How far 'out' before car rentals go down???

[boxer]

I can't seem to find a good rate yet for our late April/early May trip (10 day rental).........alamo is coming down, but nowhere NEAR what I paid last year....

Is it still too early yet? I'm seeing rates in the mid-240's, whereas last year I paid $180 for the same time period...

 

[mareed]

I've started checking on a March 2007 rental 10 months ahead of time at which time I made my first reservation. I've made 11 other reservations since then as the price dropped. The lowest so far was about 3 weeks before the rental, and it has risen back up again since then. As we're now only 7 days away, I keep checking but don't expect to find it lower. Definitely make a reservation at the lowest price you can find now, but continue to check and then cancel and rebook if it goes down.

And I'll also say that I'm paying more this year than in the last 5 years. I'm used to getting under $20/day for full-size including all taxes/fees, and I'm paying slightly under $24 in March and am currently at around $27 for an upcoming May/June trip.

Your finding mid $240's now compared to $180 last year is my experience also with around $24 now and under $20 before! I think $240 is about as good as you're going to find, and I'd definitely recommend booking it!

I've also found the best prices at Alamo now where I used to use National mostly.

 

[Our2Girls&Disney]

Unfortunately, the way I understand it is ME is killing us car renters. So many people are using ME and not renting cars so, they have to charge a higher price. In my opinion, until Disney starts charging for ME, us renters will be paying a higher price for the car.

I am late April as well. I currently have two reservations for my 8 day trip. Dollar compact car for $172 total and Alamo mid-sized car for $195. I used the KISS2 code for Dollar and the Walmart and $25 coupon at Alamo. I don't know what I want so I am holding on to both reservations.

 

[boxer]

well at least I'm not the only one that is finding high rates!! ..........I'm hoping that more towards mid-March the rates will go down further. At this point, I'd be happy with a $200 rate.

 

[n2mm]

You could find really good rates last year. My trip in October the rate never dropped. I ended up paying about $100 more than past trips. Then for my early February trip, again, no signifcant drops and during a slow time. It dropped a little, but I found myself still paying a base amount of $170 for a midsize car before taxes and before discounts. Still extremely high. So for our April trip, my National rate is $144 per week(base amount) before taxes and discounts. I'm happy with that because of the Oct and Feb trips. Folks need to remember that the prices we were getting last year for rental cars and airfare seem to be a thing of the past. If I can get a rental car for a week and pay around $200 after taxes and discounts, I'm happy with that now. When you log in and see the base amount over $200 for an intermediate car, I consider myself lucky. I have a intermediate reserved for my April/May trip (2 weeks) and have it for $343 after taxes and discounts and am happy with that. I paid $188 in February for a one week rental for intermediate after taxes and coupon. (In past years this same rental was costing me around $120). I kept expecting the rate to drop, but it didn't. You need to find a price that you are willing to accept and don't base it on previous years' rentals or you may be disappointed.

 

[Logans_Dad]

We got a full size through Budget for March 17 to March 25 for $238 taxes included.

Still checking for lower rates though

 

[jennib5426]

I leave on 3/7 and my National rate just went down another $35 yesterday.
Started out at $209 in January and now i am down to $135 for 5 days.
Keep checking up until the day you leave you may have some luck.

 

[Lewisc]

I don't think it's just DME. Car rental agencies make a lot of $$$ with all the extra add ons. Smarter consumers, quick rental cards, credit card waivers all mean fewer customers are buying those extras. The rental companies now have to make more of their money with the base rental charges.

 

[AllesonWonderland]

Every time I've rebooked my rental it's been because of a tip on this board. When I started searching for an 8 day rental for March 24-April 1 I had an intermediate for $230. Thanks to some saavy dissers I'm down to $147. Since my last rebook prices have jumped back up, but I'll continue to keep an eye on this board to see if it will get any better.

Good luck!!

 

[CrazyDisneyMommy1]

We have a minivan res. at Dollar for 2 weeks for $410 all taxes included. Is this a good rate or do you think I can do better. There were some new codes on mousesaver this week, but can't get anything better. I can only put in the promo code and have not been able to find a corp. code I code use with it Any help would be greatly appreciated. We rented from National last time and had a full size for $265 for 18 days, I have never rented a minivan before??

