Car rental recommendations

[misa 2]

Ha! My brain froze... I think this immigration thing made me lose some brain cells along the way.

We're going to pack up the animals in car A, go down to Buffalo and transfer everyone into car B.

[CutienPurg 0]

I have no idea what just happened here...........but I think I may need a nap anyway

[Mephys 2]

soe of you must have been lucky... We called Uhaul to have a 10 foot from Montreal to Chicago, 15 horus drive that we were planning to do non stop with both of us alternating for driving. They said they had to charge a minimum of 5 days even if we take less and we have to pay for gaz of course. So its 800$..We would have like that better so he could have fly to Montreal first and then we drive back together.

But now sound like the cheaper option is him coming with his MAzda5 to Montreal, we pack as much as we can abd I ship the rest through UPS.

We wanted to rent just a SUV or a Caravan but they said its not allowed for a Canada Usa thing, has to be in canada.

Oh well

Mephys

[Flames9_RN 358]

I think my uhaul was around $800 plus gas. Halifax ns to DC

[misa 2]

We wanted to rent just a SUV or a Caravan but they said its not allowed for a Canada Usa thing, has to be in canada.

You can rent one if your fiance rents it in the states close to the border and drives it up to get you.

For moving I'm going with ABF U-Pack (http://www.upack.com). It's certainly not cheap ($1,100-$1,400 USD) but it's our only option. I'm still undecided whether I need 1 or 2 relocubes... The entire move including renting the cars is costing upwards of $2,000 USD!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

We faced the same problems when trying to decide how to move me and my 6 cats from Chatham Ontario to south of Atlanta, Georgia. No, there is not enough room in a cab of a U-Haul van, and anything we rented in Canada had a $1000 drop off fee for a one way trip. So my then fiance flew to Detroit, rented an SUV type van from AVIS, drove it across the border at Windsor then on to Chatham. We then loaded up the van with the cats, their necessary items, the certified houseplants, the new items that we might need to pay duty on, my jewellry and most important personal papers, and enough clothes to last me the week it would take for the rest of my things to arrive in the moving van. Before I arrived Joe purchased 2 litterboxes and litter and had them already set up in the house so that we didn't have to worry about carrying litter boxes and stuff for the cats (We used the disposable littertrays on the way). So, yes, your solution sounds the most realistic - getting your fiance to Buffalo to pick up the rented vehicle however it takes to get him there, then he drives back across the border to pick you up. My husband had no trouble crossing the border with the empty van. The border guard asked him his purpose and he answered 'to pick up my fiancee and return to the States where we will be getting married'. The border guard then said 'Drive on, brother, drive on! Far be it from me to stand in the way of another man's misery!" (true! he said that!). I do not believe your fiance will have any problems crossing the border with the empty van in order to pick you up. Good luck on your journey and may it be safe and uneventful.

[misa 2]

The drop off fees are f***ing ridiculous!

But now we're on plan C which involves less back and forth. I found out today after obsessing about this that Hertz has ZERO drop off fees from Toronto to Buffalo. So we're booking two SUVs. One from Toronto to Buffalo (with me and the animals and stuff that we need right away) and then renting one from Buffalo to VA. We'd have to unload and then reload.

I suppose that Hertz doesn't charge because so many people from Toronto fly out of the Buffalo airport for cheaper fares and it ends up being cheaper for them to spend $100 on a car rental than driving to Buffalo in their own car and paying parking fees for longer trips.

It seems daunting enough with the 3 cats and my dog but I can't imagine if I was doing this back when I had 8 cats and my dog... Or at my most, 10 cats and my dog. Well over the "allowed limit" pretty much anywhere but they were all rescues, I couldn't turn them away!

Quick cat question for you Kathryn. I just need up-to-date vaccinations and a health certificates for them all within 30 days of crossing from my vet, correct? Actually I'm going to send you a PM with some kitty questions.

[Lance27 19]

My Plan is to Rent from Buffalo Niagara Intl Airport They charge $90 US for a one way trip unlimited miles for a minivan - National Car rental. I have rented before when I moved most of my essential stuff. Only hastle is that you have to go down to Buffalo and then rent and drive back to Toronto. GTA has nothing that I could find for a one way rental to the US that was reasonable.

Hope this helps.

Lance

Hope I'm not confusing everyone!

Here's the scenario:

1. We're both flying out to Vancouver separately for the interview (me from Toronto and him from VA).

2. We're both flying to Toronto after that. I looked into him flying from Vancouver to Buffalo but there's crazy layover times in Chicago. Plus our flights are already booked.

3. SUV is rented in Buffalo that needs to be driven back to Toronto. Then the day after, pack up the animals and then drive back down in SUV from Toronto to VA (drop off in VA with no "drop off charge"). My belongings will be moved with a moving service.

We need to get from Toronto to Buffalo to pick up that SUV. The problem lies in that I don't drive, no license. So we would have had to take a bus there or get a friend to drive (it'll be on a weekday so hard to find someone). I was going to activate it crossing over because from what I understand, we have to, right?

