Car Rental questions

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

We have decided to drive next year to Disneyland. It's about a 14 hour drive (I think..been a while).

We'll be gone for 9 days total and decided it'd make more sense to rent a minivan for the 7 of us instead of driving two cars..etc. I know they do weekly rates, and it looks like the price is fair..lots cheaper than flying! The problem is the extra couple days we have tacked on there. Ends up being about 600 bucks at most places.

Again, still cheaper than flying 7 people. (Cuz we'd have to rent a car in California if we did that anyway!)

Does it get much cheaper than that weekly rate? Do some places put out coupons? Anybody know? I was looking mostly at enterprise. I've used them during a car repair and they were super nice and seem to have good prices. Any other suggestions?

 

[GrandBob]

Have you tried Hotwire and Priceline?

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Have you tried Hotwire and Priceline?

I have not, actually! I will now tho. Thank you

 

[SeattleTink]

Both Priceline and Hotwire are good suggestions.

Also, if you are a Costco member, they have good discounts on-line at their travel site. You can make a reservation without any penalty or up front costs.

I have found that the best deals usually don't happen until you get closer to your actual travel dates, about a month before.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Both Priceline and Hotwire are good suggestions.

Also, if you are a Costco member, they have good discounts on-line at their travel site. You can make a reservation without any penalty or up front costs.

I have found that the best deals usually don't happen until you get closer to your actual travel dates, about a month before.

I am a costco member and had NO idea they did stuff like that. Thank you! I'm a little worried about it not being available (as I live in Utah where big families are popular...so the minivans might be gone) if I don't reserve it a little early. Obviously now is pretty far in the future tho LOL

Are the discounts/deals worth waiting for? I'm car rental dumb

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Oh goodness, I shall be watching the Costco site. They have 10 percent off if you rent for 10 days or more!! (exp this year unfortunately) but I assume they'll do something similar again. WOO!

 

[Habfan888]

I've found that you need to watch the rental car websites on a daily basis.
as their rates can change frequently.
In the past I had booked a premium/luxury sedan or whatever they called it for a specific price. i watched the website and the boss didn't want that vehicle, so I ultimately lucked out on getting an SUV for much less.
I was able to cancel the original booking and rebooked without any penalties.

using costcotravel.com gives a decent selection, but I've also heard that using priceline or hotwire can give great deals too.

The big difference between renting directly through the car rental place and priceline is you have to pay upfront with priceline, and I don't think there is any cancellation available with priceline.
especially with the name your price options.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Ok good to know. I don't want to pay it upfront..at least not yet.

 

[trixieg]

I have booked rental cars through Costco many times & have found they have the best rates (we also rent vans). There is no fee involved to make the reservation so are easy to cancel if you later change rental companies or dates. Some markets are more expensive than others & the Costco savings can really help out. I obsessively go through every coupon, every discount, every company via the Costco website to see where the best deal is. It is usually Alamo.

In 2008 we took a last minute trip to Disney and I got our van through Priceline or Hotwire, can't remember. Someone on these boards mentioned a site (sorry, can't remember the name but maybe someone knows what I'm talking about?) you can go to where people list the going lowest rates to bid to get certain things. I think I got a van for $20 / day!! I still have my confirmation, I should take a look at it. The downside is you need to pay that right away but I did wait until the last minute so our dates were certain.

I will admit that the bidding thing always makes me nervous so I started out bidding $5 than the lowest rate quoted on that board & I got a message back saying my bid was too low.

Good luck!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Ok cool. Thanks!!! I'll keep playing around all these places lol

 

[DahliaRW]

I would definitely wait closer to your dates. Book a month or two out with whoever is cheapest (usually it's easy to get a totally non-obligation reservation that doesn't even require a card). Then watch specials like a hawk. I would check every day. I usually look at a site like expedia, find the cheapest company, and then go to their site to look for specials/discounts etc. Closer to your rental (within a few weeks to even a few days before) bid on priceline to see if you can get it even cheaper. Pricelie works best closer to your dates because they are trying to sell cars that aren't booked to make something on them rather than nothing.

HTH!

 

[CarolAnnB]

Mousesavers.com has a section with rental car discounts as well. I usually book the best rate i can find early on and then check sporadically as the trip gets closer. Sometimes in FL it got a lot cheaper at the last minute but for our CA trip last week it was more expensive so just keep an eye on it.

 

[Castaway Kev]

As someone who once worked for a car rental agency in Utah, I have a couple of ideas to share:

Don't worry too much about what company you rent from. There may be some minor differences between company as to some of the "add-ons" to the car, but 98% of them are going to have cruise control, power locks, power windows, CD player. You may think if I go with more of a "brand" for the rental company, then I may have a better chance at landing a DVD player. Such is not the case. It's really just luck of what cars/vans were turned in a day or two before you pick up your car.

Try all sorts of methods for getting a quote: online directly with the company, call the company's 800 number, and call the location directly. You can also try online booking engines like those mentioned above.

Be prepared to find a discount code. One of the best discounts out there is visa.com. Then click on discounts. The only qualification you need is a Visa card, and who doesn't have one of those? Costco.com also has good discounts from time to time.

Try booking with an off-airport site. I don't know how close you are to the SLC airport, but you might find a better rate by going with a neighborhood location. Hertz and Enterprise are the two that have the most off airport locations. Avis is also trying to get established.

Whatever you do, make sure that you are getting unlimited mileage. Often times you can find a great rate on a mini-van but it will disappear once you start counting the miles (I think Enterprise is more picky with this than Hertz, but that has just been my experience)

You didn't say when you are going. That will have a big impact, too. In Utah, the rental car companies have a greater demand for multi-passenger cars during ski season.

It boils down to how much time you want to put in to make sure you get the best deal.

If you have more questions, please post them.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Thanks everybody! I didn't know about mousesavers either

Castaway Kev! Thank you so much! Our trip is right at the beginning of Summer...the skiiers can have it! haha I live right next to numerous enterprise places and I think a Hertz..but that might be it for off airport (and I'm in Provo area..so I don't wanna drive up to get one..kwim?) Good to know about Visa too. I'll be trying whatever tricks I can and you have given me LOTS to go with. Thank you! If I have any other questions, I'll see if I can get you again sometime