Car rentals in San Jose
San Jose is not a much visited tourist spot. However, the place is full of intellectuals from the technology field. Many big information technology companies have their offices here and hence the place deserves a visit.
San Jose is the capital of the fabled, the seat of the dotcoms, the Silicon Valley. Hundreds of car rental companies operate in San Jose. Apart from the local car rental companies, all the popular online travel portals offer car rental bookings in San Jose. Moreover, San Jose is rated for a fifth consecutive time ‘the safest big city’ in the entire United States of America. This means you can drive with near guaranteed safety anywhere in the city and even the outskirts even during late hours.
Renting a car in San Jose
You can rent a car from almost any major destination in San Jose. The San Jose Amtrak station on 65, Cahill Street hosts a popular car rental company. If you are flying in, San Jose International Airport has distinct car rental reservation boards. This reservation boards are located near the baggage claim areas of Terminals 1 and 2. Free phones are provided near the baggage claim area. Use them to contact any car rental company. You can also board any of the car rental shuttles at Terminal 1 center traffic aisle. Alternatively hop on a shuttle from the traffic island located at the end of Terminal 2 on the airport. The airport website lists contact numbers for some of the car rental companies. Similarly you can pick up a car from downtown San Jose. Downtown San Jose has offices of every other major car rental company. Apart from these, there are offices of local travel agencies who provide car rental services. These can be reached by their toll free or local phone numbers. Five star hotels too have desks of car rental companies. For a list of car rental agencies have a look at Stanford’s Visitor Information.
Types of rental cars
You can hire a car of virtually every possible size. A big car rental company will offer you any of the below car categories:
- Economy
- Compact
- Sedan
- Minivan
- SUV
If you are touring San Jose with deep pockets and have a fetish for luxury cars, San Jose car rental companies can bring you any automobile. You can hire a Hummer, Porsche Boxster, and Mercedes Benz, BMW or a stretch limousine right from the San Jose airport. Almost all car rental companies offer extra equipment like child seats.
Costs of a rental car
The rate to hire a car is usually around $15 per hour for an economy car. The rates go up for high end cars and cars of bigger size. For luxury cars, you can hire a BMW Z-3 for $180 dollars a day or weekly for $1000. Still want a better car? Get a Porsche Boxster-S for a whooping $350 a day or a mind boggling $1700 dollars a week. The big Hummer too is in a similar price range. Many of these car rentals come with free miles.
The bigger the car, the more is the price per mile. A Ford Thunderbird would cost you $0.40 per mile while the Mercedes SUV would be around 60 cents per mile. A smart way to save costs on car rentals in San Jose or to get a better deal at the same price is to book a car along with your air ticket or hotel. If you book all together and well in advance, then you can save precious dollars. Almost all the famous travel portals offer this facility online. Be sure of your total price for the car. Some companies offer a lower price for rental and lure you on booking their services. However, later on you would have to pay hefty fees and taxes. Your total cost would no longer be the best deal. You must have a valid license to drive in California and should be of age more than 21 to qualify for a car rental. For more legal information, visit the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
San Jose is a place where great ideas are conceived; the great minds in technology work here to decide how future will be for earthlings. What better to explore the place than with an intelligent decision on renting a car!