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car rental Salt Lake City: Is a full car needed



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 10th 04, 10:02 PM
htn
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Default car rental Salt Lake City: Is a full car needed

Looking to rent a car in Salt Lake. Want to save a few bucks by
renting a smaller car. Was wondering if I can get away with a midsize
car or do I need something with at least a 6 cylinder to get me to
the resorts like colorado.


thnx,
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  #2  
Old February 10th 04, 10:21 PM
Walt
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Default car rental Salt Lake City: Is a full car needed

htn wrote:

Looking to rent a car in Salt Lake. Want to save a few bucks by
renting a smaller car. Was wondering if I can get away with a midsize
car or do I need something with at least a 6 cylinder to get me to
the resorts like colorado.


Midsize is OK. Of course, you don't really *need* a 6 cylinder car in
Colorado, either. You might not go very fast up I-70 to the Eisenhower
tunnel, but you'll get there.

That said, getting to the slopes in SLC is more a matter of dealing with
the snow than about having to drive over a high mountain pass
(especially if you're going to Park City.) I've been to SLC to ski a
couple of times and have always rented whatever's cheap. I've been
[un]lucky enough to have never been there when you needed 4WD, chains
etc.

IOW, If you're going there specifically to ski powder, make sure that
you have a vehicle that can get you to the slopes during a dump. If
you're willling to take the chance of having to ski PC because the
Cottonwood Canyons are restricted to 4WD, a cheap rental car should do.


--
//-Walt
//
// http://tinyurl.com/3gg3e
  #3  
Old February 10th 04, 11:47 PM
Michael Dart
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Default car rental Salt Lake City: Is a full car needed

In m,
htn typed:
Looking to rent a car in Salt Lake. Want to save a few bucks by
renting a smaller car. Was wondering if I can get away with a midsize
car or do I need something with at least a 6 cylinder to get me to
the resorts like colorado.


thnx,


We rented Pontiac Sunfire's last year. The damned things couldn't get out
of their own way and barely have enough power to survive SLC's highways.
(Does 'everyone' out there drive a F350 or bigger truck?!!) That said, they
made it to the resorts ok and we'll probably have similar cars this year.

Mike


  #6  
Old February 11th 04, 05:50 AM
uglymoney
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Default car rental Salt Lake City: Is a full car needed

On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 22:05:58 -0500, Walt
wrote:

AstroPax wrote:
On 10 Feb 2004 14:02:37 -0800, (htn) wrote:


Looking to rent a car in Salt Lake. Want to save a few bucks by
renting a smaller car. Was wondering if I can get away with a midsize
car or do I need something with at least a 6 cylinder to get me to
the resorts like colorado.


Rent a Subaru Outback from Hertz.


Hmmmmm. $450.00 for an Outback. Compare that with Budget: $150 for
a Ford Focus or $185 for a Taurus. The difference is a plane ticket.
Or a fine pair of French skis with bindings. I'll take my chances
with a sedan and free up money in the ski budget for other things.

Whatever you do, don't rent from Dollar. They'll take your
reservation and not have any cars.


They're all bad. I have had that happen to me with almost every
company. Alamo is the worst I think. If you make multiple
reservations (cheaping the price down as you go) and cancel properly,
at the airport they will still try to screw you with the highest
'courtesy reservation' that they have in their system - even though
you canceled it. I had to argue for an hour in Reno with a group of
eight of my friends impatiently waiting in the background questioning
my travel planning skills. It really ticked me off. I haven't rented
from Alamo since.

The last time I was in Denver Dollar did screw me in the exact way
Walt described, out of cars, sending me to Payless, which provided me
with the same car class at the same price, so I can't really complain
much.

My best luck has been with Enterprise. I think they have the best
cust. service and best rental experience. Often, but not always, they
are a couple bucks more. Too bad they have so many Fords in their
fleet. The Escort is transportation, but junk. The Focus is a good
grab.

As a happy oversized snowtire (for about an inch of extra clearance)
equiped Outback owner myself,
http://uglymoney.home.mchsi.com/_sgt/f10000.htm I agree with Walt and
would not spend that kind of extra bread to rent one for a week. The
thing is like driving a snowmobile in the snow, but I only own it
because an equivalant wagon with FWD would cost only slightly less,
and AWD is after fun, fun, and necessary for my overall lifestyle and
happiness. I have a need to slide while being in control, be it on
skis or in a car.

Get the Focus, its a good roomy compact sedan, then pick up a set of
cable chains at a local discount retailer for $18 bucks if you need
them, and your good to go. Thats what I have done. I've had Hyundai
fwd rentals where no rentals should go. Cables are a pain in the ass,
but if it takes 15 minutes of messing around to save 250+ dollars it
is time well spent, especially on a vacation, where the money can be
put to better use.

They rent Outbacks and Legacy's here in Iowa, and except for a few
months in the winter, the price to rent is almost the same as for a
full sized sedan, just as it would be if you bought new. So 4wd/awd
is essentially a cash cow for rental companies in winter/ski regions
where they jack up the rates based on the possibility of snow.

I just hate getting screwed, and sometimes that means compromising.

nate



  #7  
Old February 11th 04, 06:36 AM
uglymoney
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Default car rental Salt Lake City: Is a full car needed

On Wed, 11 Feb 2004 05:50:27 GMT, uglymoney
wrote:

On
Get the Focus, its a good roomy compact sedan, then pick up a set of
cable chains at a local discount retailer for $18 bucks if you need
them, and your good to go. Thats what I have done. I've had Hyundai
fwd rentals where no rentals should go. Cables are a pain in the ass,
but if it takes 15 minutes of messing around to save 250+ dollars it
is time well spent,


Sorry to reply to myself, but I left out an important component. Be
sure to buy or pack some good bungie cords for your cables/chains.
Usually two per tire works well. If they suspect you have used
chains/cables the rental companies will likely closely inspect the
inside of the wheel well for damage. With a proper bungie cord use,
damage won't be an issue.

nate
 




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