Rental Car Tips

[GoHerd1028]

Does anyone have any good rental car tips or tricks for a good rate? I have been trying Priceline for days on a SUV (we need that for the room inside) and I have increased the bid each day. No luck yet. If I could get a good rate direclty through an agency I would do that. Any ideas or suggestioins?

 

[tolookaa5]

Hi,

I have BJs wholesale club membership and I got a free upgrade to a mini van plus I get up to 25% off with Avis. So, for 2 wks I am paying $550- discount up to 25%. Do not know until rental what that is. I didnt think that was too bad.

 

[Earstou]

I always check Mousesaver's rental car page for discounts and try all the codes there.
http://www.mousesavers.com/rentalcar.html

 

[semo233]

Having worked for a large rental company in the past, make sure you understand the insurances. I only purchase the damage waiver, never the the Personal Acident Insurance or anything else. The damage waiver means that if you return the car with any damage, you walk away free. If you don't take it, they collect your deductible on the spot and place a claim with your insurance company.
Find out what kind of coverage you have on a rental car from your insurance company. Make sure any damage that is already on the car at the time of rental, if any, is noted on your rental contract so that you are not held responsible. Understand the gas policy.
I have also found the COSTCO discounts were the cheapest way for me to go. Might be the same as BJ's, but I am not a member there. The difference in the COSTCO price more than paid for my membership.
Good Luck!

 

[LuvOrlando]

-

 

[4 DZNY NUTZ]

Mousesavers for me too!!!! we saved about $200 for a weekly rental on a minivan.

good luck

 

[DbleTheFun]

carrentals.com is by far the cheapest I have ever found for Orlando area at least... it was a LOT cheaper than everywhere else (Including Mousesavers codes last December) Nicest part, is it's free to reserve a car there, so I always keep one on "reserve" and wait for the prices to keep dropping, updating my reservation every time it does.

It saved us well over $200 last year on a Full Size Mini Van.

We always go with a major company with them too... never U-Save or Payless

 

[Kim in SPR]

Hi,

I have BJs wholesale club membership and I got a free upgrade to a mini van plus I get up to 25% off with Avis. So, for 2 wks I am paying $550- discount up to 25%. Do not know until rental what that is. I didnt think that was too bad.

Do you mind if I ask how you booked this? I searched for a minivan through BJs and got that rate for one week! I didnt see any upgrades. Did you call Avis with the codes or book online?

Thanks in advance!

 

[simpilotswife]

One other thing you might want to do (if you haven't done it already) is to go to the Transportation Board here at the DIS. I have gotten some awesome deals using codes that people have shared over there.

 

[rflorek]

Regarding Priceline bidding:

I have been able to save over 75% off discounted rates by using Priceline for car rentals on my last 2 trips (Maine & San Diego) - this is over AAA & Costco, as well as other Mouseavers coupons & discounts). First thing I do is price up the car using as many different discounts/companies as I can find. I reserve one of those (so at least I have something), and then I start bidding.

Before bidding, I usually review www.betterbidding.com to see if anyone has had recent successes at the location I'm headed for. I usually start about 2 months prior to my trip (others may wait for a closer date), and my opening bid is always about 80% of the lowest price I have found (Priceline will tell you it's too low, but I've had them accepted twice now). Also, I always put my pick-up and drop off times on the hour (it's cheaper).

When bidding, I start at the lowest rate, and then only increase by $1 per day until I hit the maximum I'm willing to pay (based upon my 75% discount forumla). Than, the next day, I start back at my minimum and do the process again. I've never had to go more than 3-4 bids doing this, but I wasn't trying for Orlando (or an SUV) either!

Good luck!!!

 

[debsays]

I always seem to do better when I call. I mention to them that we have AAA, BJ's, any codes,etc. When they quote me a rate I always say...is that the best you can do? When I get a good rate I book it however I do keep calling every other week to see if the rates have changed and if so, I ask them to modify our rates. Have never had a problem.