Best place to rent a car??

[ama223]

DH & I are goign back and forth about staying onsite vs. offsite. So I told him I'd price out staying offsite.. if we did that, we'd definitely rent a car.

We will need something a little larger than a normal sized car, as my DH is 6'8" (so, a Ford Focus ain't gonna cut it for us!).. Probably a medium-full size.

I've never rented a car before, so how's the best way to go about doing it? I do have AAA if that helps?

Thanks

 

[kimbo0569]

If you have AAA, definately go to their website and see what rates they have for the different companies. I just rented a car back in May and the rate I got through them was about $30 less than what the companies had to offer directly. You can also check expedia.com or travelocity and compare rates that way.

 

[VAN]

Suggest you start with mousesavers.com and then get to their car rental page. Lots of good information and discount codes!

Also,if you look at the Transportation section of the disboards, you will get some good info too.

 

[verlee]

I used mousesavers very successfully last year for my bil and the previous year for us. It took some time and research but saved us some money. I was also just looking at Hotwire.com. They had some good prices as well.

 

[eldres]

I just recently booked a car for my Nov. trip.I usually use priceline.com but to get the best deal there you have to wait to as close as possible.So I booked a car using the southwest airline site.Got a great deal from enterprise rental car.Best part is this is only reservation so if I find better price I can cancel at any time.

 

[quagmire0]

Found a good deal with National through carrentals.com/orbitz.com (ended up going with Orbitz because they are a little more established). SUV for the week for $270 out the door.

I think I initially did the search through hotwire.com and had it compare with carrentals.com, then kind of branched out and had it search with all the other sites.

 

[bankr63]

I spend a bit of time researching on the internet before making a reservation, and then recheck rates occasionally. I made my reservation for next March almost a year out because National occasionally offers SUVs for the mid-size price. Snag it if you see it! Then update your reservation with a discount code about 30-60 days out. Search the internet for the best code you can find, or use AAA, Costco etc. It is worth waiting so that you have a current code - most have "must rent by dates". Finally, see if another agency can beat the price on priceline just before you travel. There is no penalty for cancelling the long standing reservation.

Stick with a major brand rental; I've seen as many tales of woe as I have seen success stories for the small agencies. I do rent from the airport locations despite the extra fees; can't be bothered to head to another location to pick up a car when arriving after a long day of travel; the savings don't offset the inconvenience for me (IMO).

M Ross

 

[Eliza32]

Dollar always do it for me!!!

 

[quagmire0]

I spend a bit of time researching on the internet before making a reservation, and then recheck rates occasionally. I made my reservation for next March almost a year out because National occasionally offers SUVs for the mid-size price. Snag it if you see it! Then update your reservation with a discount code about 30-60 days out. Search the internet for the best code you can find, or use AAA, Costco etc. It is worth waiting so that you have a current code - most have "must rent by dates". Finally, see if another agency can beat the price on priceline just before you travel. There is no penalty for cancelling the long standing reservation.


M Ross

Thanks for the tip on the coupon. I noticed that National only allows you to modify the reservation if you book directly through them. Found the same rate on the National site, so I rebooked through them and cancelled through Orbitz. The rate is already good. Hopefully I'll find a coupon closer to the date to make it even sweeter.

 

[ama223]

Thanks all for the advice!!
What should I expect to pay for 9 nights? We're going 12/2 - 12/11 and I'm not sure what I should consider a "good deal" or not?

 

[Pineapple Whip]

Thanks all for the advice!!
What should I expect to pay for 9 nights? We're going 12/2 - 12/11 and I'm not sure what I should consider a "good deal" or not?

I've rented all around and found:

National has the best service / experience, although locations are limited. Considering they are at MCO and the Dolphin, that is enough for most purposes. In most cases their pricing is the best as well, and it pays to be an Emerald Club member (free).

Standard vehicles are the least expensive, while you will pay through the nose with a specialty.

Those coupons from Costco / Sam's / BJ's go a long way.

Dollar and their related companies tend to abuse the customer on pricing, vehicles, and service.

