Help with rental cars in CA

[las3888]

We just booked excellent a/f to DL for mid-June and we are flying home from San Diego after a few nights there. Maybe I should have looked into rental cars first because I am now in sticker shock!!! I am looking at a $150 drop fee for change of airports plus there are 5 of us, so I am looking at a very large car or a SUV at minimum. The rates for such a car with the drop fee are approx $500 and up!!! We are looking for a car because we are DVC and hope to do some grocery shopping and perhaps take a day trip during our stay at GCV. Then of course we plan to drive to S.D. and do other outings, etc. Does anybody have any advice? I am a little overwhelmed. I am used to DW where rental discounts can be had fairly regularly, even during spring break we did better than this (with an additional $100 drop fee for flying out of Tampa).

I have looked at mousesavers, but most of the car advice is for Fla, etc. Do you think fares will get better? I see discount codes, etc. but most are only good through April at best...

TIA!

 

[Raindown]

Renting from the straight at the airport your always going to be paying more than a smaller random rental branch, for enterprise at least.

 

[DizFan13]

I had this same sticker shock this year. Cars are really expensive right now! We are taking a round-trip shuttle for the first time for this reason. Maybe you could use a shuttle to Disney and then rent a car from that area to go to San Diego? I know that doesn't help with getting around to other areas. The shuttles do often allow a stop at a grocery store however. I also would look into entertainment discounts. If you are comfortable with the pay first, learn later, you can save a lot with Hotwire/Priceline. I just know from my own searching that if you absolutely have to rent a car, it will be pricey right now!

 

[las3888]

Wow...you guys are mega-quick to respond! Thanks for the advice! Do you happen to know if DL has grocery deliver as WDW does (i.e. peapod, garden grocer, etc.)? That could be an option, or I would like to hear more about shuttles that stop at grocery stores...we are not normally shuttle people, WDW or DL (this is only our 2nd time at DL), so I wonder how that works, or if stopping for groceries is a given, or what??? Given that my mom and I will be on the trip, we often take a good 30 minutes at LEAST to shop!!!


We do have Entertainment book so that is an option too--I am just totally overwhelmed with the high prices and no clear cut direction. Hotwire and Priceline do not offer a rental that picks up at one location and drops at another at this point (at least from what I understand).

Thanks again!

 

[barefootmomma]

I believe there is a Vons on Lincoln that will deliver groceries.

 

[DizFan13]

yes, Von's delivers to the hotels by Disney. I've heard that it works out great to order from there. We aren't shuttle people either, so I am not the best to give advice. We are ordering our groceries to be delivered to the HoJo this time, so I can let you know how it works out when we get back. I think that the car services or shuttles that do a stop ask that you plan it ahead, and it is generally 1/2 an hour. You really have to look at the whole cost of rental, plus gas, versus shuttle and the grocery delivery fee, and decide what will be most cost effective and convenient, if there is a good mix between the two! We were surprised that a minivan rental, which we paid about $250 for last year, was going to be almost $400 this year! No discounts we found could make up for the extra cost, when a private van to shuttle us round trip was less than $200, even after gratuity. I don't know how to best work your trip from Anaheim to San Diego though.

 

[Willow1213]

Look at Avis, Hertz, and National. Neither charge drop fees for one way rentals.

I use FlyerTalk to find rental codes and tips. Also, mousesavers has a link for free membership into the Emerald Club.

We scored a one way rental from LAX to Vegas in May for $190 with tax for 8 days with no drop fee. This is for a midsize with our choice of car from the Emerald Aisle.

 

[VallCopen]

As the previous poster said, there are companies that do not charge a fee. I would be sure to shop them all. I booked 2-3 weeks ago with Thrifty, same return location but I was able to get full size car for 155.00 per week not including taxes, which I thought was a great rate. I think with taxes it was about 188.00 per week - I rented for 2 weeks. Just an FYI, I only needed the car for 13 days but when I plugged those days in I was given a totally different rate, 1 week plus 6 days and it came to nearly a 140.00 more for the second week, I then changed my pick up and drop off times by about 2-3 hours total, to make it fall into the 2 weeks, and it was a much different price, strange but true. I would think that if they were offering a weekly special you would get it prorated for the 6 days but this was not true and they were charging something like 49.00 or 59.00 plus taxes per day for 6 days. Just be sure to shop, shop, shop. Book the best thing you can find A.S.A.P. but then keep checking the rates week to week and then rebook if something better shows up. Good luck.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

You might also search for car rentals that are near the airport, but not at the airport. If you can save enough money, take a taxi to the car rental place.

When my cousins came out we had to rent a minivan, and I found the Budget in Torrance to be a lot less expensive than the one at the airport.

Or, as said earlier, take the shuttle to the HoJo, and rent from one of the car agencies in Anaheim. There are some that will pick you up from your hotel, and some are within walking distance. I think there is a car rental office at Ramada Maingate & at Downtown Disney (if it's still there).

