Money Saving Car Rental Tips
WHITFIELD: Well, time now for "Dollars and Deals." The cost of renting a car can really add up if you're not careful. It's not the daily rate that will kill you, it's all those extras, many of which you really don't even need. Russell Pearlman is a senior writer at "SmartMoney" magazine. He's here with some tips about things your rental car company just won't tell you but you will. Good to see you, Russell.</s>RUSSELL PEARLMAN, SENIOR WRITER, "SMARTMONEY": Thanks for having me.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. So renting a car used to be simple, now it's rather complicated. There are lots of rules in which to abide by, lots of options that are extended to you, but you don't need to take advantage of all the options, right?</s>PEARLMAN: That's right. Most of the time, you don't need to buy the occasionally pricey car insurance that the rental car company offers to you. If you have your own car insurance, odds are it covers collision and liability. If you have a credit card and you book the reservation with a credit card, odds are you'll get some insurance coverage. Before you sign on the dotted line to buy the insurance coverage from the rental car company, we suggest calling your credit card to see what type of coverage you already have and for future use, call your own auto insurance and say, hey, do I really need to buy this? Because occasionally it can add $10 to $15 a day to your rental car.</s>WHITFIELD: Right, it can be expensive. All right, so that's one of your 10. You probably don't need the insurance. Let's go over a couple of the others. For one, follow instructions because if they tell you don't go here, you probably shouldn't go there with their vehicle because they've got tracking devices now on these rental cars.</s>PEARLMAN: That's right. It used to be you signed -- when you signed an agreement -- let's say you're going to California. A lot of California car companies did not want you to go into Mexico, but it was really your word against theirs if you said hey you didn't go there they can't really prove it. But you're right, there are -- several companies now have GPS systems built into their cars. So they can tell where you are driving at any given time. Some car companies have tried to use this to say, if you were speeding with a car they will charge you for excessive wear and tear.</s>WHITFIELD: Or maybe even traffic tickets or something like.</s>PEARLMAN: That's right. So they'll know what you're getting. Now, there are some states that have stepped in and said look, you cannot use this as a big brother situation, but that's only two or three states that have inputted this right now. Now there are no car companies that we know that are actively doing this right now.</s>WHITFIELD: OK.</s>PEARLMAN: However, that's not to say that it's not possible because a global positioning system device gives the car company that option.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. Well quickly, let's go some of the others. Our prices are not etched in sand, so if they promise you a price over the phone when you make the reservations, they don't really have to stick to it.</s>PEARLMAN: That's right. It's not that they don't have to stick to it, it that the prices fluctuate dramatically. You could book a car online for $50 a day and an hour later come back and that price could be anywhere from $70 to $30 a day.</s>WHITFIELD: Wow, that's not fair.</s>PEARLMAN: Car companies -- well, I mean, the takeaway from this is that -- book your car enough in advance. So give yourself the option if you want to check it.</s>WHITFIELD: But then one of your other tips says your reservation doesn't mean bubkis.</s>PEARLMAN: That's right. Your reservation is only a guarantee that you can get a car from that company at that time. So, perhaps, if you want a mid-size car, they night not have a mid-size car for you when you come there. It depends on what cars are coming in and out of the lot at any time. But the good thing is that if you have that mid- size car, they don't have it, ask to get a larger car for free.</s>WHITFIELD: OK, well, maybe there's a bonus in the end. Russell Pearlman of "SmartMoney" magazine. Of course, if you want to see what the other tips are, since we only really got through four out of the 10 tips, you'll have to pick up the July issue of "SmartMoney" magazine. Thanks so much, Russell.</s>PEARLMAN: Thank you.</s>WHITFIELD: Forty-five past the hour now, here's what's happening right now in the news. Missing in Iraq -- two U.S. soldiers disappeared after coming under attack last night. Another American soldier was killed in the action about 30 miles south of Baghdad. A search is now underway. In Baghdad, four mortar rounds slammed into a market today, killing two people. It was one of several bombings in the capital that killed at least 21 other people and wounded dozens. The attacks were carried out despite a huge government operation aimed at securing the capital. In a developing story out of New Orleans, a shoot-out leaves four people dead, including a 16-year-old boy. The shooting happened earlier today. Three of the dead were found inside a sport utility vehicle. Police are holding a news conference in about 15 minutes. Will Shuttle Discovery get a green light? NASA is expected to decide today whether to launch the shuttle on July 1st. It would be the first shuttle mission in nearly a year. We update the top stories every 15 minutes on CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Your next update is coming up at the top of the hour, 1:00 Eastern. Well, everybody is talking about her and the new baby. Coming up, we're talking to Angelina Jolie about her role as a mother.