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Comment by amosgewirtz | Hacker News Reader

Totally makes sense.

The prices we're showing on the site are the all-in daily rates. So if the price for an Explorer is $65/day and you rent it for 2 days, you'll be charged $130. Whereas when I look at Hertz, the price for renting a standard SUV for their downtown location from the 28th to the 30th is $140 per day, but for two days the total all in cost is $320 without any extra add-ons.

It might actually make sense for us to show the prices on our site without taxes+fees included so as to look comparable with other companies' prices.

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I am not sure where you are getting the Hertz pricing. I went to their site for SF and selected an "Intermediate SUV" and those exact days and it's giving me $184 with all fees included. It's quoting me $306 for a whole week. Comparing daily rate to daily rate may actually be misleading here.

It probably doesn't matter that much - I suspect that for your target clientele (urbanites who need a car for a weekend trip), this is probably the range you want to be competitive in anyway.

Well there's usually a gas fee if you haven't filled up.

The problem is that other companies taxes and fees can vary widely. Plus, they will have a high pressure insurance pitch when you rent. Not sure if your product includes that or not.

> high pressure insurance pitch

Them: would you like to purchase insurance?

Me: No, I have my own thanks.

Them: okay.

Maybe since I rent almost exclusively from airports, I have a biased experience, but I don't think of rental insurance as being high-pressure.

I always get the “what company? What are your deductibles?” which seem custom built to create some doubt in my mind.

They’ll always claim your insurance almost certainly doesn’t cover rentals, hoping that you don’t realize it almost certainly does.

(I also find airports to be the WORST possible environment for this kind of thing; you’re always rushing to return your car so you can catch your flight. You are forced to just accept that the scratch on the back left bumper wasn’t there when you rented the car, because fighting about it will cause you to miss your flight. So it’s a $500+ repair fee or a $500+ plane ticket. They have you over a barrel.)

> They’ll always claim your insurance almost certainly doesn’t cover rentals

I've never had such an insurance pitch. They usually pitch a “damage waiver” gap insurance which assures that any amount not covered by your insurances deductible is covered.

> I also find airports to be the WORST possible environment for this kind of thing; you’re always rushing to return your car so you can catch your flight. You are forced to just accept that the scratch on the back left bumper wasn’t there when you rented the car, because fighting about it will cause you to miss your flight.

Never had that experience either, everytime I've rented at a major chain we've done a damage walkaround at pickup, often the rental agency employee has noted things I would have missed, and on return (even at airports!) there's never been a problem.

Of course, I've never been so late back to the airport with a rental that pointing out that the damage was identified on the pre-rental walk-around would jeopardize my flight, either.

I think that when you walk up to the counter, they instantly judge you on whether you might be suckered for the insurance or not. If you can somehow demonstrate that you are an experienced, frequent renter by your demeanor then you are much less likely to get the intense pitch.

I try to do this by having my credit card and drivers license in my hand and putting in on the counter right when I walk up. I also don't ask any questions about anything and give very brief answers to all their questions.

Or even better - walk into Hertz Gold, get into any car and drive away. If you rent with any frequency at all it makes sense to join a program.

I've never had a high pressure pitch, and insurance is a good idea so you can walk away...

Many major credit cards include a rental car provision, if you use the card to pay for the rental - definitely worth looking at that, as it saves money, and you have an established relationship with the card company.

You may not even need additional insurance. Some insurance providers cover accidents caused by you, no matter the car you're driving - so long as it's not your permanent car.

For example, you borrow your friends truck and wreck it, etc.

This might not be enough. Rental car companies charge not only the damage done but also any revenue lost on the car while in service. Usually the credit card rental insurance will cover this gap.

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