AutoSlash.com: Car Rental Price Search Engine

[tjs198]

Thought some people would find this article from mymoneyblog.com useful:

It’s always fun to find out new tools to save you time and money. Started by some regulars on the Flyertalk travel forum, AutoSlash.com is a website specifically made for car rentals. Yes, all the big guys like Expedia and Hotwire do car rentals. However, this one is a bit different.

First, you need to remember the unique quirk of car rental reservation systems. When you make a reservation at most car rental shops, you simply get a quote and make a non-binding reservation without giving any payment information. You can cancel at any time, without penalty. Heck, even if you just don’t show there is no penalty, besides the bad karma of knowing that you maybe messed up their inventory management for others.

Second, you add in the fact that for us deal-hunters, there can be hundreds combinations of discount codes, CDP numbers, and promotional codes that must be found to get the actual lowest rate on a rental. Autoslash uses computers to test out the codes in its database for you. The best part? It keeps checking every single day to see if it can get you a lower price. If it does, it automatically cancels your last reservation, books the new one for you, and sends you the new reservation code.

Last week, I was searching for a week-long rental in Orlando, FL next month. I checked the usual suspects like Expedia and was getting about $700 for a week-long rental of a mid-size car. Must be some huge event going on that weekend?! So I tried Autoslash.

* Day 1 – I was bummed to see the lowest price was also $665.61 including all taxes and fees, with Payless.
* Day 2 – I was rebooked on Dollar Rent A Car at $346.18.
* Day 3 – I was rebooked again on Dollar for $320.41. Sweet!

The primary drawback that I can see is that they don’t support all the rental car agencies. Specifically, I did not see Avis or Budget in my comparison matrix. Also, the quality of their results depends on the quality of the coupon codes in their database. Basically, it may be possible to get a better deal on your own. However, given the fact that I can always cancel, AutoSlash does provides a very good baseline deal for almost zero work.

 

[GetGlowing]

Has anyone used this? A friend told me about the site. He has a rental booked (for San Diego, I think) and his rate has gone down several times already.

 

[ToyStory]

I just checked rates for my dates and it is coming up higher, but National isn't a choice. I currenlty have National for a intermediate (Emerald Aisle) for $133, booked through National directly. Thirfty the cheapest at $154 at this site.

The site looks very similar to Car Rental Savers.

 

[AutoSlash]

While on the surface AutoSlash.com may appear similar to other sites, there are a few key differences that are worth noting:

1. Unlike other sites where the price you book is the price you will pay at the rental counter, at AutoSlash it's just a starting price. As soon as your rental is booked, AutoSlash goes to work to lower the rate. This is done in two ways.

2. AutoSlash automatically applies coupons and/or discount codes to your rental. As most people know, this can make a huge difference. You can spend hours search and trying them all yourself, but we already know all the best ones and can test them against your rental very quickly, so you'll always end up with the lowest possible rate--without the hassle.

3. AutoSlash will re-price your rental multiple times a day. If rates drop, customers are re-booked automatically at the lower price to lock in the savings. As a previous poster pointed out, it's not uncommon to get multiple price drops if you've got some time before your rental. The earlier you book, the more likely you are to save.

In the interest of full disclosure, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

a. The rates shown on AutoSlash are un-discounted. This means that they're basically the same as you'd see on any other site. It's *after* you book that the savings come (often within 24 hours). Sure, it requires a bit of a leap of faith that your rate will come down, but then again it's 100% free and you can change or cancel at anytime without penalty, so you don't really have anything to lose.

b. We don't support every company currently. Some companies (like National) have chosen not to participate in our service because of the deep discounts we provide. Is it possible to get a better rate with a company that we don't support? Sure, it's equally likely that we'll be the lowest, so if you're the skeptical sort, go ahead and book the best deal you can find elsewhere, and then book with us as well (we're FREE remember?) and see at the end of the day which one ends up being the best deal.

I'll step back and let the community here continue the discussion, but I'm available for any questions on the service.

 

[AutoSlash]

I just checked rates for my dates and it is coming up higher, but National isn't a choice. I currenlty have National for a intermediate (Emerald Aisle) for $133, booked through National directly. Thirfty the cheapest at $154 at this site.

If you PM me the details of your rental, I'd be happy to see if we can beat it.

 

[cemeb4dk]

I just entered our trip info in. It came up same price as my current thrifty reservation. But I went thru with the reservation, as I will let it do what it says it will do and see what comes of it. I figure I have nothing to loose I have a 100 days to let it work, and I will cancel one of them before we leave for our trip.

 

[AutoSlash]

I just entered our trip info in. It came up same price as my current thrifty reservation. But I went thru with the reservation, as I will let it do what it says it will do and see what comes of it. I figure I have nothing to loose I have a 100 days to let it work, and I will cancel one of them before we leave for our trip.

Exactly!

 

[cemeb4dk]

So I made 2 reservations for 2 scenarions (whole trip, half trip) the whole trip has gone down $8 already. Not huge but its $8 less than yesterday

 

[pershing]

Budget has a 75 dollar fee if you don't cancel your reservation now.

I was reading the fine print yesterday, but will try this website as Flyertalk has saved me lots of money in the past.

(and because rental cars are outrageous for April!)

I'm a USAA member, and a Priceline and Hotwire user...so this maybe a real test here!

