What is the best car company to rent from for a long American

>>1238010
The cheapest. But for a long trip, don't go with one that is local or regional -- you want them to have cars and offices and shit near you as you travel along, just in case.

>>1238010
Have you considered buying a used car instead? It might be more practical depending on the length of your trip.

>>1238382
This, renting a car is expensive as fuck and you have to be 25 to rent a car in America for some reason.

Use kayak, they are great about searching for car rental companies. And then if you want to rent through the company directly it's easy enough to figure out which office was giving you the best price and contact them directly.
Make sure that you don't rent from a company on an airport tho, seriously the rental prices crash the moment you pick up from somewhere not serviced by airport shuttles.
Another big ticket item is returning a car in a different state, that will tack on possibly hundreds of dollars in extra charges. Returning a car to a different rental lot in the same state you originally rented only tacks on a few tens of dollars.
As other anons said, if you have the time and know cars well enough not to get burnt, buying can be virtually break even so long as you have the time at the end of a trip to sell it again, and it doesn't crap out on you.... I had that happen to me, but it was my brothers car and I was very familiar with working on it.

>>1238401
As far as time restraints, buying and selling, Carmax does both quickly and generally has a good selection. Their guarantee protects you from costs if something breaks down -- and I do not know this for sure, but I'd not be surprised if they'd tell you up front what they might pay you for it at the end of your trip if you sell it back to them.

>>1238378
>The cheapest.

What he said, in its entirety.

If you're planning a round trip, start it in one of the cities notorious for cheap car rental rates -- most of them in FL (Orlando, Tampa, Miami) but a few 2nd best are Vegas and Philly. This won't do you any good if you're doing a one-way coast-to-coast, they will screw you on that.

>>1238378
>>1238593
I figured as much. My real question was which one would be the cheapest? A lot of places have fees for driving out of state or putting on extra miles, which makes it tricky to figure out rates.

>>1238605
>My real question was which one would be the cheapest? A lot of places have fees for driving out of state or putting on extra miles, which makes it tricky to figure out rates.

I have rarely run into out-of-state extra fees, but that may depend on luck or location.

But the rest all depends on more specifics so I'm afraid you'll just have to do your homework. But best of luck!

>>1238383
some companies will rent out to under 25 but its hella expensive

>>1238382
How/where do I register it? What about insurance?

The answer will depend on your route, (one way, round trip) your age, your travel dates, and whether you qualify for any corporate / affinity programs. Also, do you have a US driver's license?

>>1238010
You compare rates OP, among the common brands, car size preference, and if there are fees for your one-way and how much overall. If you don't use a common car company like the big 4, then you can get somewhere in the middle of nowhere, have an engine issue, and need a replacement car and not have any consideration from some stupid brand.

So, get your criteria ready. You know your dates, cities? That's what you do. For me, I shop the best rate, but at some point, you compare the models of cars in say the small SUV category, or midsize, and for a long road trip, you're going to say oh hell no for a couple of the models that you really don't wish for, and since you can't control your getting any of the 3 possible cars in that class? You'll probably pick the car company that has 3 agreeable models or upgrade yourself. For a long road trip, you balance highway safety and comfort vs fuel mileage savings. I like to drive something similar to what I would drive at home, so no small car that will get crushed by a semi. I like a good comfortable seat, and a car that won't feel every pothole or too much of a sport suspension kind of handling. That's my old arthritic bones and back. I might downgrade if I don't intend to drive much, or add 4WD if it's that time of year of ice. Think about these things if they matter to you. Sometimes you want a convertible or a sunroof, or to sit up high for certain sightseeing ideas like mountain driving.

As far as expensive goes, if you intend to spend alot, you can very easily increase your car insurance coverage to add a rental rider, which you can drop later once youre home again, or look at your credit cards perks, or sign up for the AAA card for their discount use throughout your trip. Look at groupon, or travel links within your credit card. I get Hertz coupons when I renew my Allstate. I wouldn't buy a questionable used car and then take it on the road, leads to major car repair at the highest price possible.