Which car?

[Abstract]

The Getz is a smaller model than the Accent.

Impossible. My friend's Accent is smaller than my Getz inside. I can easily fit 3 adults in the back with plenty of legroom.

Not sure about the price of the Accent though, but my Getz comes with everything and seems to be built as good as the Accent.

here's my advice:
(snip)
-- since it is just you- more space = no advantage

Exactly, but his point about GPS might be worth thinking about. GPS could be valuable.

 

[yankeefan24]

Just looked at the dollar site, and you should note that it is OR SIMILAR. so you say give me a full size intermediate, and instead of a dodge magnum, you may get a taurus or something else.

just be forewarned that unless you say exactly which car you want, you might get anything.

I also like hertz more, but just my opinion. nicer cars when you get higher price ranges.

 

[balamw]

Just looked at the dollar site, and you should note that it is OR SIMILAR. so you say give me a full size intermediate, and instead of a dodge magnum, you may get a taurus or something else.

Often, when renting at the low end this can be a blessing, since they often run out of the cheapest cars and have to offer you something bigger at the same price.

Just remember when they ask you if you want to upgrade to a bigger car, say no, and they may come back with "well all we have is ..." Of course when you catually want a small car, getting a minivan for the same price may not be a good thing.

This recently happened to me, I rented a car since mine was in the shop and the only car they had on the lot in that (low) price range was a Kia which smelled like the previous client had smoked a whole box of cigars in. They wanted me to take a full size pickup at the same price, but I declined. The only other cars the had were a couple of Escalades and a Mercedes E320. I took the Benz, and it ended up costing me only $20 more than the Kia. Since I was in the car for about 3 hours and 150 miles the $20 was well worth it given the alternatives...

B

 

[Timepass]

well a huge part of desiding on if you need a larger car is how tall are you and how large of a person you are.

I am 6'4" (or 1.93m) And for me long driving in a small car gets to me. My car is a 2004 Sentra Spec V. It great for me for most driving but when I have to drive home I would like a larger car at times. I can not move around as easily. Of the cars I driven long distance in I like driving SUVs just because it a lot more confontible (and my dad will agree with me. He quite a bit bigger than I am). He drove his accord to up to austin once and desides after that he does not want to do it again. He will just take the trail blazer.

the size of a car comes into play a lot more on how big you are. If you are close to 6 ft tall you may want to move up to a midsize car for that much driving or even consider it no matter what because that is a lot of long distance driving. My brother main car is a 2006 accord and he is about my size. He like driving it long distance over my car.

Now I took a little hit in confort when I choose my car for the fun factor. The 2 cars you are looking at dont have a real fun factor. My car fun factor comes from it is set up to be more like a sport car from the factor (large for it size of car. Set up for handling but it beat the crap out of my on my 600 mile drives I make about 10 times a year). But it a small price to pay.

Your cars will not have a fun factor. so dont factor that in.

 

[gallagb]

Your cars will not have a fun factor. so dont factor that in.

good point on the height thing
i hadn't thought of that-

the fun factor i think we were talking about earlier- was just like extra $ to go do cool things


but true- none of these cars has 'zip' or anything really 'cool'

 

[w_parietti22]

The Magnum. Personally, I dont love the car, but it is a lot better than the Dodge Neon and the Hyundai.

 

[CompUser]

Magnum! It looks better than the others

Somebody has poor taste

 

[parrothead]

Fuel prices are already up to almost record levels and it is still only March. Prices always go up in the summer and it will save you a lot of money to go with the most fuel efficient car.

 

[748s]

I don't want to buy a 60's classic.
I couldn't sell it, I'd ship it back here (approx $3000au).

Hertz do a hardtop mustang for $1047.82 for 28 days.
Best deal on a Charger, I've Found so far is $1281.

I'd like to avoid the interior noise of smaller cars (some cut costs so they can "leak noise").
I'll have a look at the Focus and Echo.

