Bite the bullet now or wait on car rental

[lilasmom]

I am renting a minivan, 8 days with a toddler seat and it's $424.00 including all taxes and fees. I've never stayed offsite before, so we've never needed a rental car. I'm using a (wonderful) code I found here, but I'm hesitant to bit the bullet and make the rental agreement.

Is this the best price I probably will find ?

Is there any advantage to paying online versus the counter ?

We are flying out of MCO. Is there a way to get a better deal on the toddler seat ?

If a better deal comes out and I've already paid and I out of luck ?

Thanks !

 

[DebbieB]

I am renting a minivan, 8 days with a toddler seat and it's $424.00 including all taxes and fees. I've never stayed offsite before, so we've never needed a rental car. I'm using a (wonderful) code I found here, but I'm hesitant to bit the bullet and make the rental agreement.

Is this the best price I probably will find ?

Is there any advantage to paying online versus the counter ?

We are flying out of MCO. Is there a way to get a better deal on the toddler seat ?

If a better deal comes out and I've already paid and I out of luck ?

Thanks !

Are you looking at a reservation that requires payment in advance? Most of the time they are not and can be cancelled without penalty.

 

[lilasmom]

It gives me both options, "pay at counter" or "pay online".

I don't know which is best? Are there any advantages to paying online ?

Thanks!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

If you pay online in advance, you're stuck with that rate even if they drop significantly. You don't have to pay online when you make the reservation, you can wait and take advantage of the pay online savings once you're just a day or so away from your trip and that's the best rate you've been able to get.

Usually the best rates are those that don't allow you to pre-pay. Not sure why, but it's true with Alamo. It may be true for other agencies.

It gives me both options, "pay at counter" or "pay online".

I don't know which is best? Are there any advantages to paying online ?

Thanks!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Are you using any discount codes? There are lots to choose from on mousesavers.com. Also if you belong to BJ's or Costco, their websites offer great discounts. Other big stores like Sams might have a similar thing but I've never belonged there so I can't say for sure. I never ever prepay.

As others have said, book now and keep watching the rates. I have had trips where I booked, canceled, and rebooked about 12x before I finally ended up with a price about 1/3 of the original price.

Some can't be bothered to keep checking but to me it's worth it!

 

[Karlzmom]

I am renting a minivan, 8 days with a toddler seat and it's $424.00 including all taxes and fees. I've never stayed offsite before, so we've never needed a rental car. I'm using a (wonderful) code I found here, but I'm hesitant to bit the bullet and make the rental agreement.

Is this the best price I probably will find ?

Is there any advantage to paying online versus the counter ?

We are flying out of MCO. Is there a way to get a better deal on the toddler seat ?

If a better deal comes out and I've already paid and I out of luck ?

Thanks !

I seem to recall that AAA members get a free carseat with their rental. Not sure if it can be a "toddler" seat, but I remember it being plenty big enough for my then two-year-old moose! Check mousesavers for codes and work your discounts....good luck!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Forgot to mention, the 1st time we went to WDW we rented a car seat. It was disgusting: straps all sticky and twisted, very hard to adjust them. Also it looked ancient. For what we paid to rent that nasty thing, we could have bought another seat. This was a long time ago since that ds is now almost 15 so maybe standards have improved. I sure hope so.

After that experience, I spent $20 at Babies r Us and bought a car seat bag. It's a big zippered nylon bag and nice that we could add things in there with it. We could check his carseat like luggage and not worry it would get all dirty. This worked well for us for years so I def got my $20 out of it with 2 kids.

 

[mieuxmew]

AAA members get one free infant or toddler seat if reserve Hertz thru AAA website (just check the box under options). Check to see if that is the best rate, though, as it may not be. We always bring our own car seats. We have a back pack car seat carrier we purchased on Amazon. No charge to take own seat on plane. I like knowing our seat is clean.

I have sometimes pre-purchased a car rental through Priceline. Do your homework first to be sure it is a great rate beforehand.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Take your toddlers car seat with you. Renting a car seat is never a good idea and it's super duper pricey. Rental car seats are very often old, broken, expired, etc.

 

[AnjieNet]

As long as our kids are using the five-point harness car seats, we bring them on the plane with us and strap them in just as if we were in a car. (Make sure they are FAA approved - there's a sticker on the side.) Keeps the kids under control just like in a car and they usually behave soooo much better than the unrestrained kids around us.

 

[gmeh1]

As long as our kids are using the five-point harness car seats, we bring them on the plane with us and strap them in just as if we were in a car. (Make sure they are FAA approved - there's a sticker on the side.) Keeps the kids under control just like in a car and they usually behave soooo much better than the unrestrained kids around us.

Truer words were never spoken!!!! I can only remember one exception to your statement................that kid howled non stop from the minute he was strapped into the seat until we landed and he was unstrapped. Cannot blame the pressure change since we were still minutes from take off when they put him in it. His mother sat there like Bambi struck in the headlights of a car and did NOTHING to soothe or control this child. It was NOT a pleasant flight.

 

[labdogs42]

Yes, book the car now. You can keep checking for better rates. Sometimes I have up to three different reservations with Dollar up until the week of our trip! I just keep watching them and decide which one to keep right before the trip. It doesn't cost anything to make the reservation.

As for the carseat, bring your own. It will save you some money (up to $12 a day) and will be safer in the long run for your child. You have no way of knowing what those rental carseats have been through or what condition they will be in when they give it to you. Even if you have to go pick up a $39 Cosco Scenera for your trip, you'll be ahead of the game.

 

[lilasmom]

Thanks everyone for the advice on the car seat. I removed it and saved $69.00 ! I'm not looking forward to hauling ours around, but it really is a minimal amount of time. Now I'm off to find a new car seat (2 actually), my girl has about grown out of hers. Wish me luck, I hate buying car seats.