Car hire-really need some feedback

[portia9]

I am from Australia and we are looking to book a minivan from Apr 7 to Apr 19I went onto orbitz and they are quoting me between $500 and $900 for those dates. I have seen some of the rates people are getting here and I don't understand how. We are staying offsite so we are definitely getting a car.
Are these costs ridiculous?
Is it because of the time of year and because it is a minivan? (there are 6 of us so we can't just get a basic car)

Please help!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Personally, I always book directly thru the car rental company rather than an online travel company like Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, etc.
You can find discount codes for all the major rental companies on mousesavers.com. They list lots of discount codes and coupons that are very helpful.
Are you flying into MCO? If you want to get your vehicle right at the terminal, you would use any of these:
Budget
Dollar
Avis
Alamo
National
L & M

There are others off-site from MCO meaning you will have to board a shuttle to be taken to their office and then get your car. For me the savings would have to be huge to want to get a car offsite and my flight is only 2 hrs long!
I think the reason your prices are so high compared to the rest of us is that most Americans go for about 1 week. Your trip is almost 2 weeks. If you can get a minivan for $500 for 2 weeks, that's doing pretty good. jmho. good luck!

 

[NotUrsula]

Is it because of the time of year and because it is a minivan? (there are 6 of us so we can't just get a basic car)

Yes and yes. Your being from abroad also complicates matters, as there are some insurance riders that you have to accept that an American could decline. Use codes from Mousesavers to the extent that you can, but understand that you will not get the best rock-bottom rates.

 

[canwegosoon]

Portia-
Best prices I got was
Enterprise-minivan-498
Simply Wheelz(Hertz)- had a mini van for 358 plus taxes and fees(which would have been the cheapest but I could not get their site to work correctly- so you might want to re check)

I did not use any codes or coupons.
Besides using mousesavers I also check rentalcodes.com because they usually have a lot of information there easy to find.

 

[canwegosoon]

Directly on the enterprise site using code etbx7b(from rental codes)
Mini-van for your dates inc taxes and everything 451.70(althought I am not sure how much it will change when you put in your renter information- They did not ask country of origin a headof time)...Good Luck.

 

[S777]

Hi,

I think most replies seem to assume that you can rent a car under the same conditions that typically apply to US costumers. That is not necessarily so; a typical renter from the US has some insurances covered by his/her credit card. However, that is not necessarily the case for you, since I understand you are from Australia. Do yourself a favour and look up your terms .

Luckily some brokers specialise in situations where the renter needs a package of car+insurance. Look up e.g. usrentacar.co.uk - they even quote you in AUD! Their prices include the liability insurance, collision damage waiver, and uninsured motorist protection. Another good option is carhire3000 that does exactly the same.
I have personally had very good experience with Carhire3000 and will use them again next time I go.

Good luck.

S.

 

[Sleepy]

Portia-
Best prices I got was
Alamo-Std SUV-450
National-std suv-477

The standard SUVs (such as the Chevy Trailblazer) at most of those rental places don't have a 3rd row of seats. Since they will only hold 5 people, it won't do the person any good since they have 6 in their party. They would need an upgrade to something with more seating.

 

[canwegosoon]

The standard SUVs (such as the Chevy Trailblazer) at most of those rental places don't have a 3rd row of seats. Since they will only hold 5 people, it won't do the person any good since they have 6 in their party. They would need an upgrade to something with more seating.

How could they I'll adjust my post.
And OP while I realize that you will be having to pay additional insurances-I am trying to focus on the "base" rate-since there is not much I can do to help with the cost of insurance. But the uk company might be worth looking into-espically in the AUS dollar is strong. Good Luck.

 

[canwegosoon]

[double post