few questions about renting a car

[NavyDad01]

How far out should I reserve a car?

Is there any third party sites that offer full refunds?

 

[kj2mom]

I booked the cheapest rate so far this weekend for my July trip. I watch the carsavers.com site every day. I reserve ones that do not require a credit card and cancel when I find something cheaper (so far it has come down $25 since my first reservation.

 

[rwdavis2]

I would never book a car that required a non-refundable payment. There is no reason to. And never for third party sites. Unless you are booking on "blind" sites like Priceline or Hotwire most third party sites don't have better deals.

Book the car when you can live with the price but keep checking back to see if rates go down. I usually compare rates at Expedia and then book directly with the rental company.

 

[richmo]

Do not prepay for car rentals!

On how far out to book...book something as soon as you know your dates and times. Then keep looking up to departure day. The best rates are usually, but not always, from a couple days before departure to about 3 weeks. That period is when you should look frequently.

 

[NavyDad01]

I'm trying to get a convertible for $300 or full size for about $225. Theses were the prices I was getting 3 weeks ago before I had solid dates of when we were going. It looks like now they have all increased. I was thinking about doing the priceline name you price with the thought that if they were that price before someone would accept the offer now

pick up in orange county - SNA
June 13th at 9:30 am

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June 23rd at 03:00 pm

 

[row]

I'm trying to get a convertible for $300 or full size for about $225. Theses were the prices I was getting 3 weeks ago before I had solid dates of when we were going. It looks like now they have all increased. I was thinking about doing the priceline name you price with the thought that if they were that price before someone would accept the offer now

pick up in orange county - SNA
June 13th at 9:30 am

-

June 23rd at 03:00 pm

Use carrentalsavers.com to compare prices. Reserve the cheapest you can find now and check back often to see if prices have changed. You can cancel and rebook as many times as you want as long as you don't use the pre-pay option. A quick search for your dates shows a convertible for $373.60 from Advantage. I usually have better luck booking direct than going through a 3rd party.

 

[bumbershoot]

How far out should I reserve a car?

The moment you see a price you can live with. A normal car rental has no deposit or charge ahead of time, so there's no downside.

 

[richmo]

I'm trying to get a convertible for $300 or full size for about $225. Theses were the prices I was getting 3 weeks ago before I had solid dates of when we were going. It looks like now they have all increased. I was thinking about doing the priceline name you price with the thought that if they were that price before someone would accept the offer now

pick up in orange county - SNA
June 13th at 9:30 am-June 23rd at 03:00 pm

The moment you see a price you can live with. A normal car rental has no deposit or charge ahead of time, so there's no downside.

Agree...reserve something now, even if you aren't thrilled with the price.

I'd stay away from Priceline and the like this far out. Unless you get a ridiculously low price, I wouldn't touch a prepay unless my trip was less than a week away.

 

[NavyDad01]

So I booked that convertible and a full size and will continue to check to see if I find lower. lets say a week before my trip I have a reservation for a full size at $300.00 does it make sense to do a price line name your price and see if it gets accepted for $200 or just stay with the $300

 

[richmo]

So I booked that convertible and a full size and will continue to check to see if I find lower. lets say a week before my trip I have a reservation for a full size at $300.00 does it make sense to do a price line name your price and see if it gets accepted for $200 or just stay with the $300

You could. But, I've seen prices drop as close as 2 days out. Hopefully a couple weeks out, you'll start to see a trend. Its hard to say though; I just finished a trip 2 weeks ago and the prices only dropped a little near arrival date and I wound up using a rate I booked in January. Yet people coming in for Easter week got some decent rates. Rental car rates are really wacky sometimes.

What makes your situation a little unique is that you're looking at convertibles. They are not one of the "standard" car classes, so the rates may not behave in the same way as you will see with the full size.

Also, and someone else will have to confirm this, but at least with Alamo, I think the Standard and the Full Size are in the same row, so rent a Standard if the rate is lower (it usually is).

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Agree...reserve something now, even if you aren't thrilled with the price.

I'd stay away from Priceline and the like this far out. Unless you get a ridiculously low price, I wouldn't touch a prepay unless my trip was less than a week away.

I have used Priceline Name Your Own price for car rentals a few times; zero problems. It saved me a lot a money.