The insurance you get from your major credit card is worth investigating. The insurance from the rental car company is a scam. Amex has the best offering, and I signed up for a premium service where they tag on $20 automatically to every total car rental I do on Amex, and cover me better than they car rental co's $75 per day insurance. The car, my belongings, my passengers and their stuff, and the people in the other cars in an accident, etc...

I had a Charger for 8 days at $10 per day recently. I reserved a standard, had a coupon for $30 off a weekly rental, then received a double upgrade free because I'm a club member and can pick whatever car is in the lot.

That last part helps because your giant can sit in each car until he finds a comfortable one (like me) and then ask them if there is anything else if he is "not comfortable driving any of the cars in that selection". I've spent an hour at MCO hopping from car to car trying them out.

 

[ama223]

I had a Charger for 8 days at $10 per day recently. I reserved a standard, had a coupon for $30 off a weekly rental, then received a double upgrade free because I'm a club member and can pick whatever car is in the lot.

Is this a guarantee - that we would receive a double upgrade at the lot? I just signed up for the Emerald Club and am wondering which category I should "reserve" for now... We would probably want a 4 door sedan. I can do the driving if DH isn't comfortable driving it, so that is not a huge worry.

 

[Melnalala]

Alamo always wins in Florida

 

[Melnalala]

good luck

 

[Upatnoon]

My experience with rental cars is you never know for sure what type of car you are getting until you get to the rental car counter. They will give you what they have on the lot, which can mean an SUV when you paid for a compact. Get the best deal you can before the rental counter, then see what they have to offer when you get there.

 

[Pineapple Whip]

Is this a guarantee - that we would receive a double upgrade at the lot? I just signed up for the Emerald Club and am wondering which category I should "reserve" for now... We would probably want a 4 door sedan. I can do the driving if DH isn't comfortable driving it, so that is not a huge worry.

Not a guarantee, but if you ask really nicely they might come up with something roomier. You're guaranteed something in the class you reserved, but it's like a lottery and if there's a bigger / better car in the aisle, it's yours (if you get to it first). Usually you reserve a standard or intermediate and in the aisle they have things like Avengers, Altimas, Impalas.

I believe the Charger is in the Full Size ring, so you might want to reserve Full Size.

 

[ChickenCarlos]

as far as renting a car goes, would you suggest reserving one in advance or taking your chance with a AAA card at the counter when you arrive??

 

[Pineapple Whip]

as far as renting a car goes, would you suggest reserving one in advance or taking your chance with a AAA card at the counter when you arrive??

You'll get the best deals by reserving in advance, with a coupon, and by reading all the fine print. You can add your AAA discount at reservation. They have you by the short hairs last minute at the counter and say "all we have available is this Excursion for $789 a week".

Don't get me started on Dollar, I almost ripped a clerk from behind the counter to choke her, she almost ruined my road trip to WDW. Not even a month later the exact same girl was humiliated on network television by some news crew and the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens Borough Presidents, while I cheered from my living room. I was bursting at the seams. It would appear that if you rent a car in NYC, and will be staying, or live in Brooklyn, Queens, or the Bronx, they will tag on an extra $65, $75, or $85 to your rental per day... which they tell you after you go to pick up your car.

I rented a car from them at a great rate, get to the counter and she says "I need to see your plane tickets for this rate." I had not flown in, so after some debate about how this was not mentioned any time during the reservation, I tell her I need to get going, to cancel my original reservation and tell me how much it will be without the plane tickets. I think it was like an extra $180. I figured I would launch my complaint with corporate from the road because I wasn't getting anywhere with this dingbat, and I'm not even detailing all the problems with her in this post.

Me: "Fine, just cancel my reservation and set me up with a new one."
Her: "We're out of cars."
Me: "How can you be out of cars when i was supposed to be getting one right now."
Her: "We're out of cars."

I'm going to stop here because this is a family site.

Suffice it to say that the only thing to cheer me up was about 3 hours later when I got a speeding ticket in Maryland. Mainly because I was finally able to share a laugh with the State Trooper. But that's a story for another day.

This is why I swear by National. I've hit them with some pretty off the wall requests and they have always come through for me. I can't remember any issues with them in over 13 years.