But I think I found a solution to our problem. Apparently there is no "drop off charge" if you rent in Toronto and drop off in Buffalo (costs just over $100 Cdn for that, would have cost the same for us to take a bus then a cab to the Hertz location). So to avoid the whole "taking a bus" routine, we'll now be renting a car in Toronto, dropping it off in Buffalo. And then picking up the SUV and driving back to Toronto.

See, now I wish I had just got my license before and had my own vehicle. That would have made things a lot easier. Because of the animals, we can't really do Uhaul. There just isn't room for them.

[misa 2]

My Plan is to Rent from Buffalo Niagara Intl Airport They charge $90 US for a one way trip unlimited miles for a minivan - National Car rental. I have rented before when I moved most of my essential stuff. Only hastle is that you have to go down to Buffalo and then rent and drive back to Toronto. GTA has nothing that I could find for a one way rental to the US that was reasonable.

Hope this helps.

Lance

Thanks for the input! I found out that if you're renting a car (not an SUV or minivan) it's only about $100 one way from YYZ to BUF (with Hertz). So when you are moving, look into renting from YYZ to BUF and then a second vehicle from BUF.

I suppose most car rental places started doing that after the JetsGo fiasco and inflated airline prices a few years ago since so many GTA people fly out of BUF now.

[misa 2]

Whoa, I just read that... $90 one way unlimited from Buffalo? We're paying something like $300 from Hertz from Buffalo...

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Hi Miso,

Just got back to this post and saw your question. Actually, the cats just need to be in good health for a visual inspection at the border - for border purposes they don't need to have medical records, shots or even rabies if they are coming from Canada. Dogs do require proof of rabies vaccination to enter the US, but cats' medical requirements are only set by the state to where you are moving. Now, of course, for your own peace of mind and your animals' health, yes, make sure they are up to date on all of their shots including rabies (have proof with you), and that they appear in good health. It is not a bad idea to have a recent letter from your vet stating that they are all healthy - you never know when an over officious official might take a mind to insist on something that isn't part of the regulations. If you arrive at the border with an animal who appears unwell, the border authorities have the right to make you wait while a vet is called in to inspect the animal. Some border ports of entry do not have vets on call on weekends (although the bigger ones should) and it could be a long wait for the vet (if needed). Even though all of our cats were fine we chose to leave on a Friday just to ensure access to a vet if border officials decided we needed one. Of course, they didn't even look at the cats or any of their paperwork!

Edited February 21, 2007 by Kathryn41

[Saddle Bronc 124]

One idea: rent from Buffalo, then take a bus to Buffalo (alone) and drive the rental back to Canada and take your stuff.

(you'll still get a dropoff charge, but it will be more in the order of $300 than $1000 this way).

[misa 2]

Hi Miso,

Just got back to this post and saw your question. Actually, the cats just need to be in good health for a visual inspection at the border - for border purposes they don't need to have medical records, shots or even rabies if they are coming from Canada. Dogs do require proof of rabies vaccination to enter the US, but cats' medical requirements are only set by the state to where you are moving. Now, of course, for your own peace of mind and your animals' health, yes, make sure they are up to date on all of their shots including rabies (have proof with you), and that they appear in good health. It is not a bad idea to have a recent letter from your vet stating that they are all healthy - you never know when an over officious official might take a mind to insist on something that isn't part of the regulations. If you arrive at the border with an animal who appears unwell, the border authorities have the right to make you wait while a vet is called in to inspect the animal. Some border ports of entry do not have vets on call on weekends (although the bigger ones should) and it could be a long wait for the vet (if needed). Even though all of our cats were fine we chose to leave on a Friday just to ensure access to a vet if border officials decided we needed one. Of course, they didn't even look at the cats or any of their paperwork!

Thanks Kathryn. I'm going to go ahead and get them all vaccinated anyway along with a certificate of health for each of them from my vet. That way there'd be no question about their overall health. We would be crossing on Friday as well. Funny, 2 of my cats were originally rescues from Detroit and when my friend drove them across the Canadian border, they didn't bother looking at them or their paperwork either! I hope to have that much luck when I go to the U.S. with them all.

One idea: rent from Buffalo, then take a bus to Buffalo (alone) and drive the rental back to Canada and take your stuff.

(you'll still get a dropoff charge, but it will be more in the order of $300 than $1000 this way).

I noticed that a lot of car companies don't charge a drop off charge from one US airport to another! And no charge from Toronto to Buffalo (the new plan is 2 vehicles - one from Toronto to Buffalo, the other from Buffalo to Virginia).

[Lance27 19]

Whoa, I just read that... $90 one way unlimited from Buffalo? We're paying something like $300 from Hertz from Buffalo...

Yup, look into National Car rental. www.nationalcar.com BUF to Kansas MCI is $80 for SUV $90 for minivan works out to $113 with taxes and all one way.

[Lance27 19]

Whoa, I just read that... $90 one way unlimited from Buffalo? We're paying something like $300 from Hertz from Buffalo...

Yup, look into National Car rental. www.nationalcar.com BUF to Kansas MCI is $89 for SUV $90 for minivan works out to $113 with taxes and all one way.