The United States is very large, and every time you go somewhere it's different. This summer, I went to Yellowstone and chose an SUV, but I regretted it because the high center of gravity made it tilt heavily on the mountain roads... and all the roads were paved, so if you don't have a need for a lot of luggage, don't choose an SUV. Last year, I rented a BMW 4 Series to drive around the Grand Canyon area and it felt great. I stayed in Yellowstone for 5 days, 2 days at Old Faithful, 2 days at Canyon, and 1 day at Yellowstone Lake. The itinerary was not tight, so I just played around and drove all the roads in Yellowstone. Accommodation in Yellowstone is expensive, and the itinerary was not optimized, but the gas prices were cheaper than in the Bay Area. As for cash and credit cards, to be honest, I haven't used much cash in recent years. I only keep cash for tips. Throughout the trip, I only used cash once at a strange restaurant in Salt Lake City for one night, and also used cash to send postcards at the Yellowstone post office. Everything else was done with credit cards, including self-service gas and meals. It was surprising to find out at a gas station in Carson City that they explicitly did not accept VISA credit cards and had to use a MasterCard. I remembered trying credit cards at gas stations in Utah and San Diego last year, and this year's experience was really different, as many gas stations have upgraded ?
United States Q&A
Regarding the prepayment of fuel issue, I want to give a hint to the friends who will rent a car later. I just saw a car friend above who said something not quite right. When we paid the prepayment for fuel, we were told to pick up the car with a full tank and return it with a full tank. However, when we returned the car, we were informed that because we returned it with a full tank, the deposit would be refunded. But in reality, it did not happen. We sent an email to the car rental company Sixt to confirm this, and the reply was that after prepaying the fuel fee, it is not necessary to return the car with a full tank, and returning it with a full tank will not result in a deposit refund. (It's just a way for them to keep your money in the end.) As long as you have signed the contract, they will insist on it. (Regarding what the car friend above said, to put it bluntly, it's just a matter of not being good at English. I really want to roll my eyes at this. ️ They are lumping everyone's different situations together.) ?
United Kingdom Q&A
Help, on June 22nd, I was driving in Germany from Berlin to Munich and the King's Lake. When I rented the car, there was a pre-authorization of 124 euros. After returning to my country, I checked at the end of July and found that it had been unfrozen, so I thought everything was fine. However, on August 6th, the bank called me and informed me that there was a pre-sale right of around 29 points, which they said was the handling fee of the car rental company. It should be due to a traffic violation, and the German police will send a notice of violation to the address I provided in my country. I don't know how to pay the fine. Also, the address I provided is my driver's license address, which has been demolished, so I won't be able to receive any notification. How can I pay the fine, and what are the consequences if I don't pay it ?
Germany Q&A
It used to be smooth to pick up the car in advance no matter where, but this time at Hertz at Oslo Airport, I arrived more than an hour in advance and was told that the car had not arrived and I couldn't pick it up early. They asked me to pay extra to change the car or wait for an hour to complete the procedures. I ended up waiting for an hour. Ten days later, I had to go to Iceland and arrived three hours in advance. I was afraid of encountering the same situation, so I wanted the customer service and the car rental company to communicate the situation. The customer service asked me to cancel the order and place a new one, but I had to email the car rental company to explain the situation. However, I did not receive a reply from the car rental company in Iceland. Fortunately, picking up the car in advance in Iceland was not a problem, and I was upgraded to an SUV with 4-wheel drive for free. So, I have a good impression of Iceland this time, but a very bad impression of Hertz at Oslo Airport. They not only make things difficult and charge for miscellaneous items, but they have already charged me three times ?
Norway Q&A
Not tailgating, don't speed, speeding fines are heavy, I saw the police officer's calculation basis for issuing tickets (unfortunately got caught), the starting price is $50, plus an additional $20 for every mile over the speed limit, simply put, if you speed by 10 miles, the fine is $250, this is the calculation basis for speeding by 16 miles or less, I don't know about 16 miles or more. However, American police are still very good, I was speeding by 9 miles, being polite, flattering, and only got fined $60. You can only pay the fine online after returning to China (three weeks after the ticket was issued), the ticket needs to be recognized by the court before the government can collect the fine, my friend said that on the day of the court hearing, if the police officer who issued the ticket does not show up (probability of 90%), the ticket will be invalid, there is a big gap in my feeling. A special reminder, American police are like ghosts, you never know when they will appear behind your car ?
United States Q&A