 

[Logans_Dad]

We have a minivan res. at Dollar for 2 weeks for $410 all taxes included. Is this a good rate or do you think I can do better. There were some new codes on mousesaver this week, but can't get anything better. I can only put in the promo code and have not been able to find a corp. code I code use with it Any help would be greatly appreciated. We rented from National last time and had a full size for $265 for 18 days, I have never rented a minivan before??

Check Mousesavers.com for a minivan special discount - but $205 per week including taxes doesn't sound that bad.

 

[webworm]

We got a full size through Budget for March 17 to March 25 for $238 taxes included.

Still checking for lower rates though

If you use the Costco ID 675899 and Coupon Code AF1088DDE it is $225.22 including taxes and includes an additional driver for free. Most agencies charge $8 or $9 a day for additional driver. Go through the costcom.com web site and click on the one with free day and print coupon.

 

[Logans_Dad]

If you use the Costco ID 675899 and Coupon Code AF1088DDE it is $225.22 including taxes and includes an additional driver for free. Most agencies charge $8 or $9 a day for additional driver. Go through the costcom.com web site and click on the one with free day and print coupon.

I appreciate the 4-1-1 but I'm using a coupon to upgrade to a premium at the same price.

 

[lbullard]

Hi everyone, we rented last May and got a great deal on a car rental. I am again trying to find codes for rental. We go May 12-19. Can anyone supply codes for discount? I have an Amex and costco card just not sure where to start....HELP

Anyone else going at that time?

 

[GenieCat]

lbullard, check http://www.mousesavers.com/rentalcar.html for the best deals. I'm planning to rent from National with an Entertainment book coupon and codes from MouseSavers. I usually wait until the book goes on sale for half price, which should be any day now .

Check MouseSavers frequently for new codes, and watch the Transportation board at DisBoards. You can make a new reservation if you find a better price THEN cancel the old one. Don't try to modify a reservation. They will make a mess of it. There is no cost to cancel or change car rental reservations.

Since I don't yet have my Entertainment book can anyone PM me with the National codes so I can get the reservation in for October? Thanks!!

 

[Blondie]

I noticed an almost $100 drop since I first started checking the rates at the end of December.

A few days ago I reserved an intermediate through Dollar for $149.77 (that includes all the taxes & fees--base rate was $118.80) for 5 days in early May. I'll keep checking back periodically to see if it lowers any.

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Does anyone have the Entertainment book codes for Alamo?

Currently have a full-size SUV for 10 days for $315.86--which includes the extra driver. Would love to do better (like last year!!!) but haven't found anything else. We need the extra driver as DH will be attending a conference and I'll have to drive the kids while he is in meetings.

 

[Our2Girls&Disney]

lbullard, check http://www.mousesavers.com/rentalcar.html for the best deals. I'm planning to rent from National with an Entertainment book coupon and codes from MouseSavers. I usually wait until the book goes on sale for half price, which should be any day now .

Check MouseSavers frequently for new codes, and watch the Transportation board at DisBoards. You can make a new reservation if you find a better price THEN cancel the old one. Don't try to modify a reservation. They will make a mess of it. There is no cost to cancel or change car rental reservations.

Since I don't yet have my Entertainment book can anyone PM me with the National codes so I can get the reservation in for October? Thanks!!

If you log into the entertainment web site, they have the codes for the discount as well as coupons right on the web site. You cna log on before the book actually arrives.

 

[Blondie]

I noticed an almost $100 drop since I first started checking the rates at the end of December.

A few days ago I reserved an intermediate through Dollar for $149.77 (that includes all the taxes & fees--base rate was $118.80) for 5 days in early May. I'll keep checking back periodically to see if it lowers any.

I just cancelled my exisiting car rental and re-reserved because the price went down another $20! So for 5 days I have an intermediate for a total price of $129.38, that includes all the fees and taxes. Base rate was $101.36.

 

[bearzabout]

I always book using National's Emerald Isle. Every trip I've taken over the last few years, the price has always dropped a few days out. I make a reservation a month ahead and check the rates once a week. The rates always seem to go down a few days before my trip starts. In February, I paid about $135/week plus taxes for a Chrysler Pacifica that seats 6.