Car rental in LA
 

Orange County, more precisely.

I'll be there for a weekend (friend's wedding) in August and was wondering if any local 'mudgeons had any thoughts about renting a decent/cool car. Most likely flying in to John Wayne (SNA)...

Define "decent/cool car".

You'll probably have more choices coming to LAX rather than SNA. And you'll certainly get a better choice to truly cool cars if you run up to the Beverly Hills and Hollywood areas as they cater to folks wanting exotics and can afford to rent them.

Sticking with the name brand rental companies (Hertz/Avis/National) can get you a reasonably "decent/cool" car, but it's likely to be of pedestrian proportions.

Turns out they have a link:

http://www.ocair.com/groundtransport/rentalcars.htm

In addition,

http://www.bhrentacar.com/

seems to serve it (somehow). But even an a3 is 90$/day. I think I'll stick to something like a mustang for 50-60$/day from some other company.

See if you can score a Mustang convertible, that might be pretty neat.

Ed

I'd think you could get a mustang convertible from one of the big rental companies.

The only worry there is that with the big companies, you might end up with a sebring 'vert as they are in the same class. The horror. :ack:

It seems that this local company has decent rates on mustang 'verts:

http://www.unitedautorental.com/fleet.html#Lu

I think you need to define "cool." Orange county has places that rent exotics (or at least it used to). So does L.A., I am sure. If you are just looking for a Mustang convertible, well . . .

:+1

Wow, cool. If you can get something with decent handling and hit California's wonderfully, deliciously twisty roads that would be awesome. A Mustang doesn't strike me as just such a vehicle. Try to get something that is fun to steer.

Don't forget the creature comforts (sound system, air conditioning, comfy seats, etc.) 'cause if you are in LA, you are going to spending a lot of time just sitting in traffic. :ack:

Yeah, I remember the 100 miles of bumper-to-bumper stop and go rush hour(s) traffic. And that was on one road heading out of town. . . L.A. are to Ventura. Traffic the whole way. Oofs.

Oddly enough, when I had my Miata down in L.A. that was the only time I'd A) put the top up on a sunny day and B) turn on the A/C. :ack: Made me understand reading about guys on the miata.net forums from AZ really wanting the A/C for summer. They'd put the top up and blast the A/C to keep cool. Tops would apparently be dropped in the evenings occasionally and during spring / fall. L.A. was like that for me.

Nothing like a night drive on a cool/cold evening with the top down and the heat blasting the floorboards :thumbup:

Where in Orange County will you be visiting? If you'll be primarily near the beach (Huntington/Newport/Laguna/Dana Point/San Clemente), the Mustang convertible is a perfect choice - actually, any convertible is a great choice. There are no good "driving roads" near the beach. The stretch of PCH in Orange County, however, is great for cruising - although since you are likely visiting on the weekend, you'll be stuck in beach traffic.

If you feel like heading out to the canyons, you might want to consider renting something substantially more fun from one of the exotic car rental places in Newport (http://www.luxuryrentacar.com/ or http://www.bhrentacar.com/).

If you need any suggestions on what to do and see and where to eat while out here, let me know.

When I was living in San Diego, a friend from the Bay area came down for a visit once by train. For some reason, I had to pick him up at Union Station in LA, though (and I really can't remember why). I took my brother's (but now my) Miata and we drove back with the top down and heat on...leaving LA about 10:30 pm. In January. I think it was about 45 degrees out. And he bitched from about Downey all the way to San Diego.

Good times... :D

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Good advice folks.. I'll be near Newport Beach and I thought as much, will not have any time for *driving*. Plus, I'm cheap and the idea of spending mucho $$$ on a rental is unappealing. Also, as I own a cayman and a 330 as it is, the mustang 'vert will be more interesting to me.

I thought Hertz rented corvettes?

If you don't have any time for driving then renting a fun gofast car would be a waste. But if you can squeeze in a half day it might be worth renting one of the funner cars for a day. An over lap with your "normal" car renter, perhaps, but it could be fun and worth it if you can make it up to the canyon roads.