Renting a car in the US with kids? Take car seats!

I'm a frequent traveller to the US but only came across this issue on our latest trip in Aug-Sep this year.  Lots of states, including the 3 I was travelling in, have tightened their car seat laws recently, which means that you can't actually drive a car off the rental lot  with kids without them (not that I'd want to anyway!). Rental car agencies are exploiting this, and most of the inclusive rental packages you purchase in the UK make it an 'add-on, payable locally'.  It was impossible to find out via the web or phone to Dollar rental just what this charge was .  When we arrived we found out why.  They wanted $9 per child per day for the seats - adding up to nearly $250 for our latest trip. 

We refused to pay and my husband sat at Newark airport with the kids for an hour while I found the nearest shopping center and bought two for a total of $70.  We ended up bringing them home and putting them in storage - next time, we're taking them with us.  Many airlines don't include them in the luggage allowance anyway.  The hassle of taking them to the airport will be far less than the pain of paying such extortionate fees. 
If you've read about this before, sorry for the repeat.

Very valid post. A word of warning to those flying Air Canada though. As of Sept 4th, those car seats and strollers that you check WILL count against your baggage allowance. I don't know if other airlines are following suit, but would not be in the least bit surprised.

i've not heard of airlines that it doesn't count against your allowance. Can you give some examples? I know ryan air will take a stroller without counting it but that's all I've heard of and they don't fly to the states.

I have found that the American airlines generally count car seats and prams as lugguage so I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that BA does not.

NB UK car seats may not be suitable for US cars and vice versa.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=36523.0

i haven't flown with carseats in the last 18 months, but before that delta, united and AA didn't count them as luggage.

Virgin does not either.

We had never worried about it before, but we were so close to the luggage limits that I called three times to verify. On the third time, I got to the main desk agent at BWI, who informed me of the Sept 4th rule change. Good job we squeaked in just before then, as that would have cost us 3 pieces and 150lb of luggage (2 seats & 1 jogging stroller). Double check with your airline before assuming all is still as it was.

NB UK car seats may not be suitable for US cars and vice versa.

newcomer link: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=36523.0 [nonactive]

This is a valid point, perhaps I should clarify.
My two are now in booster-type car seats, for 18k+, allowable here and in the three states I was driving in, for children of their age.  I checked it out on the state websites before travelling. 
We flew with Virgin, and they weren't included in the limit, as of three weeks ago. If I were travelling on an airline that *did* charge and they were still in heavy babyseats, I wouldn't take my own. But the booster type things are so light I'd still pay the excess.
BTW, they were exactly the same brand - Graco- and model that we use in the UK. My point is that the rental agencies don't discriminate between an an expensive babyseat and a booster that costs under $20 in Walmart- they are all the same daily rate.
Hope this helps somebody.

I passed my Theory...49 out of 50 

Congrats!  Now onto the Practical!

When I went to the states earlier in the year I asked the guy to waive the cost of the car seat, and he did. Thats worth a try...

My SIL came over last year for our wedding and had ordered an infant seat when she hired a car. It wasn't available. They just didn't have one. My niece was 3 months old at the time! How irresponsible is that? This was at 11:30pm at night a very small airport. Thank God I was able to get one for her (it was made for a 2yr old), but we wedged her in there. It was a nightmare. She even called the US car hire company that week before she left to confirm she had a carseat for an infant. She had the printout with her that confirmed it - they didn't have it on their system nor did they have one there.

Take one with you!