Am I paying too much for a car rental in LA? -

I am visiting California from overseas and rented a car from the Thrifty car rental at LAX. I got a great deal online - ~$100 weekly rate for any available midsize (ended up choosing a Mustang) and expected the price to go up after I added GPS, insurance, and a fuel refill waiver. I expected the price to double or so, but it ended up coming to $440 (with the middle of three insurance options). Is this normal, or am I being seriously ripped off?

You did not pay too much. What happened is you misunderstood what was being offered. The $100 a week rate was for a mid size car like a Chrysler Sebring. You took a Ford Mustang instead which rental companies classify as a performance car, not a mid size . The rental rates for a Ford Mustang is usually very high just like the rates for a full sized SUV, or Luxury car.

I d say it s about 50/50: 50% being ripped off, and 50% of you being a sucker. If you aren t familiar with LA, GPS is a nice luxury. So $15x7 days is another $105. But the insurance waiver is for suckers, IMHO. If you already have car insurance with collision and comprehensive coverage, you re covered already. Yeah, the rental car companies like to do a hard sell on people, playing on your fears. They ll tell you that if you crash the car, you can just walk away and get another one. But what they don t tell you is that this is their highest profit margin item. And fuel refill waiver is for lazy people. Sorry, but it s just not hard to pull in and pump your own gas before returning it.

As usual, I agree with the wisdom of Obviousman. The $100/week rate is a great deal, especially on a midsize.The rest of that stuff you do not need. With a nice map, the GPS is unnecessary as well. It s pretty easy to navigate around LA, and there are a ton of alternate routes you can easily see on a map if you get turned around. Sometimes, the GPS limits you to the route it chooses, whereas traffic may dictate you take another way.Forget the insurance and fill the tank before you return the car. There are a ton of gas stations in LA, too. :)

HAving booked a hot car and bought all the extras then youa re paying about what would be expected. Its the extras that get you.The GPS rental cost you as much as buying a GPS. But it can be good for finding your way around LA. Myself I use a Thomas Guide book that cost $30.The fuel refill waiver is a total rip off. The extra insurance costs you more than the rental itself. However, if your credit card does not cover the damage to a rental car then you are better off to have it.Myself, I ma booking a car over Christmas. I am flying from LA to Vancouver and am paying $264. No GPS and my credit card covers the extra insurance. I am getting a full size car like a Chevy Impala.I have rented sub compacts in LA for $125 a week and paid just that amount,

GPS adds about $15/day ... insurance probably added the same ... so that s $30/day add on for 7 days (a week), plus fuel waver gets you to about $350 ... all the taxes in LA ... I can see it. They gave you a breakdown ... read it.

Man, we get a lot of car rental questions on this forum....and if you think about it....people who live here wouldn t rent cars, so we wouldn t know what is too much.

I don t see why you would need any of those extras....except insurance if you don t already have car insurance...

How many miles is Pasadena from L.A.? -

Pasadena is immediately adjacent to Los Angeles (Eagle Rock). Downtown Pasadena is about 11 miles from downtown LA.

Miles wise its between 10 and 20 depending on what freeway you take. If you take 110N, its about 10-12 miles. 10 E can be between 10-20 ---- of course it depends on where you are exactly...Time wise, in rush hour traffic you can expect to spend 30-40 mins to go say 15 miles.

Depends where at you live in Pasadena and where you want to be in LA, I live in Pasadena, and it takes about 12 minutes to get into La (taking the 110 fwy) buttt it ranges as to where I am going in La and what time of day it is... plan wisely, nothing like the LA traffic. ;)

Depends where in LA. LA is 30 miles east to west.

Highschools in manhattan!? -

name a few good ones pleaseee

It s a little late to be asking this. The deadline for the application is next week. The specialized schools (like Stuyvesant and the High School for Math, Engineering and Science at City College) gave their test , the SHSAT, weeks ago. The arts schools (like Laguardia and Professional Performing Arts High School) already have scheduled their auditions. The selective schools (like Bard, Beacon, and Millenium) have deadlines coming up for submission of materials or their own testing dates - some of these dates have already passed, actually. You can t take the Bard test anymore. And Beacon has no more interview slots available. So you really have missed the boat on many of the best Manhattan schools. I don t know about Eleanor Roosevelt. There might be a way to apply to this school. I ve heard good things about it, but they only take kids from District 2 (lower Manhattan) pretty much, and we live in Brooklyn, so I didn t encourage my daughter to even look at that one. But you might look into it.

Stuyvesant High School-- said to be best in the city(:

Stuyvesant is the best. You have to qualify to get in, but it is world class.