How does one (legally) rent a car for BM? (from SFO)

[tschwarz]

Hi-

this year will be my first Burning Man, that is if I make it there - as renting a car has proved to be much more difficult than I expected.

Renting a car in the US is simple enough, but the standard TOS of about every car rental company states that insurance coverage is lost when the vehicle is taken on "unsealed" roads. It's not even the dirt that's the problem at that stage. I'm not sure what tpye of road a "sealed road" is and is not, but I'm suspecting the streets to and in BRC aren't considered "sealed". Or are they? They do appear on google maps, after all.

An Australian company that was mentioned in an article about "getting to the Burning Man" explicitly stated to me today that using rented cars on unsealed roads will lead to a loss of insurance coverage. But it's never clear what insurance coverage will be lost. Are all kinds accidents and potential first, second, and third party injuries on unsealed roads not insured? Or just potential damages to the car?

And yet a lot of stories on boards mention how people are renting cars from specific branches of car rental companies that appeared to be "burner friendly", particularly around Reno. And about every non-American going to the festival seems to be using rented vehicles, and it's even recommended to make reservations from abroad because it's about half the price and a lot of insurances are included that aren't included for US citizens. Plus, it's a good idea to know how to get to BRC when you're boarding a plane for a 20 hours flight to the US.

So right now, I'm a bit at loss of options - as every call center car rental company sales rep will tell the same story and it's almost impossible to talk to actual people, including the burnerfriendly ones around Reno, who may have the power agree to the use of cars on "unsealed" roads or add some additional insurance for this.

How is this done? Any advice? And specifically, how is this done for SFO-based car rental agencies? Do people just not mention they go to the Burning Man and accept the insurance loss? Or are they differently insured and this is a matter of how the insurances are set up for foreigners?

Thanks a lot for any advice!

[Odie]

Try a different approach,

used rental car companies

http://www.qucr.com/en/qucr/fleet

or eplaya rideshare

http://rideshare.burningman.com/

or the shuttle (burner express)


http://www.burnerexpress.com/

Stick your thumb out, or show your tits,

but what the fuck do I know

Good luck

[tschwarz]

Thanks Odie,

I tried the used rental approach (rentawreck) with the same limitiations, but thanks for that tip. Will check it out, if there are more companies renting out used cars. I'm also looking into the other approaches, of course, but we're three people flying into SFO on different times, so it may be difficult to organise the rideshare. The Burner Bus is also an option, but I'm worried about the baggage limitations of two large items, particularly with respect to water.

[lucky420]

As far as the unsealed roads, yes your insurance that you purchase from the rental agencey can be null and void if something were to happen. You can check with your ins and see if it covers rental cars.

I believe most people don't let on that they're going to BM. They take a chance that nothing bad will happen to the car...

Just make sure you clean it extremely well before you return it and you MIGHT get your cleaning deposit back.

There is a thread here somewhere on cleaning and some dust prevention tips for cars.

[tschwarz]

Lucky420,

thanks!

Yes, that's my impression, too. Most people don't care about the (legally) aspect. Thing is, I don't really get how the American car insurance system works. Here, in Germany, it's simple: there's insurance for the damage to the car and insurance for people. You don't need insurance for *your* car, but it's a criminal offense to use a car that is not insured (unlimitedly) against damage done to others. In the US the system seems to be exceedingly complex and no one seems to be able what kind of insurance will be void if the car is taken off a sealed road.

Only the one for damages to the car itself?

Or the one for possible damages to driver/passengers/third parties in a possible accident.

What happens if someone happens to run in front of the car on the way in and out of BRC?

Is that still covered?

[theCryptofishist]

This wont help the germans, I guess, but someone, sometime must have waived the rentel insurance, in favor ofntheir own. What happened?