Living with a rental car. How the auto insurance works.

We are on week 8 since my car got in an accident. Yup, the first week and a half I just drove my sad damaged car. But, after that it was time to get into a rental car. So, what is life like in a rental car for that long? 
For about six weeks I was driving a Nissan Rogue. At first I wasn't a fan. The engine and transmission were a little less than great. I always felt the car was looking for the right gear and never finding it. I also thought the design of the car wasn't the nicest. The interior was also meh. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't great. The one thing that annoyed me was all the circular buttons. The heat, radio and start button were all in the same area and they were all circles of varying size. But, the more I drove the car I learned to appreciate it a bit. The tech features were nice. It had the swipe your foot and the hatch opens like magic. The radio stayed on when the car was off which my car doesn't do for very long. Overall however I'm not trading my car for a Nissan Rogue.
After about six weeks I got myself a Hyundai Elantra.  I hadn't been in a Hyundai in 15 maybe 20 years since I rented one in Atlanta for my cousin's wedding. Wow, they make a much nicer car now. The engine and transmission are fun. It isn't very fast from a start even in sport mode. But, it shifts at the right times and you can rev the rpm's a little bit in this car. The fuel economy is really good. I had it for two weeks and didn't even use a tank of gas. Yes, it is smaller than the Nissan. But, I like the ride. I like the technology in this car. It has lane assist. Meh, kinda not the most useful thing. It does have auto braking if you don't start slowing down it will. That's kinda fun. The backup camera is good and clear. The styling is nice. Overall minus the less than exciting interior I like this car. It's an adjustment crawling into a low car but I've always liked smaller cars.
Since I got the rental car I have just been covering the car under my auto insurance. That means I am not paying extra to the rental company's auto insurance. Now, not everyone has that option. There are several car insurance companies that will not cover you in a rental car. Make sure before you get the rental you ask your company if they cover you in the rental car. Two things I always like to remind people are that if you wreck the rental car you will have to pay your deductible. The other thing to know is that your insurance will not pay the rental car companies "loss of use". That means if they can't rent the car out the company can bill you for the amount of time it is in the shop and they can bill you depreciation on the value of the car if it is damaged. If you truly don't want to be out of pocket for an accident buy the rental car insurance.  
Now are either of my rentals better than my car. No, I really like my car. I like how it drives the styling and the comfort. But, my take away was that if my daughter ever starts driving, she's almost 17 now that the Hyundai would be a nice first car. Not a new one, but if I could find a nice used one sign me up. If you need a quote for some auto insurance give me a call at 951-395-0754!