Moving in a car rental during Covid

Hi. I’m moving to Mississauga from New York. We don’t own a car so we booked a car rental for the move. It is a one-way rental which we need to drop off at Toronto Pearson airport. However, as per Canadian border guidelines, we are supposed to go straight to the place where we are quarantining after we enter Canada. We plan to book an AirBnb for 14 days but need to drop off the car at the airport. We want to avoid that if possible. Does this violate the quarantine rules? The car rental company(National) refused to have someone pick up the car from our airbnb so we don’t have that option sadly.
Has anyone moved to Canada in a car rental after Covid began? Did the border agents ask you questions about whether or not you own the car?

Hi @ash17,
I moved recently from Detroit to Windsor ON. I came with rental from Enterprise. At the border they did ask about the car and didnt ask anything else when I mentioned that it is a rental, didnt even check the rental agreement. Yes, you will violate the quarantine if you leave to return the rental, I would recommend to ask a friend or someone to help you with this and return the car or worst case you can extend your rental for 14 days and return after.
I hope I havent answered late.
Take care and have a safe trip.

Thanks a lot @Mav!
I booked Enterprise and they said they also have a pick up service. I plan to call and ask them to pick up the car after I begin the quarantine.

Hi - Can you share more information on this ? The 15 day rental is coming out very expensive. What are the options to return ?

Hi - Just wanted to follow up and see if you had any ideas. Do rental companies offer pick up from quarantine location ?

I did my landing using rental car from Pittsburgh to North York, I dropped off my car at enterprise and walked back to my Airbnb. At the border they asked me if I am importing the car or if it’s a rental but that’s it. No additional questions. As long as you can drop it off nearby your bnb and walk back there won’t be any problem.

Thanks @prasan This is very helpul. I read in some forums that we need to go directly to quarantine place. Are these some type of contactless rental drop-offs that are allowed ?

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Wanted to update the thread here that I successfully entered Canada last week in a car rental without any issues. The border agent only asked if the car belonged to me/rental. That’s it-no further questions. Also, since I was quarantining, a friend of mine returned the car at Enterprise without any trouble. Hope this helps!

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Sorry I missed your message. There is no rule written anywhere for and against it :wink:

We moved to Vancouver Dec 30, 2020. I had told Enterprise that I will have to quarantine directly after crossing the border. They picked up the car after almost 4 days (mainly because of holidays). Moreover they sent a tow truck to pick it up to avoid contamination. Feels like a completely different world in terms of how they are handling covid here vs in the US.

Just call them and tell them that you need to quarantine.

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Did you add your friend as an additional driver on the rental agreement? The Enterprise guidelines say that all drivers need to be present at the time of pickup, so I am curious about how you went about having your friend return the car. Thanks!

Normally, they just collect the key and bill you later after checking the car. Or you can have car dropped after hours.

I wouldn’t risk doing it unless you absolutely have to. Call up the rental agency and see if they offer a pick up service or ask a friend who lives there to do it for you as others have suggested.

Has anyone recently moved to Canada/GTA area in a rental car? If yes please share your experience. I am planning to move to GTA area with my family in April. Thanks!