Help with finding a cheap rental car (not Orlando)!

[pjlla]

My family is flying to Albuquerque,NM for a wedding this summer. After the wedding we are going to drive across AZ to CA to visit DL (YEAH! ). Anyhow, the car rental prices are KILLING me! The lowest I have found was $553 for the 9 days (and it is with an agency I have never heard of). DH suggested that since we will be in Abq for the first four days, that we break it into two rental, first for 4 days, and the second for 5 days with the one way drop off. It did work out a bit cheaper, so we will probably do that. Now... any help dropping the price some more? I have tried multiple combinations of codes/promos/coupons that I have gotten here, on the Budget Board, through rentalcodes.com, through BJ's wholesale club, AAA, etc. We need a full size car with unlimited miles, or at least 2000 miles available. ANY EXPERTS OUT THERE? Thanks in advance!.............P

 

[NotUrsula]

Keep using codes, etc., and watch which days you are renting. A weekly or weekend rental is always going to be cheaper than one that is getting charged as a daily rate. The days of the week will make a big difference. Which days of the week are you arriving and departing Albuquerque?

One thing you need to do for your sanity is to stop making comparisons to Orlando pricing. Orlando is the cheapest rental car market in the world, by quite some margin. Just about anywhere else is going to be a minimum of 30% more expensive, and some markets will be MUCH higher.

 

[pjlla]

Hi... thanks for the help. After I posted I played around with the reservations/dates/codes some more. I finally called Budget and made a 3 day reservation (Thurs 5pm to Sun 5pm) using two codes that included a free weekend day. Got the three days for a total of $56 (after I give them my coupon at the counter). Not bad. Then I reserved another car (same size) starting 5pm on Sunday thru noon on Saturday with one way drop off in CA. The price was $360ish. And if I can find a code/coupon that can be applied, I can still use it. So overall I saved over $100 over my original straight 9 day reservation. I'm pleased! It will only mean a short drive to the airport for DH on Sunday evening before we head on our way West... but it was worth the slight inconvenience for the savings!.............P