»O.K., sign here,« said the friendly employee,
handing me the contract. »Any damage caused through your fault will be
subtracted from your deposit, and for the costs of fixing any defect of the
vehicle you will get a refund from the owner. «
We found the name of the agency in the
telephone directory. But when you talk to them by phone, they usually say they
have nothing. The best thing to do is to go there in person and insist –
eventually, they always find something. They will set limits in the length of
your voyage – but the owners usually don’t fuss about it.
»Drive away«, as this service is called, is an
American peculiarity, and also one of the most interesting ways of travelling
in the United States. You only have to pay a fee of 10 $ plus a 250 $ deposit which
you will get back when you return the car. Of course you also have to pay for
the gasoline, but that is not so terrible, since petroleum in the US is at
least twice cheaper than in Europe.
So, how do we fetch the car?
to be continued
text & photo: Janin Klemenčič