There is always that balance between cost and comfort.
The savings on fuel and rental for an economy or compact model could allow me to get an intel iBook and iPhone (sorry!).
Breakdown assistance? so the rental company don't get involved? Or they just take longer to sort it out?
I have been looking at a GPS for my bike. Garmin/Ducati make a bike model.
I might just print out the google earth directions. They are easy to follow.

All the rental companies I have looked at, 8 of them, have 'or similar'. That does worry me.
If I decided to get a mustang, any car in that rental class could be waiting for me.
Or reserve a magnum and anything in that class could be there.
One company has a class that has a Charger and a nissan maxima!!!
If I was thinking I was getting a Charger and they gave me a Nissan, I wouldn't be happy.
Nissan Z would be OK though.

I'm 1.83m (6') I'm usually ok in smaller cars, it's just getting in and out that's difficult.
I'll be looking at the car as a means of getting from point a to point b then the fun factor gets mentioned here and I'm now starting to revise what I want it for.

Fuel prices in the US look cheap from here. The cost here is around $1.30 a litre, haven't bought any for few weeks (way over $5 a gallon).

Dollar rentals are cheapest in the economy and compact class, another company is cheaper than Dollar in the magnum class.

After all this helpful info I'm rethinking the plan. Get a mustang and go to prison, get an economy and get an intel iBook and iPhone with the savings?

"The road goes on forever and the party never ends"

 

[OutThere]

Often, when renting at the low end this can be a blessing, since they often run out of the cheapest cars and have to offer you something bigger at the same price.

Just remember when they ask you if you want to upgrade to a bigger car, say no, and they may come back with "well all we have is ..." Of course when you catually want a small car, getting a minivan for the same price may not be a good thing.

This recently happened to me, I rented a car since mine was in the shop and the only car they had on the lot in that (low) price range was a Kia which smelled like the previous client had smoked a whole box of cigars in. They wanted me to take a full size pickup at the same price, but I declined. The only other cars the had were a couple of Escalades and a Mercedes E320. I took the Benz, and it ended up costing me only $20 more than the Kia. Since I was in the car for about 3 hours and 150 miles the $20 was well worth it given the alternatives...

B

Happened to me a while back...looking for a tiny little Opel econobox type thing, and all they had was a MASSIVE Jeep Grand Cherokee. Talk about fun trying to park that thing in Switzerland, where parking space is basically non-existant.

 

[SharksFan22]

Good point on the "upgrades when they run out of compacts" theory. In the last two weeks, I've been upgraded for free from a compact to a Chevy Monte Carlo and from a mid-size to a minivan. Well, not sure if the minivan was an upgrade or not, but they seemed to think it was....

 

[Sutekidane]

Go for the hyundai and you'll be thankful for all the money you've saved on the rental fees and gas.

 

[Chundles]

Impossible. My friend's Accent is smaller than my Getz inside. I can easily fit 3 adults in the back with plenty of legroom.

Not sure about the price of the Accent though, but my Getz comes with everything and seems to be built as good as the Accent.



Exactly, but his point about GPS might be worth thinking about. GPS could be valuable.

Sorry Abstract, you're wrong.

Accent:
Dimensions Accent 3 dr / 5 dr Back to top
Exterior
Length 4215 mm
Width 1680 mm
Height 1395 mm
Wheelbase 2440 mm

Getz:
Length 3810mm
Wheelbase 2455mm
Width 1665mm
Height 1495mm


The wheelbase is longer on the Getz by 5.5cm which explains why you can get three in the back but the Accent is 40cm longer - a much bigger car.

The Accent also runs a 1.6L 78kW engine whereas all but the top spec Getz run a 1.5L 74kW .

The Accent is the bigger car. More expensive too.

 

[Abstract]

The Accent also runs a 1.6L 78kW engine whereas all but the top spec Getz run a 1.5L 74kW .

The Accent is the bigger car. More expensive too.

The Acccent is bigger, but I said the Accent seems smaller inside.

