Anything I should keep in mind?

[v1kram]

Picked up a used Honda Civic LX-G 2002 (single owner, 143000 kms) as a winter beater, it is equipped with winter tyres on steel rims and also comes with a set of all season tyres with original alloys.

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by TheInterceptor

I was particularly interested in what you meant by this. Because I was planning to do this drive on a Sunday with my cousins car.

Anything I should keep in mind?

There are a lot of bikers and cars who drive like nuts crossing the yellow line, drifting and all sort of crazy stunts.

Don't go over the Yellow line, no matter what.
Stick to posted speed limits, there are lots of cops in the area.
Be careful at turns, most of the bikers try to drag their knees and run close to the line. Better if you dont go close to the line.
Don't overtake, if you overtake bicycles do so cautiously.
Have fun!

[Koenigsegg220]

Hello Guys,

I am new here in this thread.
I have plans to buy a used car here in Pennsylvania in couple of weeks from now. My budget currently is 5000 $, and can stretch it till 10,000 $ if i really liked the car.

Currently, i am considering Toyotas and Hondas for their reliability, but any other user's first hand experience with other brand is appreciated too.

I am looking at local dealers, craigslist etc as of now and comparing those with KBB's price.
Please help me out in finding used cars, like the websites i should have in my list for search, etc.

Thanks.

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by Koenigsegg220

Hello Guys,

I am new here in this thread.
I have plans to buy a used car here in Pennsylvania in couple of weeks from now. My budget currently is 5000 $, and can stretch it till 10,000 $ if i really liked the car.

Currently, i am considering Toyotas and Hondas for their reliability, but any other user's first hand experience with other brand is appreciated too.

I am looking at local dealers, craigslist etc as of now and comparing those with KBB's price.
Please help me out in finding used cars, like the websites i should have in my list for search, etc.

Thanks.

Check Autotrader.com

For under 10k, I would look at Corolla or Civic with fairly low miles.

[bhardwhu]

Hi,

I have had a recent oil change experience here in Indiana for my Hyundai 1.6 AT. I brought a coupon off groupon and went to the dealer for a regular oil change. The car was given back to me in an hour and the delivery rep pointed out that the car was jerking unusually. I suspected that the dealership wanted to charge me for an additional paid expense, I said that a normal jerk in automatic with lower engine capacity is seen in comparison to bigger engines. This response was with the experience previously when I had been pestered for not needed wheel alignment whenever I went in for an oil change here in US. When I drove the car, it jerked violently before moving to the next gear and that was definitely not normal. I immediately went back and brought up that the jerk was much more than normal gear changes feel that I observed. The rep came out and he felt the same and said that he would look at it. On a closer inspection, the dealership found that they had drained the transmission oil in place of engine oil and had topped the engine oil without even draining it. Thankfully, I had not driven the car any distance. They were profusely sorry and promptly changed both the engine and transmission fluids. The good and the unexpected part was their voluntary free offer of two more oil changes valid for next one year.

Hope this experience helps fellow bhpians.

Regards

Himanshu

[torque!!]

Guys, I'll be moving to Phoenix, Az shortly and need to rent a car for a few weeks till I can buy a new one. My US DL is from PA but is currently expired.

I know that I'll be able to rent a car using my Indian DL till I get a new US DL. However, I wanted to check if rental companies accept the booklet style (handwritten) India DL or do they only accept the Card style DL? I don't think I have enough time to get my Indian DL converted to the smartcard style DL. Inputs appreciated...

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by torque!!

Guys, I'll be moving to Phoenix, Az shortly and need to rent a car for a few weeks till I can buy a new one. My US DL is from PA but is currently expired.

I know that I'll be able to rent a car using my Indian DL till I get a new US DL. However, I wanted to check if rental companies accept the booklet style (handwritten) India DL or do they only accept the Card style DL? I don't think I have enough time to get my Indian DL converted to the smartcard style DL. Inputs appreciated...

I had rented cars from hertz and avis from the international airports on my Indian DL + IDP without any problems.
My Indian DL is still the card type. They were ok with any format as long as its readable in English.