What kind of rental car?

[divin'darren]

I'm going to CA in 3 weeks for a week, and we need to rent a car. We have always had a van at home, so car transfers are few and far between. What is the best kind? Is there anything I should do for those of you with rental experience? Thank you.

[LooseCannon]

What chair will you use? How's your transfers?

In general I say an Impala because it's a roomy 4 door with wide front doors and a large trunk.

[Broknwing]

You could always go the route of renting a wc van or mini van. There are a number of compaines out there who do this & even some of the major rent-a-car companies might. The rental car companies are required to provide hand controls if requested in advance, so with this in mind, they may also have vans w/lifts as well. Hope this helps. :)

[divin'darren]

Im using a Quickie Ti, and transfers are pretty good. Im not gonna be driving or anything, just riding. We've rented a van before, but figured we could do a car this time.

[Curt Leatherbee]

Good luck.

[SCI-Nurse]

Unless you have a power chair or cannot transfer, go with a rental car. A full sized or luxury size usually is easiest for transfers. If you don't have your own portable hand controls, Avis guarantees you a car with hand controls with 24 hours notice. Some other agencies also do this.

I know of no regular rental car agencies that rent out vans with ramps or lifts. The few companies which do rent these out (such as Wheelchair Get Aways) are VERY expensive compared to regular rental car agencies and often have hefty delivery charges in addition to the rental charges which usually exceed $100/day.

(KLD)

[Broknwing]

Unless you have a power chair or cannot transfer, go with a rental car. A full sized or luxury size usually is easiest for transfers. If you don't have your own portable hand controls, Avis guarantees you a car with hand controls with 24 hours notice. Some other agencies also do this. (KLD)

It is my understanding that the rental car companies are legally required to provide a car w/hand controls if you request it in advance. Some can still provide them if you request when you p/u the vehicle, but that's taking a chance as they might not have one on site. Hope this helps. :)

Darren- I understand not needing/wanting to rent a van since you don't need to for this trip. Since you've got a nice compact chair, if you're gonna be on vacation, try a Sebring convertible. Enjoy yourselves. the sebring has a lot of space, fits a w/c nicely(fit my Quickie GPV in the back seat). Transfers were pretty easy for me, the doors open pretty wide. The rental car companies usually have a lot of these as they are a common request in tourist areas (high demand vehicle) My ex had one so I rode in it quite a bit, it was really easy to get in & out of.

Hope this helps. Let us know what y'all rent when you go. :)