Rental Cars what size to rent - Traveling with Bike Boxes?

YVR Cyclist

Looking to fly into SFO (San Fransisco Airport) and rent a car.

Was hoping to get away with a smaller. Has anyone had an experience with renting cars in the US and what size would you recommend other then a SUV or Van. I have contacted Budget, Avis etc. No one seems to have an answer. In the past we have rented a VW polo with the rear 2 seats olded down and it worked out well. Unfortunately these cars are not rented in the US.

Two adults and two Alan Bike Boxes the dimensions of each box:

Max height 92cm Min height 75cm x 113cm Long x 23cm min to 32cm Thickness.

There is someone info online but it is only for European cars and mainly hatch backs.

http://www.bikebox-online.co.uk/useful-information/bike-travel-guides/car-guide/

Thank you for the help

fenix

Well petrol is cheap over there - so I'd err bigger than smaller. I'm impressed with the Polo though !

pblakeney

The prices don't change much, and petrol is cheap so I'd go for mid size over compact.
Fairly sure a Polo would be a compact. Specify folding rear seats to be sure though.

apreading

In America I would always rent an SUV. Unfortunately, they dont really do hatchbacks much so even with a large car you are likely to get a saloon. I dont know if you rent a smaller class can you specify the make & model? Didnt think they did that, just gave you whatever was available from the general category at the time. Even if they did agree to a specific model, I would be slightly nervous that someone gives it to another renter and it isnt available to you when you arrive...

If you shop around, you can often get them for not much more than a small car anyway.

buckmulligan

I'm not sure what your question is.

Unless you ring around the actual branches (e.g. find the number for Budget/Avis/whoever AT San Francisco airport) and ask what model cars they have for each category, then your just going to have to err on the side of caution.

Last time I was in the States we ordered a "Fiesta or similar" and were given a Mitsubishi something-or-other, still a hatchback compact; same in Italy, ordered a "Polo or similar", got given a Punto.

In my experience, two bike boxes are smaller than two people, so any car designed for 4 people (preferably 5 doors) will be fine with the seats down even with extra luggage. Just use the size guides, keep your fingers crossed and kick off at the airport if they don't fit in when you get there!

laurentian

If you turn up on the day I guess you would have to settle for what they have but providing you book far enough in advance, I would have thought it should be easy enough to specify exactly the model of car that you know will suit your purposes - may be worth an e-mail to see if they have a VW Polo that you could reserve . . .

buckmulligan

laurentian wrote:

If you turn up on the day I guess you would have to settle for what they have but providing you book far enough in advance, I would have thought it should be easy enough to specify exactly the model of car that you know will suit your purposes - may be worth an e-mail to see if they have a VW Polo that you could reserve . . .

You would think so, but invariably that's not how it works.

pblakeney

Regardless of what you book, expect to pick up a bland nondescript Dodge/Buick/Pontiac.

ronnierocket

The most pertinent bit about the car is that they don't really do hatchbacks very often, so to guarantee space for 2 bike boxes, you will need to go SUV or people carrier. You won't get 2 bike boxes in a car with a traditional boot.

Use www.rentalcars.com for the best deals. I always book through them and they are always the cheapest.

fudgey

If i went to 'merica and hired a car it would be a Mustang, Camaro or a Dodge Charger Hellcat with the bike boxes ratchet strapped to roof.