How soon shoud I book a rental car for Oct? And other car rental questions...

[traces7]

I only need a car for one day (to drive to the beach). I want to pick it up and drop it off at the Car Care Center. (or where else is convenient from All Star Movies?) How do I make reservations, online or by phone? And how soon should I do this? Our trip is in October. Thanks!

 

[pooksma]

Thanks for posting this. I have similar questions. Wondering about a 3 day rental.

 

[cepmom]

I would make the reservations online ~ if you go to www.mousesavers.com, you can find rental discount codes that might help to lower the cost. Play around with different codes to see what works best. I believe the agency at the Car Care Center is National.

You can make the reservation anytime, but be sure to keep checking periodically because the price can go down. There is usually no penalty to cancel and rebook the lower price. Last year I cancelled and rebooked 3 times and finally ended up with a full size car for $173 total for 10 days ~ it started out at about $235.

 

[beattyfamily]

I would do it now and online.

Then check your rate periodically (by making a NEW reservation; not touching the original reservation) to see if the rate has come down.

Try finding a coupon like with Entertainment book, BJ's, Walmart etc...to get a better rate.

 

[Dizneydaz]

Ditto the book now and keep checking. Last Sept. I booked our van, with Alamo-National partner) fairly early (with coupon from Entertainment) and kept checking. I booked a new ressie and cancelled the old one several times. Including just days before we went. The rate actually dropped one day $30 additional after I had already saved $$ just hours before. That's what's nice about Alamo (and Dollar too) they don't require a credit card to make reservation so you can cancel at anytime. I think I ended up saving over $100 that trip (9 days) by checking. I don't remember the exact rate, but it was the cheapest I've ever received. The best savings occured just before we left.

 

[justplaingoofy]

If you rent through Alamo and do not do the "prepay" you can book ASAP then look for a cheaper rate, if one comes out you can book it and cancel the old ressie with no penalty. If you do the prepay there is a $5 penalty.

I booked our car early April for our mid Sept. trip. I got a rate of $151 for 8 days and just looked again now with all the same discount codes the rate is now over $200.

**Rates have been ALOT higher if you plan on dealing with Dolphin or Car Care Center**