Tell me about using Priceline to bid on a rental car

[Anal Annie]

Looking to find a deal on car rentals in Hawaii for this August when we stay at the new DVC resort on Oahu. Who has used Priceline for car rentals? Any drawbacks other than you can't cancel? I used a code I found for Thrifty for $272 with fees & taxes for 7 days on Oahu...but don't really want to use Thrifty. But I figured that MIGHT be the best deal I can find so I booked it as a back-up. Then yesterday somebody on the DVC boards posted that they won a bid for $20 for a car to use at Aulani through Priceline and that it ended up being with National so I thought maybe I should check it out.

Not having used Priceline before for anything I just want to know what I'm getting into. I am looking to rent at least a "full size" car so that I know we'll have room for all of our luggage. (One time I tried to go smaller and we couldn't fit all the bags in and had to go back inside & upgrade at at the counter.) So when I enter $22 for our dates in August it gives me a message that says that's too low and it recommends entering $28 / day for a better chance. Well, so I entered $25 / day just to see what happens and I get a different screen - it makes me think maybe the $25 might go through because it goes to a screen to fill out with the driver info. and credit card info. etc. Am I interpreting this right? Does this mean my $25 may get accepted or are there are still no guarantees? It says the car will be from Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz or National (which is my preferred agency). What should I be afraid of if this works like it appears to? What else do I need to know? The bottom line says $253.78 for the total with taxes & fees.

It's Hawaii and it's summer so cars are going to be expensive. Please tell me the pitfalls of using Priceline to get a rental car! Should I wait longer to try closer to our dates? (We will also need a car on Maui for 4 days and they're even more expensive there so I really need this rental to be as cheap as possible!) TIA!

[RumpleMom]

Priceline didn't accept my bid the last time I tried. I increased it by a couple dollars and they still did not accept it.

I got a better price using a code from the Mousesavers newsletter. It's free to subscribe.

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Well if your go with Priceline and the price for booking directly with a rental company drops then you are stuck over paying

You will find your best deals just before your trip. Trust me.

[Anal Annie]

Originally Posted by RumpleMom

Priceline didn't accept my bid the last time I tried. I increased it by a couple dollars and they still did not accept it.

I got a better price using a code from the Mousesavers newsletter. It's free to subscribe.

I've tried the Costco deals (which are running around $340-350 / week) and also the KLM code (which still resulted in a high rate that was close to $400 for the week) and I also all of the codes I could find from the Mousesavers newsletters and none of them worked (weren't valid for our dates). I've also looked at the Discounthawaii.com site (that's where I got the Thrifty code).

But so back to how this Priceline thing works...just because it lets you fill out the info. doesn't mean your bid will go through and that it will be accepted? I can always try increasing it a dollar at a time, right? And if they DO accept it then there is no turning back, right? It's ours and I cannot cancel? On Oahu they suggested I try starting at $28 / day....but I think that still comes out higher than the Thrifty car I booked as my fall-back. I'd just rather use a diff. agency...I wanted to beat the Thrifty price. On Maui I think we'll be lucky to find a car for under $35 / day since we don't want a full week.

[Anal Annie]

Originally Posted by Shelly F - Ohio

Well if your go with Priceline and the price for booking directly with a rental company drops then you are stuck over paying

You will find your best deals just before your trip. Trust me.

I'm Anal Annie! I like to plan everything out... What do you call "just before"?! Like only a month or two? That will KILL me!!