When we visit Dearborn soon, we will need to hire a car in order to see all the relevant T and Ford sights.
Being totally unfamiliar with them I need to ask.....
Are all the hire car companys much the same?
Is one company better than the others?
Is one a whole lot worse than the others and should be avoided?
Who do you recommend?
Thanks,
Rob

Before you leave home,check your local car insurance and see if you are covered ,or not. declining the rental car insurance can save you a lot of money. You may wish to bring a copy of your policy with you,if you're covered. Most of the big names are all reliable,so get a quote ahead of time. You can do that on the internet. Go with the cheapest .

Before you leave home,check your local car insurance and see if you are covered ,or not. declining the rental car insurance can save you a lot of money. You may wish to bring a copy of your policy with you,if you're covered. Most of the big names are all reliable,so get a quote ahead of time. You can do that on the internet. Go with the cheapest .

Assuming you're arriving in Detroit Metro Airport, look into guys like Budget and Alamo. They will be less.

I would say that like most things you get what you pay for with rental cars. If you are arriving in Detroit from Oz the last thing you want is a screwed up car rental. I recommend you stick with the top two companies, Hertz and National. You won't have any lost reservations or "Sorry we overbooked and we are out of cars". They pay extra to have the cars located right outside the terminal, in covered parking so you won't be soaked if its raining and the car will be cool if its sunny.

Those kinds of things are important to me as someone who travels 40 - 50 nights a year. Enterprise is my least favorite car rental company and they are to be avoided.

If you are arriving in Detroit from somewhere that does not involve a 17 hour plane ride then Avis or Budget can usually get the job done, but you will stand at their counters in line and have a long bus ride to their lots. You will save $10 a day compared to Hertz or National.

I travel a lot on business and use Hertz 100% of the time. If you are in a city and really don't know your way around, spend the extra $6 - $9.00 a day and get Neverlost GPS, you will save gas and the frustration and will always be on time. I never carry a map or use mapquest. You can find attractions, gas hotels basicly everything. Hertz has an great help line if you really screw up. If you book online match your reservation with the airline flight number, so if your flight is delayed, which they always are these days, your car will still be waiting for you. The other guys normally say tuff !!

don't add a second driver, i did that last on trip to maine and they charged me another $100.00

National, Budget, & Hertz all have decent facilities in Detroit & plenty of shuttle buses to get you to & from the airport. I fly to Detroit every other week & have rented from every brand of rental agency.

I used to alwasy rent from Thrifty, because they used Chrysler cars (I used to handle our DCx accounts), but their office is not as nice & they dont have as many shuttles.

Thank you Gents,
From your answers, it seems that all the big names will give good service.
Some of them better than others and some cheaper than others and one is to be avoided altogether.
This is exactly the info I was hoping for.
Thanks again,
Rob