Car Rental Ontario Airport Hotwire-HELP!

[chrissiecutie]

Ok, so here's my problem. We are going to Disneyland next month and I don't have my car reserved yet, my hotel, my air, anything. This is a last minute change in our plans as we were going in Nov, so I'm just a little freaked out. I think I have the air and hotel taken care of and I'm working on the tickets but I desperatly need help with car rental.

I'm thinking of renting from either Hotwire or Travelocity, yes I've checked all the discount travel sites, and these offer the lowest rates. On both of these sites I can get a standard SUV for a pretty decent price. The two companies I'm trying to decide between are Enterprise and Dollar Rent a Car. I don't have much knowledge of either and Dollar is about $40 cheaper. I've heard Budget always overbooks, so I'm staying clear of them. Does anyone have any experience in booking a rental car through Hotwire or Travelocity?? Any tips on which company might be better??

Help me please!!

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm sorry that I don't know much about car rental places.

But I'm from WA so I wanted to say "hi".

I also wanted to ask if there's a solid reason for the car rental? Are you going anywhere other than DLR? If not, you could look into shuttles and such.

 

[Mililani Mouser]

i've booked a rental car through hotwire before and got a great rate, however, it is difficult to make any changes if you need to later on without paying a penalty. also, they charge your credit card as soon as you book.

i prefer to use the rental cars personal websites because i can always change the dates/times and cancel without a penalty. also they don't immediately charge your credit card.

i booked my rental for my sept trip through the costco website with alamo and got a great rate!

 

[chrissiecutie]

We are visiting family in the area and my husband will only be joining us for 2 of the days and will be spending the rest of the time with his family. So, unfortunately, we do need to rent a car.

I've looked and read all the fine print for both Hotwire and Travelocity and both say you do not pay at the time you reserve. That you pay directly with the rental company once you arrive for pick up. Maybe this has changed since you last rented?? I'm hoping this is the case, I don't want to prepay for a lousy service and not be able to change it. Does anyone know if this is truely the case??

 

[ACDSNY]

I've noticed with Hotwire that they have different charging practices at different locations. For Hawaii I would of been charged at the time of booking, but for Orange Co. Airport I wouldn't be charged until then end of the rental at the agency. Just read the fine print before booking.

 

[wdwrich]

We have had good experiences with Budget, though we tend to use National Emerald Aisle the most. Tried Dollar once and it was horrible. Never got the vehicle we had reserved and the counter clerk was downright nasty. Told her to forget the whole deal and went across the walkway and rented from another company without a ressie- no problem.

 

[Sy-]

Have you tried booking directly on the car companies website? Sometimes you can save $$$ by cutting out the middle man. So how are your other travel plans going? Air travel rates only 1 month away must be pretty harsh?

 

[chrissiecutie]

Luckily we had planned and paid airfair for a trip in Nov. However, my husband's family (with whom he will be spending most of his time with) is very ill and we had to change our plans very suddenly. So we were able to change each ticket for only $50/person. Thank goodness we aren't doing that last minute!

On the other hand, me...the ultimate planner who had several more calming months to go is now down to 6 weeks and counting! Plus now I'm going in August weather vs. November weather. Of course, I figure...hey, I'm still going!! Disneyland in August is better then no Disneyland at all!