Cost of car rental

[davper]

I have a trip for 9 days the first week of NOV-15. So far I am looking at $306 (midsize SUV) for the 9 days with Alamo Insider. Is this a great, good, fair price? Can I do much better?

I want to stay away from the off terminal discounts and at least a compact or better.

I also have a trip for 5 days for the last week in APR-15. I was planning on Disney Trans the whole time. But if I can find a car for less than $125 total cost, I will take that. I check everyday. Is that price possible?

Any all all tips would be appreciated.

 

[worm761]

Look at Car Rental Mama or something like that. My sister and my BFF get good rental deals through there all the time. But you can usually get a better deal the closer to your dates you are.

 

[tvguy]

That's $34 a day. We charged more than that in 1979 when I worked at Budget locally, and there was no free mileage in those days. I don't know the Florida rental car market, but I hear prices are dirt cheap, and that sure seems to reinforce that opinion. I rented a Expedition XL in Phoenix last week, by pre-paying I got the rate down to $124.95 a day. They tried to talk me up to a Navigator at $204.95 a day, ah, no thanks.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Hi Davper. I think car rental is a lot like airfare. It's always changing. The best car rental I had was for 10 days over Easter Break at WDW for $172 last year. I used Enterprise and signed up for the Emerald Isle. Read mousesavers.com and used their discount codes and read the transportation thread on the Disboards. Another option is Costco, though I never found a great deal with them. If you find a car rental you're happy with, you can always book it, and if a better fair comes along cancel it and rebook. You just really need to know their cancellation policy. Usually the pre-paying option there is no cancelling it. I suggest look at all car rental companies...frequently. I have found rentals do go down in price as it gets closer but I find that not happening as often (at least for me). Closer to a holiday or anytime school is out, prices will be higher.

 

[jiminy14]

About two weeks ago I booked a full size car for 9 days through Thrifty for $148 total. We are going from 4/26 - 5/4. They have a special link to "Hot Deals" at the Orlando airport. Just put in your info and it will take you to a rate page where you will find the button to click for the hot deals. I have been checking the site every day for a couple of months and finally got a great deal. Right now, the best deals on on mini vans and you can get a mini van for less than a full-size car.

 

[MainelyDisney]

We're going around the same time, Saturday to Saturday.... and I found rates from Costco for $285. But I'm hoping I can find something even cheaper!

EDIT: Costco went UP by about $100 since I last checked a month ago! We just reserved ours via Dollar, pickup/dropoff at Orlando Airport... Mid size SUV, for one week in November, for $266.

 

[davper]

About two weeks ago I booked a full size car for 9 days through Thrifty for $148 total. We are going from 4/26 - 5/4. They have a special link to "Hot Deals" at the Orlando airport. Just put in your info and it will take you to a rate page where you will find the button to click for the hot deals. I have been checking the site every day for a couple of months and finally got a great deal. Right now, the best deals on on mini vans and you can get a mini van for less than a full-size car.

Thanks, I just books a Gallant at less than $22 per day using your tips.

 

[ksh1111]

Just keep rechecking the rates. For a trip to Miami earlier this month, I rebooked the car 9 times, because I was saving $15-40 each time!

 

[leebee]

Check prices all the time, because they can change daily, even hourly sometimes. If you see a good rate, grab it (making sure there is no cancellation fee) and keep looking. Go over to Mousesavers.com and read about stacking codes and coupons to bring the rate down.

Usually pre-pay deals mean you can't cancel- if you do, you lose whatever you've paid. If you really can't find a great price, consider Priceline and Hotwire, but remember that if you book it, you've "bought" it; no refunds here, either!

 

[buzz2400]

check mousesavers.com. they have a page with all the rental cars along with the codes. I never ever prepay for a car rental even if it is a good fare because I check all the time and end up getting a better fare closer to the date. One thing I would recommend is when you think it is a decent fare, book it. You can always cancel it if you get a better fare.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Check weekly. I originally booked in Phoenix at $349 for Easter week in January. 2 weeks later it dropped to $339, then $252, then $178, and to my surprise this morning, now $85 including tax for the entire week. Our Orlando rental last summer ended up at $87/$127 with tax for 7 days. carrentalsavers.com is fantastic.

 

[jiminy14]

Dayper...check Thrifty again. They have some great deals right now on mid-size and standard cars.

 

[SharonZ]

I've had bad luck with Dollar in Florida, got great rates for an SUV and both times they didn't not have an SUV available when I arrived. They tried to get me to take an 1-passenger van - LOL!