All I need to know about car rental- best price and when to book

[Mynamewastaken]

I am flying into Tampa and we will be renting a car for 6 days. We are coming over presidents week. I need all the info I can on getting the best price on a rental...

When is the best time to get the best deal?

Is name your price on priceline worth it or is it a huge hassel?

We need a car for 2 adults and 2 kids. My husband is 6'4 and has really long legs so we would need a larger sized car or suv....

Thanks~

 

[rwdavis2]

There is no best time. Book when you can live with the price and then keep checking back. You can cancel without penalty. Some people claim prices drop as you get closer to the date. But that would depend on demand.

 

[sam_gordon]

1) Book a car right now. I personally use Travelocity to check prices, but book directly with the rental company. Don't do any kind of "pay it now" deal though.
2) Take a look at mousesavers.com under 'Transportation'. They'll list discount codes for each major rental agency.
3) Keep checking multiple times a week to see if the prices change.
4) Repeat steps 2 & 3 until the day you leave. If you find a better deal, book it, and cancel the one you made in step 1.

A full size car would suffice I would guess.

 

[a742246]

I find COSTCO the best car rental prices. So far I got an 8 (SUV) day rental with all the taxes and fees included for $187.00. I must have cancelled and rebooked about 5 times before I got this price. So keep on checking and don't prepay your car rental.
About 2 days before my trip I will see if priceline (name your own price) can give me a better deal.

 

[kj2mom]

carrentalsavers.com was the best for me, they show you all of the companies and all of the prices by category. I booked the lowest price the first time I looked then I just continued to look often. A few days before the trip I got the price down $40. I did try name your price but it did not accept anything that would have been less than what I had originally (before I got the lower price). I was lucky catching the lower price, it was at 11pm and the next morning it was back up.

 

[Mynamewastaken]

Thank you everyone! I booked with no penalty on dollar but I want to pay way less. Right now (Presidents week) I have a standard size for 387.00 which I know will have to go down because that is insane. Right now that is the cheapest.

 

[kneemeister]

I use Priceline all the time, I just got an SUV from Hertz for 15.00 a day for 9/20-27. I am tent camping at the Fort and want somthing I can sleep in if there is a major deluge one nignt!!