Car rental - am I losing it?!?!

[lemonyr]

Okay....I waited 'till the last minute and now I am having sticker shock. We're arriving next Friday (12/9) and staying until 12/15. All we need is a full size car, nothing more, nothing less. The cheapest fare I could find was Alamo for $286.29. This is with Entertainment book coupon and 2 car seats. Is this absurd? Or is it just me?

Also, is it worth the $100 extra that it costs for the car seats to take our own? We were just thinking that it may be more hassle than it is worth to fly 2 car seats down.

Please give me some advice. I'm not sure if this is reasonable or not! Thanks!

 

[safetymom]

I would take your own car seats. The start of a vacation is not the time to learn how to use correctly and install new car seats.

 

[maps]

Taking your own car seats may be a hassle but it will definitely be cheaper. Plus, some of the car seats can be really nasty.

 

[lemonyr]

Thanks for your input. I was thinking that we should take our car seats, but didn't know what a hassle it would turn out to be. How do you check/pack them? Check them at the gate? Or does it need to be packaged somehow to check them with our other luggage? I've obviously never traveled with them before and don't want to cause any damage or make this harder than it needs to be! (LOL.....my DH would die laughing if he read that last line! He thinks I make everything harder than it needs to be!!)

 

[DonnaL]

lemonyr,
First, a couple of questions.....Do you have airline seats purchased for both children? Or is the baby going on your lap? If you have seats purchased for both just take the car seats on the plane with you. Check on your carseats as to whether they are approved for FAA use. Most will say somewhere on the sticker on the back of seat. I have found this to be easiest. Especially if you have a direct flight and don't have to change flights in another airport. If you don't have seats on the plane purchased for the kids, ToysRus sells zippered bags specifically for carseats and you can then check them. Just make sure you put a luggage tag on them. I think the bags run about $15/20. Far less than paying daily for a rental carseat (which from what I hear are usually pretty grubby). It is a little bit of a pain to lug the carseat through theairport initially, but, we used to rig the strapping a little so DH could carry it like a backpack or if we brought the stroller that trip we would simply hang it from the stroller handles. Hope
this info helps you and have a good time!!!

 

[robinb]

Okay....I waited 'till the last minute and now I am having sticker shock. We're arriving next Friday (12/9) and staying until 12/15. All we need is a full size car, nothing more, nothing less. The cheapest fare I could find was Alamo for $286.29.

Check Thrify and use the code "WMRT". You can get a full-size for your dates for $126+ taxes:


Rental Time Charge $140.80

10% Discount $14.08

With Discount Applied $126.72

Airport Access Fee (8.7%) $12.55

State Surcharge ($2.03 per day) $14.21

Sales Tax (6.5%) $10.19

Vehicle Licensing Fee ($0.47 per day) $3.29

Total Estimated Mandatory Charges (USD) $166.96

Estimated Grand Total (USD) $166.96

Thrity is off-site, but it's a quick ride to the lot. I have rented from them more than once and will be renting from them over Christmas/New Year's. You can leave one adult with the kids and send one for the car. Oh, and bring your own car seats. The rental ones are gross.

 

[robinb]

I wanted to add something. Are your kids lap babies or do they have seats? If they have seats you'll want your car seats on the plane. Consider buying a standard collapsable luggage cart for your car seats. Nest them like this: "L7" and bungie them down with the built in straps from the cart.

 

[lemonyr]

Thank you guys so much! We only bought a seat for my DS on the plane and planned on holding the baby on our lap. I ended up buying the car seat bags from Target's website. They should be here in the next day or so. I just needed someone to convince me to go the route of taking our own. I really appreciate all your help!

 

[lemonyr]

Thanks also for looking up the pricing with Thrifty, Robin! It was so nice of you to take the time to do that!

 

[ahappydisneymommy]

I would use the carseat for your 2 yr old since you bought him a seat and check the other seat right at the gate (with your stroller if you are bringing one). The 2 yr old will be much more comfortable in his car seat on the plane.

 

[Brian Noble]

We often check our car/booster seats without bothering to bag them. Given the amount of apple juice spilled on them and cracker crumbs ground into them, what can the airline possibly do?

Our experience is that bringing your own is less of a hassle than renting them.

 

[lemonyr]

I'll let you all know how it works out for us! We leave on Friday, so hopefully I will have a good experience to report back! Thanks for your input!!