My sympathies. I watched a grandfather succumb to Alzheimer’s.
Maybe use Costco for a comparison…but I wouldn’t rent through them. You can do far better then their prices. I do a lot of traveling. I’m and Avis and Hertz preferred member. I have both because not every place I fly into has both Avis and Hertz. They do have one or the other. And there are other options besides those 2. If you can plan ahead (1-2 months), then you should be able to get a very good deal.
As stated the problem isn’t the safety features of the car…it’s not being familiar with the car. Any car you rent is going to give you the same problem.
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Costco’s pricing for Budget at least has been very reasonable according to my Dad, keep in mind he also values service as much as pricing. Their most recent trip had a transmission warning light on the Hyundai Elantra they picked up first in Las Vegas and were switched to a Toyota Corolla without issue. Thankfully they hadn’t left Vegas when the light came on as they were driving to the Grand Canyon.
The Toyota 4Runner they recieved instead of an Escape or Rav4 in California a few years ago was too high of a step in for my parents and the relatives traveling along but did end up being a better choice for the snow covered mountain pass on the war back. Gas mileage wasn’t it’s strong suit but it got them to Yosemite and back without issues.
Unfortunately service is very much dependent on where you rent the vehicle from. Avis may be fine at one airport, but service is horrible at another. Many are franchised.
You have a good point, it does depend on the particular location but in this case the experience has been positive if we’re renting from the location here in town or various locations in Europe. Their storefront office in Dublin Ireland didn’t have a huge selection of cars but there was a Nissan Micra that ended up being the perfect size for the narrow coastal roads. And the same size of the Mazda Protoge we owned and loved for 19yrs.
The little garage in Scotland offered to meet my parents wit the rental car at the train station since they were arriving so close to closing time. Apparently something they did regularly since there was another car for them to pick up.
@JoAnnRoberts As a fellow lady in my mid-sixties with aging eyes and as someone who has driven multiple extended vacation trips in both my younger years and more recently, I’d like to offer some suggestions.
As others have pointed out, the apparent biggest problem you face is that of driving a vehicle unfamiliar to you. So you need to consider your options for overcoming that key challenge. Some options you can look at:
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Rather than drive home at the end of your cruise, fly home. There should be many flight options from Memphis to one or more airports in your home area.
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Take buses home. Map out a route that has available buses, going only as far in a day as you are comfortable with and stopping overnight or longer in cities you might like tourist exploring.
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Check to see if Amtrack offers passenger service from Memphis. Speaking from experience, rail travel can be fun. You can work out a route based on available passenger rail options that could allow you stops of a day or so in cities you can enjoy tourist exploring. Rail travel can be very affordable.
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Check now, well ahead of your planned trip, with car rental agencies you might rent a car from as to what vehicles are available. Then ahead of time rent one or more of those models for a few days to drive locally at home enough to get comfortably familiar with. Do this now, as soon as possible, so that you can decide on a vehicle and then lock in an advance reservation for that specific model vehicle.
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Perhaps you have one or more family members and/or friends who are comfortable driving rental vehicles in all sorts of traffic and weather who might enjoy meeting you in Memphis and being your driver home and spending special time with you, especially if you pay their travel expenses.
Also, now, well ahead of your cruise date, is an opportunity to have your eyes checked by your eye doctor in case you would benefit from an update to any glasses you and your husband may wear.
Whatever way you choose to get back home after your cruise, pace yourselves to travel at a comfortable, unstressed distance each day.
Good luck, safe travels, and hope you have great fun.
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As usual from you all good advice for the O P.
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