Renting a car in Canada and driving to USA

[spiteface]

Has anybody ever done this before? Is it legal and if so, are there any extra charges tacked on? Any info is appreciated. Thanks.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

To answer your questions:

Yes. it is legal.

No. There's no extra charge. It just depends on the km they give you. I was able to rent unlimited km.

[spiteface]

thanks bruce!

[Jojado]

This isn't exactly answering your question, but the following two points are probably worth considering.

If you don't own your own vehicle (thus meaning you likely don't have your own car insurance) or if your existing insurance won't cover rental cars, consider what the car rental company offers in terms of 3rd-party liability. I called up a few companies, and Budget offers the best coverage at $2 million. Hertz and National cover up to $1 million, and Avis and Enterprise basically offer the bare minimum required by law (around $200,000 in Alberta).

Another point to consider - again, not answering your question - is what the car rental company charges for loss/damage/collision protection. There are many credit cards out there - where, if you book the rental using that card - that will cover the loss/damage/collision premiums for most cars, SUVs, and mini-vans. Some credit cards with this coverage don't even have fees associated with them. Paying for the premiums out-of-pocket would cost $20.00 per day or higher.

[ClubFlames]

I think there is an extra charge to drive down to the States now. Budget charges $10 per day extra if you are driving anywhere besides BC and Saskatchewan.

[BlackArcher101]

Yes it's possible, but for the love of god, make sure you tell them beforehand.

[spiteface]

Thanks all!

Im actually a resident of Alberta (with Alberta licence) but thinking of renting out of Ontario (Windsor), then driving to Detroit. I love making things complicated... just to keep it interesting lol

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by spiteface

Thanks all!

Im actually a resident of Alberta (with Alberta licence) but thinking of renting out of Ontario (Windsor), then driving to Detroit. I love making things complicated... just to keep it interesting lol

I'm pretty sure they don't give a flying ______ around there. It's almost assumed your rental car will end up across the border, and I'm pretty sure I've never paid extra fees taking cars from Windsor or Toronto across the border.

[alan21]

I called around last year for this and it was only Avis that said it was allowed.

[MoneyGuy]

I've done this. I can't remember the rental company as it was over a dozen years ago but I made sure to let them know in advance (very, very important). They had no problem with it. I know some companies will care a lot if you're taking a car into problematic areas, such as into Mexico.

[automaton 3]

I used to work at Enterprise many moons ago. It was allowed and no extra charge at that time.

Make sure you tell them though, IIRC we would specifically note on the rental agreement that the car was permitted to enter the US.

And good comments above on checking on insurance.

[Ace]

When I asked the guy at Enterprise he said they allow you to take it to the neighboring state (BC. SK, or MT), but nowhere else, not sure if true.

[troutman]

Aeneas and I did this to drive to Las Vegas. Better to put all those miles on a rental car, than your own car. He would know the details.

[OutOfTheCube]

Done this twice, rented a car in Toronto/Hamilton and then drove down to Buffalo for games. No problems, extra charges, or hiccups whatsoever.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Well timed thread. My g/f and I are planning on doing a road trip through the western US and don't wanna put the clicks on my car. Kinda spooked what a 2 week car rental will cost with unlimited km's but sure worth looking into. No plans to go into Mexico so that won't be an issue.

[malcolmk14]

Rent through Hotwire.

You can do an economy car for two weeks with unlimited km's for under $400, then you just pay for insurance.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Well timed thread. My g/f and I are planning on doing a road trip through the western US and don't wanna put the clicks on my car. Kinda spooked what a 2 week car rental will cost with unlimited km's but sure worth looking into. No plans to go into Mexico so that won't be an issue.

We are doing the same thing this summer. Cost is $423 for 15 days. Can't remember who it was through.

Beats almost 6000 km on my van.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Just did some checking around and for a trip through the States all the way down to California and back with unlimited clicks, Avis was the only one that would do it. Most other companies allowed travel into the States but only neighbouring states.

[Papa Gino]

Did you check with National? National allows you to go anywhere in North America basically. (They allowed Calgary- Quebec/ NY)

[jtfrogger]

About 2.5 years ago, I rented a car in Toronto and drove down to Buffalo for the day.

I don't remember the specific companies, but I used one of the travel sites to compare rental agencies. When I did so, most of the companies had a condition that you could not take it out of the country. However, I did find at least one that didn't have this condition (and a comparable price). So, that is the company I used.