Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2017 September 6

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

September 6

Car hiring

What is the cost in UK nowadays? – the last time I’ve come across was £50 a day with mileage cost.

I’m unknown how mileage cost works could you help me with the understanding…

What should I worry of when or after hiring a car for traveling purposes?

103.67.157.59 (talk) 09:01, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

I rented a car earlier this year for £250 a week. Bear in mind that it was supposed to be an SUV (mid-range, not the cheapest), but they didn't have that so I got a Mercedes Benz C-Class; that weekly rental rates are different from single-day rentals; and that it was hired in Aberdeen and dropped off in London. There are Zipcars that rent for about £10 an hour, and in general renting a car from a major airport (e.g., Heathrow is usually cheaper than renting one in central London. No mileage cost.DOR (HK) (talk) 10:06, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

ADD: be sure to take pictures of the car before you rent it, and have the rental agent document any damage already evident. I was almost charged $900 for damage to a car rented in the US that was documented before I rented it. It took a couple of weeks and lots of effort to get the charges dropped. This appears to be a common scam. — Preceding unsigned comment added by DOR (HK) (talk • contribs) 10:08, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

In my experience there is not usually a per-mile cost these days (other than the cost of fuel). Beware that some operators will try very hard to sell you extra insurance (usually to reduce the amount you would have to pay in the event of a claim) when you pick the car up. The last time this happened to me (at a UK airport) the extra insurance would have almost doubled the cost of the hire. When I baulked at this they offered me a cheaper option at "only" about half the price. I politely declined both offers. If you're worried about unexpected charges you can take out separate insurance: see here for this and some other tips. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 11:53, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

There are all manner of pitfalls [1] and this is how you can protect yourself: [2], [3]. 92.8.216.51 (talk) 19:46, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

(For US English speakers, "car hiring" = "car rental". StuRat (talk) 19:51, 6 September 2017 (UTC))

Mount Harvard, California

I would like to start an article on Mount Harvard — not the one in Colorado, for which we already have an article, but the one in the San Gabriel Mountains. Going up the Mount Wilson Trail from Sierra Madre, for several miles you get glimpses of radio/TV towers that you may think are on Mount Wilson, but are actually on Mount Harvard.

Can anyone help me find sources? I see enough from Google Books that I think it should be reasonably easy to satisfy WP:GEOLAND, but if anyone can help me identify the best sources, that would be appreciated. --Trovatore (talk) 10:43, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

The story of the peak's naming is at Centennial History of the Carnegie Institution of Washington: Volume 1, The Mount Wilson Observatory (p. 27) by Allan Sandage (2005) Cambridge University Press, ISBN-13: 978-0521830782 [4]. Information about the current aerials on Mount Harvard are at The Vanishing Universe: Adverse Environmental Impacts on Astronomy (p. 106) edited by Derek McNally, Unesco. Some useful facts and figures as well as a mention of the first recreational visitors are at "Mount Harvard". www.summitpost.org..

By the way, it seems that the Harvard telescope originally intended for Mount Harvard, California, was sent instead to a mountain in darkest Peru, which was itself renamed Mount Harvard, so a disambiguation page will probably be necessary. Alansplodge (talk) 20:50, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

Thanks very much! ---Trovatore (talk) 20:55, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

Most welcome. I have taken the liberty of creating a redlink to Mount Havard (California) where it was already mentioned at Mount Wilson (California)#Astronomy. If you had thought of using a different title, please feel free to change it. Alansplodge (talk) 21:02, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

I've changed it, to the correct spelling Mount Harvard (California). -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 22:17, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

D'oh! Alansplodge (talk) 22:58, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

One more! Interesting historical and current information at "HPS Summit Signatures - 12H Mount Harvard". www.hundredpeaks.org. Hundred Peaks Section, Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club.. Good luck. Alansplodge (talk) 21:12, 6 September 2017 (UTC)