Longest Drive you have taken ?

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by lutefisk69

Longest:

Homer, Alaska to Sanibel Island, Florida.

How long did it take? That is one long car ride

[STARSCREAM]

Oklahoma to Arizona. It was like 18 hours and it sucked.

[ludawg23]

Distance wise, probably from Boston to Montreal.

Longest car ride was about 7 hours from NYC to Boston...massive traffic.

The worst EVER was a bus ride from NYC to Boston caught in the middle of a huge snowstorm. 12 hours when it ended

I wanted to shoot myself.

[groovyone]

Originally Posted by ludawg23

Distance wise, probably from Boston to Montreal.

Longest car ride was about 7 hours from NYC to Boston...massive traffic.

The worst EVER was a bus ride from NYC to Boston caught in the middle of a huge snowstorm. 12 hours when it ended

I wanted to shoot myself.

I was stopped in a blizzard for 12 hours in CO. That sucked. Took the local search and rescue to get us out, and that was on I-25!!

[s0nIc]

Im getting the tom tom

[brettallica]

Originally Posted by jwbbud

about 200 yards, I gave that golf ball h3LL

Damn, you beat me to the clever quip.

[phlydude]

Whoever said rental cars for the week can't be had for less than $300 W/ UNLIMITED MILEAGE is wrong...I get rentals all the time for 10-11 days for about $150-180 with Unlimited Mileage. A week can be had for under $100 (and these are FULL SIZE cars - Impala-size).

You have to look at all the vendors and look to get off-airport rentals (airports charge a fee to the rental company and they pass that on to you). Train stations are good as are neighborhood rental locations. If you are stuck with an airport, find one that is a smaller airport that might offer free parking...those have the cheapest fees.

Coupons really help too...there are a lot of companies out there that have discount codes, you just need to know where to look. Wholesale clubs like BJ's and Costco offer codes (technically you should be a member but NO ONE has ever asked me to prove it). Also, there are travel help sites like mousesavers dot com that cater to the tourist heading to Florida and they have tips on rental codes (Airtran code worked the best for me in September).

Also, sign up for the emails from the rental companies - they have good deals in there last minute or advance rental.

Don't lock in with a rate with a credit card - the big companies don't require it but the smaller ones may charge fees if you need to cancel. It may be tempting to pre-pay to get a discount with Alamo (they don't require it for a reservation) but my experience is that a cheaper fare may be had and pre-paying can cause cancellation headaches (not to mention that you are paying for something now).

Keep checking the rates (lower fares can often be found 4-6 weeks out depending on demand) and don't be afraid to book with multiple companies - locking in a car now with a reservation helps ensure that there is a car there when you need it. You can modify with different codes to keep the reservation, and lower the price from the web site.

Also, make sure you renturn the car before the same time of day that you picked up the car. If you picked up on 8 AM, return before 8 AM to avoid an extra day/hour/minute charge.

Put your rental on a credit card that has rental coverage - doing so can help you eliminate the other coverage charges - make sure you keep you auto insurance card with you (and double check with you agent to ensure you are covered driving a rental car out of state) as your auto insurance is for you as a driver with the liability limits.

If your car is out of warranty, why risk it? Rent a car that is someone else's responsibility - if it breaks down, they need to fix it or get you a new car.

And just to show you I am not BS'ing on the rate, here is my rental from Sept of last year with National:

Vehicle Type: Fullsize - 4-Door/Automatic/Air - Chevrolet Impala Or Similar

Pickup Information
Location: Orlando Intl Arpt (MCOT01)
Date & Time: Saturday, September 06, 2008 @ 05:30 PM
Address: Orlando
Orlando International Airport
Orlando, FL 32827
Phone: (888)826-6890 ext:MAIN
Fax: (407)851-4422
Hours: Sun-Sat: 12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Dropoff Information
Location: Orlando Intl Arpt (MCOT01)
Date & Time: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 @ 04:30 PM



Rate InformationItem: Prices (USD)Car Class: Fullsize 4-Door/Automatic/AirRates:
Time & distance 1 WEEK @ $107.91 $107.91
Extra - time & distance 3 DAY @ $15.42 $46.26
Extra - time & distance 0 HOUR @ $7.71 $0.00
Unlimited distance-time & distance 0 DISTANCE @ $0.00 $0.00
Contract I.D. 6600422 (this is the discount code)
Guaranteed Base Rate IncludedUnlimited Miles IncludedSub total............................................. ........$154.17DiscountsDiscount ($23.13)
Nationalcar.com $30.00 (this was the coupon code)
Weekly ($30.00)
Surcharges:Concession Fee Recov Chrg 9.8 Pct $10.37
Florida Surcharge 2.00/day $20.00
Tire/battery Fee .02/day $0.20
License Recoupment Fee .46/day $4.60
Taxes:Sales Tax (6.50%) $8.85Total Estimate.......................................... ......$145.06
(Country of Residence: US) (USD)Approximate Estimated Conversion: $145.06

Yes - $145.06 for 10 days - I was charged exactly the estimated cost for a Toyota Avalon - very nice car for driving around on vacation (and Disney is a lot more than where the buses can take you - driving around in property is so much better than relying on those buses)

[DAROCKNESSMONSTER]

14 hours I believe... not terrible, but not the greatest thing I have ever done.

I really hate long trips.

[Forrestandjen07]

Richmond Va to Orlando FL

[Fors*]

18 hours staright from Austin TX, to Philly, PA, about 1400 miles . Only made 6 stops, to use the bathroom, grab a bite to take with me and gas up. It was an 82 Old's Cutlass Supreme and died a few weeks later when I hit a deer! LOL!!!