 

[dizkidz2]

We are going to be flying into San Diego 1st, staying there for a few days then driving to DL.
So far I haven't found much of a deal on rentals. $400 for a full size car for a week. My DH & DS are over 6' tall so we need the larger car, & if DH & DS aren't comfortable it will be a long drive anywhere
I'm trying to find a rental car that I can drop off around DL and then take a shuttle to LAX. I'm getting sooooo confused.

 

[FANOFALLDIS]

There is an Alamo office at Downtown Disney. Last October we picked up a car in San Diego and drove to the Grand Californian and dropped our car off (Alamo actually uses part of the hotel's parking lot). Our flight home was out of Longbeach so when our stay was over we rented another car (same Alamo location). This was alot cheaper than doing a one way car rental.

 

[Luv4Disney]

Try Priceline. We've always received excellent prices from airport locations!

 

[deedeetoo]

Even the companies that don't charge a drop fee will sometimes increase the rental rate if you are picking up and dropping at a different location. We were originally planning to fly into San Diego and fly back from LAX. Then we checked car rental at both National and Hertz and they were outrageous. It was about twice the price of picking up and dropping off at the same airport even though there was no seperate fee listed.

We even tried flying into Long Beach and out from LAX, and we still ran into the highly inflated prices. It was only when we scheduled pick up and drop off at the same airport that it dropped into a normal range.

 

[DizFan13]

I was going to try the one way and then back option, but to rent a vehicle that can have six passengers, just for the trip from LGB to DTD is $138!!! I can't believe how hiked the prices are. It seems like you have to use Priceline just to get prices that were mid-to-high range a year ago.

 

[las3888]

Thanks for all your replies--this is one of the most helpful threads! I did try the agencies that don't charge drop-fees and they are a whopping $700ish for a week!!!!! I did find an agency, Fox, that is a bit more reasonable. We are looking at $470 or so which seems like a steal (given the $700's) but it's still an awful lot of money. Then unfortunately Hotwire or Priceline don't allow a one-way rental (as of yet) so they are a no go. I am so grateful for the tip on Alamo and will definitely check into that! I might also check into the shuttle to HoJo as well--is there a fee for that? Do you have to be staying there?

A couple more ?'s--does anybody have experience with Fox? Are they pretty reputable? If we did take a shuttle or taxi from LAX to GCV approx how much does that cost (with or without a grocery stop)...did somebody say $200? Wow... Are there some grocery options w/in walking distance of GCV (I also love the Von's idea...that is so helpful). Would I find an online order online or would I need to call??

I will also check into taking a taxi to other rental agencies...for example PP mentioned Torrence--how much is a taxi (for 5 plus luggage) to there from LAX? Just trying to get a good estimate all around.

Wow...so many things to check and just so little free time! Thanks for helping out!

 

[Amy and kids]

Thanks for all your replies--this is one of the most helpful threads! I did try the agencies that don't charge drop-fees and they are a whopping $700ish for a week!!!!! I did find an agency, Fox, that is a bit more reasonable. We are looking at $470 or so which seems like a steal (given the $700's) but it's still an awful lot of money. Then unfortunately Hotwire or Priceline don't allow a one-way rental (as of yet) so they are a no go. I am so grateful for the tip on Alamo and will definitely check into that! I might also check into the shuttle to HoJo as well--is there a fee for that? Do you have to be staying there?

A couple more ?'s--does anybody have experience with Fox? Are they pretty reputable? If we did take a shuttle or taxi from LAX to GCV approx how much does that cost (with or without a grocery stop)...did somebody say $200? Wow... Are there some grocery options w/in walking distance of GCV (I also love the Von's idea...that is so helpful). Would I find an online order online or would I need to call??

I will also check into taking a taxi to other rental agencies...for example PP mentioned Torrence--how much is a taxi (for 5 plus luggage) to there from LAX? Just trying to get a good estimate all around.

Wow...so many things to check and just so little free time! Thanks for helping out!

You can go to the Von's website to order and first time customers even get free delivery! We are planning to do that for our trip in 3 weeks.

 

[carolinamama]

Do you have a Costco membership? They have discounts for some agencies, including Alamo and Budget. We're renting from Alamo. It's not a huge discount, but it almost pays for the car seat we're having to rent (from Travel Babees, though). Also, the second driver is free. We're renting a minivan this summer for a week out of John Wayne for less than $400 including taxes, etc.

I have no idea how they would be with your situation, but wanted to throw this out there!

 

[dizkidz2]

I went on Hertzs web sit yesterday and booked an full size car (Impala) for $240!
Picking up @ SanDiego airport 5/17 with drop off 5/25 @ the Hilton Hotel LAX.

 

[DizFan13]

Has anyone used the Alamo in DTD, and if so, is it convenient and fairly simple? On carolinamama's advice, I checked Costco rates. It still isn't cheap enough to rent for the whole period, but to pick up at LGB and drop off in DTD, and then reverse at the end of the trip, is less than the shuttle. I just don't want it to be a hassle to have to rent at the beginning and end of the trip. This way would save almost $100 though!