Hiring a car in Boston

[Brian Deakin]

I will the travelling from the Uk. to the USA. in July

We will be landing in boston and need to hire a car for 10 days The best price I have found on the web is £29 ($46) per day for a Ford escape or similar

My question is this a fair price

regards Brian

[David Weaver]

Yes. the only way you'll probably get cheaper than that is to go away from the airport via cab and go to a local car rental place nowhere close to the airport, but you'll have to pay cab fare two ways and eat a large portion of the savings in cab fare.

[Charles Wiggins]

Yes. the only way you'll probably get cheaper than that is to go away from the airport via cab and go to a local car rental place nowhere close to the airport, but you'll have to pay cab fare two ways and eat a large portion of the savings in cab fare.

Brian, it may be worth the cab fare.

I went on Enterprise Rental's website, as an example, and put in the data for a 10 day rental starting July 11 and compared cars picked up at Logan vs. the other Enterprise close by locations and the rentals at the airport were much more, sometimes more than twice the price of most of the other locations I checked.

For example, a Hyundai Santa Fe, or similar was:
$557.99/week and $1,035.28 Total at Logan.
$399.99/week and $703.16 Total at their Chelsea location, just two miles away.

Enterprise promotes that they will pick you up, so you may want to look into that. I don't really travel much so I don't know if a different Enterprise location would send someone to pick you up at the airport, but I am sure someone else more expereinced can answer that.

I am not necessarily trying to steer you toward Enterprise, they are just the company I have used the most.

The price is all about supply and demand, and there is always a big demand and short supply at the airport.

BTW, here in the U.S. it is more common to refer to this process as a "car rental" or "renting a car." We are more likely to use "hire" to refer to retaining a service that comes with staff like a limousine or catering.

Cheers, and good luck,
Charles

[Lee Schierer]

Ford Escapes are nice vehicles, but unless you need a small SUV, sedans usually rent for less money. A mid size or full size car will give you almost the same space and legroom.

[Shawn Pixley]

Brian,

I don't live in Boston (actually Cambridge) but traveled there for work many (>50) times. If you are staying in Boston, the public transist system works well. I never rent a car, but instead take a cab to-from the airport. I take mass transit most of the time. Cabs for when the "T" doesn't go where I need to go. Just another option. The rate you got wasn't bad. Parking in Boston / Cambridge can be very challenging.

[Greg R Bradley]

And let's not forget driving with those rude obnoxious jerks driving on the other side of the road. If this is your first experience driving on the right (correct) side of the road, Boston can be a shocking exposure to US driving. It's a good thing the public transit system works well there. Boston wins the prize for rude drivers in the US from what I've seen.

[Jim Matthews]

And let's not forget driving with those rude obnoxious jerks driving on the other side of the road. If this is your first experience driving on the right (correct) side of the road, Boston can be a shocking exposure to US driving. It's a good thing the public transit system works well there. Boston wins the prize for rude drivers in the US from what I've seen.

Massholes are infamous, and the rest of us fear driving in Boston.
It's not for the uninitiated, nor is parking affordable.

We've covered this ground before - there is NO utility to having a vehicle that
you pay to both rent and park. You've been warned - unless you have driven
in Thailand, India or Haiti - you're not prepared.

At the very least, take out full insurance coverage offered by the rental agent.
They will otherwise charge you for the time the vehicle cannot be rented,
(Loss of use) in addition to costs the insurance does not cover.

It is a trivial jaunt to return to the airport to rent a car when leaving "Beantown".
Highway driving is no more dangerous in and around Boston than anywhere
outside of New Jersey.

http://www.boston-tourism-guide.com/boston-driving-tips.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/travelers-have-little-recourse-against-rental-car-companies-loss-of-use-policies/2013/10/17/857f1ea4-32a8-11e3-8627-c5d7de0a046b_story.html

[Dave Anderson NH]

Jim is correct about Mass drivers, they are fools and careless, but not any more so than around any other major city. The difficulty with Boston itself is the both the lack of parking and the combination of erratically laid out streets and the poor signage. If you've driven in London the erratic street layout should be no problem for you. Expect that in the rare cases where you find rotaries (roundabouts) do not expect the courtesy found in the UK. It's every idiot for themselves and the meek do NOT inherit the road. As everyone has said, the public transit system is quite good and on a par with London, with the exception of cleanliness. Renting a car is most useful if you intend to take day or multiday trips into the outer suburbs or into other parts of the state or other states. Generally speaking your UK accent will get you polite response to your inquiries about almost anything since the city is a major tourist destination. The only exception to this is South Boston/Dorchester where the "Irish" are more Irish than in the island adjacent to yours and glory in being rude to all outsiders but especially the "oppressors of their kinsmen".