How much do you pay?

[DisneyZB]

Hello all. I'm planning a first time trip to DL and when looking at renting a compact car I was shocked at how expensive it is. It made me wonder what people are really paying on a per day bases for a car? Is there hope, or will I be stuck coughing up a good chunk of change for a vehicle?

 

[Geemo]

Booking a rental car can be expensive.

The best prices I've found are through Costco.
Once I find one that meets my budget, I book it.
Then I continue to check the rates daily. If I'm lucky enough to find the same car at a better rate, I re-book it and cancel the other one.

Geemo

 

[valiamo]

Hello all. I'm planning a first time trip to DL and when looking at renting a compact car I was shocked at how expensive it is. It made me wonder what people are really paying on a per day bases for a car? Is there hope, or will I be stuck coughing up a good chunk of change for a vehicle?

Depends on the company that you are getting the quote from. I just checked with National (I have an account with them) , and the base rate is just under $30.00 a day, with the extra fees, it is $35 a day. On a lark I also checked Dollar and Thrifty and both came out to around $29 a day (Both LAX and downtown Anahiem).

What kind of price were you getting quoted, and for which company.

 

[AceDodger]

I don't know if this is allowed, but here goes. We usually rent from Fox Car rental at LAX. Very reasonable. Give it a shot. I don't mean to advertise for a company so someone please remove this post if it isn't allowed. Thanks!

 

[sheetz]

What prices are you getting? I'm checking carrentals.com and the prices I'm pulling up from Anaheim rental agencies don't seem excessive as long as you aren't renting one way.

 

[disneychrista]

We usually end up with a week rental (it ends up being cheaper) and pay between $150 - $200. This is from home, not the airport.

 

[Whitleigh]

I am looking to do the same in September. I have never rented a car before and will need to rent car seats as well. Does anyone have any recommendations for that? Flying into LAX. Thanks!!

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Since this will be your first time at DLR, the first question should really be why are you renting a car? You don't need one--at all--at DLR. There are no great distances involved like at WDW. Everything is accessible on foot. And the Disney hotels and some of the Good Neighbor hotels charge daily parking fees.

If DLR is going to be part of a larger SoCal vacation, you might consider renting one for the part of your vacation that entails longer-distance travel. But as far as DLR is concerned, unless you intend to make Anaheim a base for regional exploration (and considering that a good first visit to DLR really entails several days exploring the parks), wheels just aren't necessary.

 

[6Smiles]

If you are a member with Costco you can get deals with a three day rental. We paid $65 change at O'Hare for a 3 day rental through them. We drive to Cali but I'm sure they have similar deals for members.

 

[krispin41]

Since this will be your first time at DLR, the first question should really be why are you renting a car? You don't need one--at all--at DLR. There are no great distances involved like at WDW. Everything is accessible on foot. And the Disney hotels and some of the Good Neighbor hotels charge daily parking fees.

If DLR is going to be part of a larger SoCal vacation, you might consider renting one for the part of your vacation that entails longer-distance travel. But as far as DLR is concerned, unless you intend to make Anaheim a base for regional exploration (and considering that a good first visit to DLR really entails several days exploring the parks), wheels just aren't necessary.

I agree with this...we never leave the area, so no need for a car...on our last trip, we took the Greyline to Universal Studios for the day.

 

[larina]

Are you renting the car to travel to Disneyland? Price varries by area (much more expensive to rent in San Francisco than Sacramento, etc.). If you're only going to DLH , as others have said, you really don't need a car.

 

[DisneyZB]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I've been pricing through AAA so far. I think part of my problem is that currently planning to fly into Bakersfield to go to Sequioa National Park then drive down to Anaheim, dropping car off at John Wayne. Most companies coming up about $90 bucks a day except Avis, but I haven't heard many good things about them. Thinking of using Amtrak from Bakersfield to Anaheim then picking up another car there. Thoughts?

 

[bumbershoot]

Thinking of using Amtrak from Bakersfield to Anaheim then picking up another car there. Thoughts?

Unless you really want the adventure, I wouldn't do that.

With every stop, Amtrak gets delayed. I love trains, but you have to be prepared for delays.



Car rental costs change. Don't ever get locked in until it's a rock-bottom price. Allow yourself the ability to change a reservation. Rentals OFTEN come down the closer you get to your dates. But be sure to reserve something at a rate you can handle, if you really need that car. The time you don't is the time the rental will do nothing but go up.


We have a car at Disneyland. We go to Trader Joe's for food, we go to our Weight Watchers meeting on sat morning (fabulous leader). We like to have the car. You don't use it there at Disney, but we use the car all the same.


Car rental carseats...I wouldn't use them. I would bring my own. Use them on the plane if the kids are little enough, or GATE check them and pick them up on the jetway to carry them through the airport to the car rental. I wouldn't let my carseat go through the machinery of the airport's innards, just like I wouldn't let a bike helmet go through it. You can't tell if the protective foam inside has been damaged with either of them.

And you have NO idea what the rental carseat has been through. Bring your own trusted seats and gate check them. My advice.

 

[T0rrent]

Check with your employer as well. Some companies (or agency's if you work in the public sector) have deals for discounted car rentals as well.

 

[NMcowboy]

Booking a rental car can be expensive.

The best prices I've found are through Costco.
Once I find one that meets my budget, I book it.
Then I continue to check the rates daily. If I'm lucky enough to find the same car at a better rate, I re-book it and cancel the other one.

Geemo

Geemo is correct.. Costco is best by far, and they change the rates daily as listed above... sometimes dropping more than half when your trip nears... good luck.

 

[DisneyZB]

Unless you really want the adventure, I wouldn't do that.

With every stop, Amtrak gets delayed. I love trains, but you have to be prepared for delays.
.

Thanks for the warning, Bumbershoot. Flying from Ohio to California will be adventure enough for me. I've got time till vacation, so I'll keep an eye on those rates. Looks like from what everyone says, they change even more then airfare. I guess nothing is easy, but a trip to Disneyland will be worth the effort.

 

[Zbugz]

Booking a rental car can be expensive.

The best prices I've found are through Costco.
Once I find one that meets my budget, I book it.
Then I continue to check the rates daily. If I'm lucky enough to find the same car at a better rate, I re-book it and cancel the other one.

Geemo

This. Keep checking daily. Book and rebook. I can get an intermediate SUV for less than $30 per day including taxes, so I imagine a compact would be quite a bit less.

Your one way fee is what is bumping up the cost. Is there anyway you can avoid that?

I would highly recommend bringing your own car seats. The day to day cost from a car rental company is ridiculous, plus you don't know what they've been through.

 

[nervous1sttimer]

We're going Aug 25-31 and flying from SNA. I was planning on taking shuttles, but I ended up getting a full-sized from Dollar for $126 for the week (pick-up and drop-off at SNA). It ends up costing me less than shuttles to/from the airport and Legoland. Plus we're staying at Hojo with free parking, so it doesn't bother me that it will be sitting there unused for most of our trip.

 

[maroman]

Try www.carrentalsavers.com, I picked up at LAX with Alamo and drove up the coast to SF for $118 with all fees for 5 days.

 

[ClaraOswald]

We usually book through Orbitz or Expedia. I searched my dates and it's looking like roughly $180 a week. Pick up and drop off at John Wayne.