 

[maciec]

Right now the price for a mini van is $300 more than what I have booked with Budget. I'll take the chance and booked with Autoslash and chose Dollar. Let's see what happens! Our trip is not until October.

 

[seashoreCM]

But what if you are not qualified to use the coupon code that got submitted automatically in your behalf?

You arrive at the rental counter and the agent wants to see your Entertainment Book or your employee ID for Acme, Inc.

When you can't produce that then the agent rebooks you at the current walkup rate.

 

[AutoSlash]

But what if you are not qualified to use the coupon code that got submitted automatically in your behalf?

You arrive at the rental counter and the agent wants to see your Entertainment Book or your employee ID for Acme, Inc.

When you can't produce that then the agent rebooks you at the current walkup rate.

We never book our customers with a discount code that they are not qualified to use. There are enough publicly available coupons and discount codes out there that give a great rate, that it's not really necessary to use private ones.

If we can't find a publicly available one that yields a good discount, we will email the customer and ask them if they are a member of say AAA, Costco, USAA or the like to see if they are a member. USAA is actually free to join (and no you don't have to be in the military to be a member--details in our blog), so pretty easy to help a customer qualify. We've even had customers join Costco for like $75 in order to get a $500+ discount on their rental. Kind of a no-brainer at that point.

Bottom line, you can rest assured that the rate will be honored at the rental counter. Plus, we will stand by our rates 100% if there is ever an issue.

 

[maciec]

Right now the price for a mini van is $300 more than what I have booked with Budget. I'll take the chance and booked with Autoslash and chose Dollar. Let's see what happens! Our trip is not until October.

Got my first email stating they rebooked me at $368. Still $69 more than Budget, but if it comes close I will go with Dollar just to be able to pick my own vehicle.

 

[AutoSlash]

Got my first email stating they rebooked me at $368. Still $69 more than Budget, but if it comes close I will go with Dollar just to be able to pick my own vehicle.

Chances are good that rates will come down eventually--even for a short while. Since we re-price multiple times a day, we'll be able to catch it.

 

[AutoSlash]

Hi folks. Just came across a super cheap rate for a rental with Dollar or Thrifty between Xmas and New Year.

The link above prices a rental between 12/25-12/31 and the total is $156.40 total including all taxes and fees for an economy car. This is *way* cheaper than it normally is (just look at what the other companies are charging).

Click here to see rates

This rate may be a mistake, so I don't expect it to last long. Grab it while you can.

Note that once you hit the results page, you can click on the link to "Change your search" to your own dates/times. Lots of other options in and around that week price out to similarly lower than normal levels.

 

[5boyz]

I tried for my dates...I am getting an econ from Dollar at MCO from July 19-30 for $280.74. I tried this site and it came up to $299..+ tax= $500+ I think it was Thrifty. OH well I tried too bad!

 

[AutoSlash]

I tried for my dates...I am getting an econ from Dollar at MCO from July 19-30 for $280.74. I tried this site and it came up to $299..+ tax= $500+ I think it was Thrifty. OH well I tried too bad!

The deal quoted in my previous email was between Xmas an New Year specifically. It seems to still be available as of right now, but I expect it to disappear very shortly as I think it was a mistake.

Keep in mind that in general, rates shown on AutoSlash.com are un-discounted. The way our site works is that once you book, we'll try to apply coupons and discounts to lower the rate. Many of our customers receive a price reduction in the first 24 hours after booking.

Then we'll re-price your rental multiple times a day. If rates drop, we'll automatically re-book you to take advantage of the savings.

You might want to just make a test reservation for your specific dates since our site is free (you're never locked in and can change or cancel at any time). Your current rate sounds excellent, so kudos on that, but it's very possible that at some point in the next few weeks we can beat it, so if you make a parallel reservation with us, then you're covered if rates drop. Worth a shot.

 

[Nutz4Goofy]

So far it looks like AutoSlash has a better rate than National or Alamo BUT that is not including car seat charges. How does that work? I need to rent a booster seat and a child seat.

 

[AutoSlash]

So far it looks like AutoSlash has a better rate than National or Alamo BUT that is not including car seat charges. How does that work? I need to rent a booster seat and a child seat.

Are you a AAA member? AAA members booking with Hertz automatically get one child seat included at no charge. Depending on the situation, sometimes it may even be worth joining AAA since the savings can pay for the membership.

The prices on child seat rental vary by location and company. If you can PM me your rental details, I'd be happy to help you further to try to get the best deal possible in your specific situation.

 

[5boyz]

The deal quoted in my previous email was between Xmas an New Year specifically. It seems to still be available as of right now, but I expect it to disappear very shortly as I think it was a mistake.

Keep in mind that in general, rates shown on AutoSlash.com are un-discounted. The way our site works is that once you book, we'll try to apply coupons and discounts to lower the rate. Many of our customers receive a price reduction in the first 24 hours after booking.

Then we'll re-price your rental multiple times a day. If rates drop, we'll automatically re-book you to take advantage of the savings.

You might want to just make a test reservation for your specific dates since our site is free (you're never locked in and can change or cancel at any time). Your current rate sounds excellent, so kudos on that, but it's very possible that at some point in the next few weeks we can beat it, so if you make a parallel reservation with us, then you're covered if rates drop. Worth a shot.

Will do Thank you!