The length of the car matters little. Accents are shaped funny. Maybe they have a bit more "depth" in the boot, but again, the car is shaped funny and the rear door slants, which makes stacking things difficult, and it seems a bit pointless to have a hatchback like that. The box shape of the Getz allows for the back seat to be positioned further back in the interior volume, and that's exactly what Hyundai did, I'm guessing. THe backseat of the accent can only be situated back where the slant in the rear window begins.
Regardless, you can tell that the Accent has less passenger space by simply riding in them often enough.

And forget having people over 180 cm (6 ft) in the backseat if you own an Accent.

And yeah, the Accent is more expensive. The engine is what you're paying for -- not the 4 kW difference (negligible), but rather the torque.

 

[balamw]

Fuel prices in the US look cheap from here. The cost here is around $1.30 a litre, haven't bought any for few weeks (way over $5 a gallon).

Dollar rentals are cheapest in the economy and compact class, another company is cheaper than Dollar in the magnum class.

You are right. For all our grumbling about gas prices, it is still about half as expensive as pretty much anywhere else, and still generally cheaper than milk per gallon.

BTW Don't forget to look for discounts online. There are many ways you can save 10-20% using online codes, or other membership programs.

One earlier post mentioned AAA. If you can become a member before your trip (I'm not sure if you can as a non-resident), you can get decent discounts at many hotel chains, attractions and car rental places. Over 28 days you'd save much more than the $66 membership fee.

B

 

[748s]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I nearly got swayed by the mention of "MUSTANG".
Kept checking the various websites of rental co's.
A couple of companies had reductions in price, so I grabbed a Dodge Magnum (or similiar) for $565 USD (28 days).
I've modified the trip as well. I'll go from the west coast to the east coast and back.
Thanks to all.

 

[itcheroni]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I nearly got swayed by the mention of "MUSTANG".
Kept checking the various websites of rental co's.
A couple of companies had reductions in price, so I grabbed a Dodge Magnum (or similiar) for $565 USD (28 days).
I've modified the trip as well. I'll go from the west coast to the east coast and back.
Thanks to all.

That's a pretty good price. Is this just a road trip for kicks?

I've always wanted to take a road trip with a few good friends and a big bag of weed. *sigh* someday.

 

[iGav]

I've modified the trip as well. I'll go from the west coast to the east coast and back.

I'd sooooooooooooo love to do that.

A couple of companies had reductions in price, so I grabbed a Dodge Magnum (or similiar) for $565 USD (28 days).

I got hammered over twice that for 2 weeks in an Olds Intrigue back in 2000, though I was only 21 at the time.

 

[true777]

I would go for the Neon, absolutely.

The Accent is just too ugly and non-descript, and the Magnum is an embarrassing pimp car.

The Neon will get you excellent gas mileage in practice, it drives great, is good-looking and contemporary, and easily large enough. It really is a fun car to drive, actually.

 

[yg17]

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I nearly got swayed by the mention of "MUSTANG".
Kept checking the various websites of rental co's.
A couple of companies had reductions in price, so I grabbed a Dodge Magnum (or similiar) for $565 USD (28 days).
I've modified the trip as well. I'll go from the west coast to the east coast and back.
Thanks to all.

Ugh. I did St. Louis to Washington DC and was about ready to drive my car into a ditch somewhere in Illinois because I hate cross country driving so much. Have fun.

 

[748s]

I arrived at LAX a month ago. Got a shuttle to the rental Co.
Did the paper work, wimped out and went for insurance as well.
I was directed to the yard, the greeter says, " anything in section 6".
All I can see is Dodge Chargers in section 6. I say, " you mean I can take a charger?" "That's right sir."
So I drive into morning LA traffic in a Charger and get lost on the freeway system for a couple of hours.
I drove as far as Nashville to the east then headed south to Louisiana then west through Texas back to California.
The car is back at the rental Co. I could of saved the insurance dollars, no damage.
Didn't make the east coast. Drove 8252 miles.
It was a roadtrip just for the hell of it (no substance abuse!) and just to make it better it was in a charger.
I'm staying in Hollywood and leave on Sunday.